Visions of the End: Locusts, Fire, and the Plumb Line

Amos now receives a series of visions. Each one reveals the judgment to come. And in the midst of the visions, we see the prophet's heart and the conflict his message creates.

The vision of locusts

"This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout."

God shows Amos a swarm of locusts about to devour the land. The latter growth, the second harvest, is the people's portion after the king takes his share. Without it, they starve.

The locusts begin to devour.

And Amos intercedes:

"O Lord God, please forgive! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!"

The prophet begs God to stop. Not because Israel deserves mercy, but because they are helpless without it. How can Jacob survive?

"The Lord relented concerning this: 'It shall not be,' said the Lord."

God holds back. The locusts are stopped. The vision does not become reality, yet.

Prophetic intercession can delay judgment.

The vision of fire

A second vision: God calls for judgment by fire. The fire devours the great deep and begins consuming the land.

Again Amos intercedes:

"O Lord God, please cease! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!"

Same plea. Same desperation. Jacob is small. Without God's mercy, they cannot stand.

"The Lord relented concerning this: 'This also shall not be,' said the Lord God."

Again God holds back. Again mercy triumphs for the moment.

Even the prophet of judgment intercedes for his people.

The vision of the plumb line

The third vision is different:

"Behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand."

A plumb line measures straightness. Walls must be true or they collapse. God holds the plumb line against Israel.

"Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them."

This time there is no intercession. This time God does not relent. The measurement has been made. Israel is crooked. Judgment is certain.

The high places of Isaac will be desolate. The sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste. God will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.

There comes a point when intercession ceases and judgment proceeds.

Amaziah the priest opposes Amos

Amaziah, priest of Bethel, reports Amos to King Jeroboam:

"Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words."

The religious establishment sees the prophet as a political threat. Amaziah tells Amos to flee to Judah and prophesy there. He calls Bethel the king's sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom.

This is the problem. Bethel belongs to the king, not to God. It is a political shrine, not a place of true worship.

Amos's response

"I was no prophet, nor a prophet's son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. And the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'"

Amos is not a professional prophet. He did not seek this role. He was a simple shepherd. God called him.

And because God called him, he cannot be silent.

Judgment on Amaziah

Because Amaziah tried to silence God's word, judgment falls on him personally:

His wife will become a prostitute. His sons and daughters will fall by the sword. His land will be divided. He himself will die in an unclean land. Israel will go into exile.

Those who oppose God's word share in the judgment of God's people.

Final reflection

Amos 7 reveals the tension between mercy and judgment. God relents twice at the prophet's intercession. But the third time, the plumb line falls, and there is no relenting.

It also reveals the conflict between true prophecy and institutional religion. Amaziah serves the king's interests. Amos serves God's word.

The choice remains the same: hear the prophet and repent, or silence the prophet and perish.

Closing prayer

Father, give us ears to hear Your prophets and hearts to receive correction. Do not let us silence the truth because it threatens our comfort. Measure us by Your plumb line and make us true. In Jesus' name, amen.