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

"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