Untitled Sermon

Introduction

In the last two chapters of the book of Amos, God gives Amos 5 visions that for told coming destruction upon Israel and it’s leaders. Today we are going to unpack three of those five visions, and next week we will see the ramifications of the third vision in regards to how it impacted the king and the priest of Israel.

Vision 1

English Standard Version Chapter 7

7 This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings. 2 When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said,

“O Lord GOD, please forgive!

How can Jacob stand?

He is so small!”

3  The LORD relented concerning this:

“It shall not be,” said the LORD.

In this first and second vision we will see a pattern applied. The pattern is that God gives Amos a vision, Amos pleads on behalf of Israel, and God relents from the vision.

So what was this first vision given to Amos? God gives Amos a very specific vision for a specific reason. Verse one says that God was “forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings.” The specificity of this verse is very important.

God shows Amos that he was planning on sending a locust swarm upon Israel during, “the latter growth after the king’s mowing.” The latter growth happened during the months of March and April, when the second growing season comes with the rains. When the second growth came in, the King would receive the first harvest as a tax to help feed the military and the kings court. After the king would tax the people, the rest of the harvest would be left for the people to take. God threatens to decimate the harvest by sending locusts to devour it.

A few weeks ago we talked about the dangers of a locus invasion.

Seeing the coming devastation, Amos intercedes on behalf of the Israelites by saying, “O Lord God, please forgive! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!”

In the Jewish religious structure of that day, the job of the Prophet and the job of the High Priest were important jobs. The Prophet communicated God’s Words to Man while the High Priest had the job of communicating Man’s Petitions (words) to God.

It was King Jeroboam who was the leader of Israel during the time of Amos, and Jeroboam’s high priest was a man by the name of Amaziah. Amaziah was not a godly man, in fact he was the high priest of Bethel, and was one of the men that encouraged calf worship of the Israelites.

What is interesting in this passage of Scripture you have the Prophet Amos (who should have been worried with communicating God’s Word’s to man) broken over the Israelites sins, and thus, interceding on behalf of them. Amos was serving as a high priest of the Israelites.

Vision 2

English Standard Version Chapter 7

4 This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, the Lord GOD was calling for a judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. 5 Then I said,

“O Lord GOD, please cease!

How can Jacob stand?

He is so small!”

6  The LORD relented concerning this:

“This also shall not be,” said the Lord GOD.

Vision 3

English Standard Version Chapter 7

7 This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,

“Behold, I am setting a plumb line

in the midst of my people Israel;

I will never again pass by them;

9  the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,

and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,

and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”