← All Chapters The Book of Amos · Chapter 7

Amos 7: Visions and a Confrontation

Through visions of locusts, fire, and a plumb line, God measures Israel against his righteousness, and the priest Amaziah tries to silence Amos.

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Amos 7 (WEB)

1 Thus the Lord Yahweh showed me: and behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s harvest.

2 When they made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, “Lord Yahweh, forgive, I beg you! How could Jacob stand? For he is small.”

3 Yahweh relented concerning this. “It shall not be,” says Yahweh.

4 Thus the Lord Yahweh showed me and behold, the Lord Yahweh called for judgment by fire; and it dried up the great deep, and would have devoured the land.

5 Then I said, “Lord Yahweh, stop, I beg you! How could Jacob stand? For he is small.”

6 Yahweh relented concerning this. “This also shall not be,” says the Lord Yahweh.

7 Thus he showed me and behold, the Lord stood beside a wall made by a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand.

8 Yahweh said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I will set a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel. I will not again pass by them any more.

9 The high places of Isaac will be desolate, the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”

10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words.

11 For Amos says, ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.’”

12 Amaziah also said to Amos, “You seer, go, flee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:

13 but don’t prophesy again any more at Bethel; for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a royal house!”

14 Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was a herdsman, and a farmer of sycamore figs;

15 and Yahweh took me from following the flock, and Yahweh said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’

16 Now therefore listen to Yahweh’s word: ‘You say, Don’t prophesy against Israel, and don’t preach against the house of Isaac.’

17 Therefore thus says Yahweh: ‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be divided by line; and you yourself shall die in a land that is unclean, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.’”

Summary

God shows Amos three visions, the first two answered by mercy. First, a swarm of locusts devours the land's late growth, and Amos pleads, “Lord Yahweh, forgive, I beg you! How could Jacob stand? For he is small.” God relents. Next comes a judgment by fire that dries up the great deep and threatens to consume the land, and again Amos intercedes, “Lord Yahweh, stop, I beg you!” God relents once more. But the third vision is different. The Lord stands beside a wall built true by a plumb line, holding a plumb line in his hand, and declares he will set a plumb line in the midst of Israel; he will spare them no longer, for measured against his righteousness they are crooked. Then the prophet's words collide with the establishment. Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, reports Amos to King Jeroboam, charging conspiracy, and orders the prophet to flee back to Judah and stop prophesying at the king's sanctuary. Amos answers that he was no professional prophet but a herdsman and grower of sycamore figs, taken by Yahweh from the flock and sent to prophesy to Israel. Because Amaziah told God's messenger to be silent, a word of personal judgment falls on the priest and his household.

Key Figures

  • Amos — The shepherd-prophet who intercedes for Israel in the first two visions and boldly defends his calling against Amaziah, declaring that Yahweh took him from the flock.
  • Yahweh (the LORD) — The God who relents at Amos's pleading, then sets a plumb line in the midst of Israel, measuring his people by his own righteousness.
  • Amaziah, priest of Bethel — The royal priest who accuses Amos of conspiracy, tries to expel him to Judah, and forbids him to prophesy at the king's sanctuary.
  • Jeroboam — The king of Israel against whose house the sword is promised, to whom Amaziah reports the prophet's words.

Key Verse

Amos 7:15 (WEB)

and Yahweh took me from following the flock, and Yahweh said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’

Lessons Learned

  • God invites and honors the intercession of his servants on behalf of others.
  • God measures his people by the plumb line of his own righteousness, not by their self-assessment.
  • A true calling from God gives courage to speak even before powerful opposition.
  • Trying to silence God's word does not stop it but brings judgment on the one who resists.
  • Intercession can move the heart of God. When Amos pleads, “Lord Yahweh, forgive, I beg you!” (Amos 7:2, WEB), God relents. The Lord welcomes the prayers of his servants for a sinful people.
  • God measures by his own standard. “Behold, I will set a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel” (Amos 7:8, WEB). His righteousness, not our excuses, is the measure of what is true and straight.
  • God's call is the source of true authority. “Yahweh took me from following the flock, and Yahweh said to me, ‘Go, prophesy’” (Amos 7:15, WEB). The messenger's confidence rests in the One who sent him.
  • Silencing God's word invites judgment. Because Amaziah said, “Don't prophesy against Israel” (Amos 7:16, WEB), a word of ruin falls on his own house. Resisting God's truth is perilous.
  1. Why does God relent in response to Amos's pleading in the first two visions (verses 1-6)?
  2. What does the image of the plumb line reveal about how God judges his people (verses 7-8)?
  3. How does Amaziah respond to Amos, and what does his reaction reveal about the religion at Bethel (verses 10-13)?
  4. How does Amos defend his ministry, and what is the source of his authority (verses 14-15)?
  5. When has speaking or living out God's truth required courage from you, and where do you find confidence to do so?
  1. When Amos intercedes, God relents from the locusts and the fire (7:1-6), showing that he is merciful and responsive to prayer. The visions reveal a God who would rather forgive than destroy, and they highlight the vital role of those who plead with God on behalf of others.
  2. A plumb line measures whether a wall is straight and true. By setting one “in the midst of my people” (7:8), God shows he judges Israel against the standard of his own righteousness. The point is that they are crooked by his measure, however straight they appear in their own eyes.
  3. Amaziah accuses Amos of conspiracy and tries to expel him, revealing that Bethel's worship served the king rather than God—he calls it “the king's sanctuary” (7:13). The religion there had become a tool of the state, unable to bear a word that challenged its comfort and power.
  4. Amos insists he was no career prophet but a herdsman and fig-grower whom “Yahweh took… from following the flock” and sent to prophesy (7:14-15). His authority comes not from any institution but from God's direct call. This frees him to speak boldly, fearing God more than the priest or king.
  5. This is a personal-application question. Invite members to recall moments when faithfulness cost them comfort or favor, and to consider where courage is needed now. Point them, as Amos was, to the security of being called and held by God, which steadies us against opposition.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.