The Divine Lamp

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Vs 1 Thus the Lord God showed me: and, behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and lo, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowing.

Vs 2 And it came to pass that, when they had made an end of the eating of the grass of the land, then I said, “O Lord God, forgive, I beseech thee: how shall Jacob stand? for he is small.”

Vs 3 The Lord repented (turned back) concerning this: “It shall not be,” said the Lord God.

The first vision concerns a locust plague which apparently has already taken place. Such plagues were common in the ancient Middle East and have occurred in modern times as well. Their effect is devastating (see Joel 1:1-20). God had promised his people immunity from such trouble provided that they remained faithful to the covenant; but he had also promised them trouble if they disobeyed it (see Deuteronomy 28 and the eighth plague on Egypt in Exodus 10:1-20).

The timing of this plague was disastrous. The beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth refers to the time that the vegetables had begun to sprout up above the ground and grow. This was called the latter growth (or planting) because such crops were sown after the wheat and other grains. We are to understand then that the nearly mature grain crop, and the young vegetable crop both fell victim to this plague. Increasing the problem is the fact that the King’s mowing had already taken place. Part of the lands produce belonged-to the king as a sort of tax (1 Samuel 8:11-18). Probably, in the event of an agricultural disaster, the tax would have been mitigated, but as we have already seen, the leaders of the people were not overly concerned with their welfare.

The prophet Amos, in typical prophetic fashion, intercedes for an end to the situation and receives a positive response on the part of God. Thus we see that God’s justice is tempered with mercy. The Lord repents (turns back) the punishment. This action stands in marked contrast to the promised threats uttered against Israel and the surrounding pagan nations in 1:3-2:16 (see the repeated “I will not cause it to turn back”). This is a major reason why I believe the first two visions (7:1-6) are describing events which have already taken place. The primary purpose of the prophecies in the book is to show that God’s forbearance, previously manifested in his relenting of the punishment of locust and fire, has come to an end. (Note: for an example of prophetic intercesion see Exodus 32:7-14. There are many examples in the Bible, but God’s patience in the face of sin has its limits, as the often repeated command to Jeremiah not to intercede for the people shows 7:16; 11:14; 14:11).

Vs 4 Thus the Lord God showed me: behold, the Lord God called for a judgement by fire; and it consumed the great deep, and would have eaten up the land.

Vs 5 Then I said, “O Lord God, cease, I beseech thee: how shall Jacob stand? for he is small.”

Vs 6 The Lord repented (turned back) concerning this: “This also shall not be,” says the Lord God.

A hyperbolic reference to a massive fire which is said to have consumed the sea (the great deep). We are probably to understand a situation of drought which led to the evaporation of water from the Dead and Galilee seas. This drought gave rise to a great fire. Again the Lord turns back the punishment at the request of Amos.

Vs 7 Thus He shwoed me: behold, the Lord stood beside a wall made by a plumb-line, with a plmb-line in his hand.

Vs 8 And the Lord God said unto me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “a plumb-line.” Then said the Lord God, “behold, I will set a plumb-line in the midst of my people Israel; I will not again pass by them anymore;

Vs 9 and the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with a sword.”

A plumb-line is an ancient builders tool still in use today. Its purpose s to ensure that a wall is “plumb” (i.e. straight up and down). A wall that is not “plumb” became a figure of moral failing. God is portraying himself here as a carpenter who is tired of passing by a defective wall and now means to fix it. The sanctuaries of Israel and the house of Jeroboam are worthless hovels whose walls are out of “plumb.” They are fit only for destruction.

Vs 10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words.

Vs 11 for thus Amos says ‘ Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.’”

Here begins the conflict between Amos, the prophet, and Amaziah, the priest. The conflict is very ironic since it was the duty of a king to insure right worship. As we saw in the introduction, the first of the northern kings, Jeroboam 1, had established false worship and sanctuaries, along with a false priesthood. None of the kings who followed him, including Jeroboam 2, did anything to bring this situation to an end. So a (probably) illegitimate priest is whining to a rebellious king about a prophet’s denunciation of false worship and the dynasty which was allowing it to continue.

Vs 12 Also Amaziah said unto Amos, “O you seer, go, flee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophecy there:

Vs 13 but prophecy no more at Bethel; for it is the kings sanctuary, and it is a royal house.”

Vs 14 Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees:

Vs 15 And the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said unto me, “Go, prophecy unto my people Israel.”

In this exchange we get some idea of the sorry state into which prophecy had fallen. There were in ancient times professional prophetic guilds of professional prophets whose disciples were known as sons of the prophets. Professional prophetism is an acceptable practice in the bible, however, like all offices it was open to abuse. Amaziah readily assumes not only that Amos is a member of the guild prophets, but also that he is a dishonest one who prophecies to eat bread. In other words, he believes that Amos tells people what they want to hear in order to earn money, rather than telling them what they need to hear.

Vs 16 Now therefore hear the word of the Lord: “you say, ‘prophecy not against Israel, and drop not your word against the house of Isaac;’”Vs 17 therefore, thus says the Lord: “Your wife shall be a harlot in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be divided by line; and you shall die in a land that is unclean, and Israel will surely be led away captive out of his land.”

For his defiance of the prophetic word Amaziah will suffer greatly, His wife shall be a harlot in the city. The condemnation of Amaziah is clearly related to military catastrophe. When cities were conquered the women often were at the mercy of the victors who were not above rape or the use of death threats to get what they wanted. When the kingdom falls, Amaziah’s wife will suffer such a fate. His sons and daughters will fall by the sword. This may mean that they are young, and therefore, at least as far as the victors are concerned, more burden than booty. The priest himself will go into exile among the gentiles with most of the nation.