Amos 7

This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings.

When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said, “O Lord GOD, please forgive! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!”

The LORD relented concerning this: “It shall not be,” said the LORD.

This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, the Lord GOD was calling for a judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land.

Then I said, “O Lord GOD, please cease! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!”

The LORD relented concerning this: “This also shall not be,” said the Lord GOD.

This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand.

And the LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them;

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

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.

For thus Amos has said, “‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from his land.’”

And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there,

but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”

Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs.

But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’

Now therefore hear the word of the LORD. “You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’

Therefore thus says the LORD: “‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be divided up with a measuring line; you yourself shall die in an unclean land, and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.’”

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Amos 7

Amos reports three visions of judgment—locusts devouring crops, a consuming fire, and a plumb line held by the LORD—each testing the prophet's willingness to intercede and accept God's verdict. For the first two visions, Amos intercedes on Israel's behalf ("O Lord GOD, forgive, I pray! How can Jacob stand?"), and God relents, showing that intercessory prayer can delay or avert judgment. Yet with the third vision—the plumb line—God declares that He will no longer pass by Israel, indicating that the period of possible reprieve has ended and judgment is now fixed and irreversible. The vision of the plumb line symbolizes God's measurement of Israel against the standard of covenant righteousness, and Israel has failed this test so completely that destruction is now inevitable. The chapter also records an important historical encounter: when the priest Amaziah of Bethel hears Amos's prophecy against the northern kingdom and its king, he orders the prophet to cease prophesying and return to Judah, rejecting the prophetic word and attempting to silence God's voice. Amos's response—that he is not a prophet by profession but a shepherd and dresser of figs called by God—asserts the divine compulsion and authority behind his prophecy, establishing that no human authority can silence the authentic word of the LORD.

Amos 7:1

The vision of the LORD forming locusts at the beginning of the latter growth indicates a prophetic vision of impending plague. The description of the young grass after the king's mowings indicates the vulnerability of Israel's remaining resources.

Amos 7:2

The prayer of Amos for forgiveness because Israel is so small indicates the prophet's compassion and intercession for the people. The willingness to plead for Israel suggests the prophet's identification with the people despite his message of judgment.

Amos 7:3

The statement that the LORD repented and said it shall not be indicates that the divine judgment can be mitigated through prophetic intercession. The turning away of the plague suggests the power of intercession.

Amos 7:4

The vision of the LORD calling for a judgment by fire indicates another form of judgment—drought and heat. The fire consuming the great deep and eating up the land indicates devastating drought.

Amos 7:5

The prayer again that the LORD forgive Israel because it is so small indicates renewed intercession. The repetition suggests the persistence of the prophet's compassion.

Amos 7:6

The second repentance of the LORD indicates again that judgment is mitigated by intercession. The turning away of judgment demonstrates the power of prophetic plea.

Amos 7:7

The vision of the LORD standing beside a wall made with a plumb line with a plumb line in his hand indicates God's examination of Israel to determine whether the nation conforms to divine standard. The plumb line indicates measurement and testing.

Amos 7

Amos 7:8

Amos 7:9

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