Book of Amos: Chapter 7 Summary and Questions:
Chapter Seven has three visions that Amos saw and responded to. The first was of locust, then fire, and a plumb line. God showed Amos what he intended. Locusts will eat up every green plant as they move through an area. The scene that Amos is shown is of the last harvest, the harvest that sustained the people's lives. The king took the first harvest as taxes paid. It would be a devastating blow economically for the people. Starvation would be the result of this devastation. Israel would have been destroyed if God had carried out this degree against Jacob. Amos intercedes for them. Intercession is very important even today. We should never underestimate the power of prayer. Israel saw themselves as strong, but they were small and weak. Amos was their intercessor as a prophet and asked God to reconsider so they were not destroyed. God listened to Amos and stayed the degree against Israel.
God calls for conflict by fire, which means he is putting them on trial for their sins. The source of their issue was their sin against God. To eliminate the source would mean they needed forgiveness for their sins. " The prayers of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16). Amos will once again pray for their relief. Israel was to be both tried by fire and punished by fire. It would be an all-consuming fire that would destroy Israel. Amos reminds God of Israel's frailty. The way this is written, we see that Israel would have been lost without Amos to pray. Prayer is our access to God to intervene for those around us and our nation. God relented because of Amos's prayer.
The next vision is of the Lord standing on a wall with a plumbline, which is used to give a true vertical line. God asks Amos what he sees, and he tells him he sees a plumbline. The plumbline represents God's holy law that Israel had failed to live by. Their lives were crooked. The plumbline was set in their midst to show their crookedness and disregard for his laws. Amos was not allowed to intercede. Judgment was determined. Isaac represented the Northern Kingdom in Amos' day and is used here instead of Jacob. Jeroboam was the first to set up the worship of pagan Gods in the Northern Kingdom, which may be why he is mentioned. They had broken their covenant with God, and he would pass that way no more. There would be desolation and waste, and a sword would come against them.
Amaziah was a wicked man. He was a priest of Baal. Jeroboam had set up the worship of Baal at the beginning of his reign to keep the people from going to Jerusalem to worship. It was a political move that succeeded in keeping the people in tow, but it led them into idolatry, which would end in judgment. This is where Amos came in as a prophet of God to warn the people. Amaziah sent to the king to inform him of Amos' conspiracy against him. He told him that "the land is not able to hold all his words."He then tells Amos to leave Bethel and return to Judah to prophesy. Amos points out that he is there at the command of God. He is not a professional prophet but a sheepherder. The Lord then speaks through Amos against Amaziah. He is told that his wife will be a harlot and his sons and daughters will die by the sword. The land will be defiled, and Israel will be taken into captivity. These were difficult words for Amos to speak, and they were difficult to hear, but Amos was obedient to God and spoke them. He was faithful to his calling even though it was hard.
Questions:
1. What is the difference between divine judgment and mercy as defined in chapter 7?
2. Amos is allowed to intercede for Israel twice. How does this describe his role as a prophet?
3. What does the plumbline symbolize?
4. What was Amaziah's response to Amos' prophesy?
5. Who was Amaziah?
6. How does Amos defend himself against Amaziah's attack?
7. Can you apply this chapter to the affairs in our world today?
8. What do we learn from this chapter about disobedience to God?
9. What does this chapter teach us about intercession?
10. What does Amos' courage teach us about the Christian walk?
