Comments on Amos 7 The first three visions (v. 1-9) cast Amos as a Moses-like intercessor where he pleads Israel's case in the face of destruction and the Lord relents. This series of visions shows the prophet's role of intercessor on both the Lord's behalf in front of the people, and on the people's behalf in front of the Lord. In ch. 3 we saw the prophet acting on the Lord's behalf warning the people. Here we see the prophet acting on the people's behalf. v1-3 The Lord shows Amos a vision of Him bringing a plague of locusts upon Israel to consume all of their fields (v. 1). When Amos sees it, he begs the Lord not to do it as Israel is too small to survive such a grievous plague (v. 2). The Lord heeds and relents (v. 3). v4-6 The Lord shows Amos a terrible fire (i.e. a drought) that consumes all the lakes and farmland (v. 4). Amos sees it and again asks the Lord not to do it as Israel will not survive such a drought (v. 5). Again, the Lord relents (v. 6). v7-9 The Lord shows Amos a vision of foreign invasion where Israel is sacked. The Lord measures the city walls with a plumb line (v. 7). The Lord asks Amos what he sees, and this time Amos doesn't try to plead Israel's case, rather, he acknowledges the Lord's plans (v. 8). The Lord then goes on to state Israel and her idolatrous sanctuaries will be sacked and the house of Jeroboam II will be disposed of (v. 9). The reason Amos doesn't try to stop the Lord on this one is because he sees that through this method, unlike the previous two, a remnant will be left of Israel, cf. 9:8. v7 "plumbline", a common military intelligence technique to determine the necessary sizes of siege engines, ladders, scaling ropes and so on. That it is in reference to the imminent sack of Israel by foreign invaders cf. Isa. 28:17 and Isa. 34:11. Also, in v. 18 the plumb line has reference to the foreign invaders parceling up Israel's lands for themselves, cp. Micah 2:4-5. v10-18 Amaziah, the high priest at Bethel, which was condemned in 3:14, gets word of Amos' prophesying and doesn't take to it kindly. While Amaziah should have been asking the Lord to spare Israel as was Amos in 7:1-9, instead he is attacking Amos. Amaziah tells Jeroboam II king of Israel what Amos has been saying about him (v. 10) and Israel (v. 11) in an effort to make Amos either shut up or flee. He then tells Hosea to run away into Judah (v. 12) and stop prophesying at Bethel because it is a royal sanctuary and residence (v. 13). Amos' replies to Amaziah that he is not a professional prophet, but rather is a herdsman and farmer (v. 14). The Lord called him away from his herd to prophesy (v. 15). Amos then gives Amaziah a piece of personal revelation in response to his attempts to silence him (v. 17): his wife will be forced into harlotry, his sons will be slain, his land will be parcelled up by the invaders for themselves, and he will go into captivity to a foreign land and die there. And to finish it all off, Amos states emphatically Israel will go into exile, thus defying Amaziah's orders (v. 18). v12 Amaziah is accusing Amos of being sympathetic to the Judaean perspective on Northern Israel (which was generally negative). He is attempting to secularize and politicize Amos' message so as to pit him against the king. v14 is an attack on the professional priests of Bethel, and thus a rebuttal to Amazaih's insinuation in v. 12. They are so corrupt the Lord has to avoid the professional religionists and choose a humble agrarian to do His will. Copyright © 2002 by S. Kurt Neumiller . All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form or by any means for commercial gain without the express written consent of the author. Digital or printed copies may be freely made and distributed for personal and public non-commercial use.