Amos 7:1-17
1 Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppersa in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings.
2 And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.
3 The LORD repented for this: It shall not be, saith the LORD.
4 Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord GOD called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part.
5 Then said I, O Lord GOD, cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.
6 The LORD repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord GOD.
7 Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand.
8 And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more:
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 the sword.
10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.
11 For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land.
12 Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:
13 But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king's chapel,b and it is the king's court.
14 Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit:
15 And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.
16 Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac.
17 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.
In this division the prophet gave a fivefold vision of judgment, introduced in the first four cases by the words, "The Lord God showed me." The last vision was of Jehovah Himself. The vision of the locusts declared judgment to be threatened, and restrained in answer to intercession.
The vision of the fire had the same significance. The prophet saw the devowing fire and interceded. His intercession was answered by Jehovah's repentance, and the judgment was restrained.
The vision of the plumbline is different. Jehovah was seen standing by a wall, testing it with a plumbline. Having done so, He appealed to the prophet. No charge was made, but it is evident that as Amos beheld, he realized all the irregularities the plumbline revealed. There was no intercession. Doom was determined. So long as prophecy was mingled with messages of mercy, it was tolerated by the people. Directly that element was missing, hostility broke forth. Amaziah was an impostor, and yet held the position of priest of Bethel. He reported to Jeroboam what Amos was saying, advising his exile. Moreover, he attempted to appeal to the fear of Amos, and advised him to flee to Judah. The answer of Amos was full of dignity, born of the consciousness of the divine authority of his commission. He declared that he was no prophet, but that Jehovah had taken him and spoken to him, thus he had become a prophet in very deed. Then, answering Amaziah, he declared that God's judgment would overtake Amaziah.