Amos - The Country Prophet (7:1-9:15) Part 3 Of 3 Series

"STUDIES IN THE MINOR PROPHETS"

Amos - The Country Prophet (7:1-9:15)

INTRODUCTION

1. In the first two studies on the book of Amos, we briefly surveyed...

a. The "Oracles" of Amos, concerning sin and judgment of eight

nations (ch. 1-2)

b. The "Sermons" of Amos, concerning the sin and judgment of Israel

(ch. 3-6)

2. In this third and final lesson on Amos, we will...

a. Focus our attention on the last three chapters which contain...

1) Five "Visions" of Amos

2) An "interlude" in which Amos defends his prophetic role

3) A closing glimpse of a brighter future

b. Offer a summary of lessons gleaned from the book of Amos

[Let’s begin, then by noting...]

I. THE "VISIONS" OF AMOS (7:1-9:15)

A. THE VISION OF THE LOCUSTS (7:1-3)

1. The vision and the Lord’s response to Amos’ prayer...

a. The Lord shows Amos a swarm of locusts devastating the

crops

b. Amos cries out in behalf of Jacob (Israel)

c. The Lord hears, and relents so that the locust plague will

not happen

2. The meaning of the vision...

a. Some take the locust plague to be a figurative symbol of an

invading army

b. Whether literal or figurative, the judgment it represented

is averted by the pleading of the prophet

c. It is reminiscent of what we saw in Joel, how the nation’s

repentance averted the reoccurrence of the "locust

invasion" - cf. Joel 2:1-24

B. THE VISION OF THE FIRE (7:4-6)

1. The vision and the Lord’s response to Amos’ prayer...

a. The Lord shows Amos a fire consuming the "great deep" and

the territory

b. Once again Amos cries out in behalf of Jacob (Israel)

c. The Lord again hears, and relents from bringing the

conflagration upon Israel

2. The meaning of the vision...

a. Clearly figurative, for the "great deep" is likely the

Mediterranean Sea

b. Whatever judgment it represents is also averted by the

prayer of Amos

c. These first two visions appear to illustrate God’s

longsuffering due to the prayers of the righteous

C. THE VISION OF THE PLUMB LINE (7:7-9)

1. The vision and the Lord’s explanation...

a. The Lord is standing on a wall with a plumb line in hand

b. The Lord explains He is setting a plumb line in the midst

of Israel, and will now bring destruction upon:

1) The places of idolatrous worship ("high places" and

"sanctuaries")

2) The house of Jeroboam (the ruling king of Israel, cf.

Am 1:1)

2. The meaning of the vision...

a. A plumb line is used to measure the correctness of any

construction

b. God has so measured Israel, and found her so defective that

He cannot overlook her anymore

c. The judgment will involve destruction of her religious and

political leaders

D. AN INTERLUDE: AMAZIAH’S COMPLAINT AGAINST AMOS (7:10-17)

1. Amaziah, priest of Bethel (center of idolatrous worship),

accuses Amos of conspiracy against Jeroboam king of Israel

- Am 7:10-11

2. Amaziah tells Amos to leave Bethel and go back to his own

country of Judah - Am 7:12-13

3. Amos defends his prophetic mission - Am 7:14-15

4. Amos then prophesies against Amaziah and Israel - Am 7:16-17

E. THE VISION OF THE SUMMER FRUIT (8:1-14)

1. The vision and the Lord’s explanation - Am 8:1-3

a. Amos is shown a basket of summer fruit (evidently quite

ripened)

b. The Lord reveals that Israel’s end is near, and is ripe for

judgment

2. Once again, the nature of Israel’s sin is described - Am 8:4-6

a. Oppression of the poor and needy - cf. Am 2:6-7

b. Disdain for religious observances, because they hinder

economic enterprise

c. Dishonest economic practices, to further abuse the poor and

needy

3. The nature of Israel’s judgment is described - Am 8:7-14

a. A day of mourning is coming - Am 8:7-10

b. A day of famine for the word of God is coming - Am 8:11-12

c. Those who trust in idolatry will fall and never rise again

- Am 8:13-14

F. THE VISION OF THE LORD BY THE ALTAR (9:1-10)

1. Is this the altar of Jerusalem, or Bethel? (I suspect the

latter)

2. The altar shall be destroyed, and none shall escape - Am 9:1-4

3. The One who shall accomplish this is described - Am 9:5-6

4. Israel has become little different than the heathen nations

- Am 9:7

5. The careful, discriminate, nature of the Lord’s judgment

- Am 9:8-10

a. The "kingdom" will be utterly destroyed

b. But the "house of Jacob" will not

c. What little is good will be spared, as grain sifted in a

sieve

d. But the sinners shall not escape, despite their claims to

the contrary

G. A GLIMPSE OF A BRIGHTER FUTURE - Am 9:11-15

1. The restoration of the tabernacle of David is foretold, in