Amos
Chapter 7
VISIONS
The First Three Visions
This is what the Lord showed me. He was forming a swarm of locusts just as the late sowing began to sprout. It was the second growth that follows the king’s mowing.
When they were about to finish devouring all the crops of the land, I said, “Lord, forgive Israel! How shall Jacob survive, small as he is?”
The Lord relented and said, “It shall not happen.”
This is what the Lord showed me: He was calling for burning heat. It consumed the great deep and was consuming the land.
I said, “Lord God, stop! How shall Jacob survive, small as he is?”
The Lord relented and said, “This, too, shall not happen.”
This is what the Lord showed me. He was standing beside a wall with a plumb line in his hand.
The Lord asked me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I answered, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I am measuring my people Israel with a plumb line. I will forgive them no more.
The high places of Isaac will be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste. For I will rise up, sword in hand, against the family of Jeroboam.”
Amos and Amaziah
Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, then sent word to King Jeroboam of Israel:“Amos is conspiring against you in the very center of Israel; what he says goes too far.
These are his very words: Jeroboam shall die by the sword and Israel shall be exiled from its land.”
Amaziah then told Amos: “Off with you, seer, go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there by prophesying.
But never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is a king’s sanctuary and a national shrine.”
Amos replied to Amaziah: “I am not a prophet or one of the fellow-prophets. I am a sheep breeder and a caretaker of sycamore trees.
But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me: Go, prophesy to my people Israel.
Now listen to the word of the Lord:You who say: No more prophecy against Israel, no more insults against the family of Isaac!
This is what the Lord says: Your wife will be made a prostitute in the city, your sons and daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be divided and given to others, and you, yourself, will die in a foreign land, for Israel will be drivenfar from its land.
Commentaries
Visions.
The final part of this book includes five visions and oracles, mixed with the encounter between Amos and Amaziah, the high priest of the Temple of Bethel. The main message of the first four visions is clear: Amos does not enjoy predicting misfortune, nor does the Lord take pleasure in destroying his people; however, Israel’s stubbornness in resisting repentance leaves no room for the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness.
The First Three Visions.
The plague of locusts (cf. Joel 2) that destroys the crops will seriously impact the farmers who only benefit from the second harvest, but not the king, who has already received the first. The selfishness of Israel’s powerful leads to the consequences of their political mistakes falling on the poorest and most vulnerable, prioritizing their own well-being. At the prophet’s plea, God halts the plague and fire, granting the people more time to repent (3:6).
In the third vision, Amos sees the Lord with a plumb line to check if a wall is perfectly vertical (7-9). This indicates that God is inspecting the people to see if they are “upright” and acting with ‘righteousness’ or “justice.” However, Israel does not fulfill the requirements of the covenant law (see note on 4:4-5) and, like a crooked wall, must be destroyed.
Amos and Amaziah.
The high priest Amaziah acts as an officer of the king in the sanctuary of Bethel and reports to Jeroboam II about the threat posed by this prophet from the kingdom of Judah (1). This episode helps to show that in Israel, the prophetic institution held more authority than the monarchy; kings were anointed and corrected by prophets (cf. 1 Sm 16:1; 2 Sm 12:7). Unlike kings and priests, prophets were men and women who did not come from any specific family or social class and were directly called by God to understand and proclaim His Word (cf. Jer 1:4-10). Jesus accuses the ancestors of the Pharisees and scribes of mistreating and killing the prophets (cf. Mt 23:29-36).