Amos' Visions

INTRO

Today we wrap up our study of Amos, one of the minor prophets. The minor prophets were not designated “minor” because of a lack of importance but rather for their shorter length. Amos’ message was for the ten tribes in the northern kingdom. In the southern kingdom were Judah, Benjamin and their capital, Jerusalem. Historically, both David and his son Solomon ruled over the united kingdoms, but after Solomon’s forty-year reign, the united kingdoms were split into two.

The minor prophets spoke into these kingdoms as they moved further and further away from the Lord. The reality was that none of the people of either kingdom embraced the words of the minor and major prophets, which called them to return to God.

Amos 7—8 is a message of judgment. The word for the entire book of Amos that reflects Jesus is Restorer, and it is found at the very end of Amos.

TEACHING

Amos 7-8: In chapter 7 God gave Amos a vision in which he watched something happen before him. The vision was a swarm of locusts from God, coming during the spring crop, that ate all the vegetation in the land. Amos understood that the locusts represented God’s judgment and questioned how Jacob (meaning the northern kingdom) would survive. So, God agreed not to make the judgment happen (vv. 1-3).

God then gave Amos a second vision of fire that devoured the land. Again, Amos pleaded for the nation, and God relented of His coming judgment (vv. 4-6).

The third vision was then shown. God was holding a plumb line in his hand next to a vertical wall. God told Amos He would use the plumb line to judge His disobedient people (vv. 7-9). His judgment would come against the house of King Jeroboam.

When the priest Amaziah heard about Amos, he sent word of Amos’ conspiracy against the king and the kingdom to Jeroboam. Amaziah also told Amos to go away to Judah and give his messages there. Amos replied that he spoke God’s message to Israel as he had been called to do (vv. 10-16). Amos then prophesied that Amaziah’s wife would become a prostitute, his sons and daughter would die, the land would be divided up, and Amaziah and others would be taken into exile (v. 17).

Amos 8:1-14: The fourth vision is in chapter 8. Amos saw a basket of summer fruit. Wiersbe explains, “Just as this fruit was ripe for eating, the nation of Israel was ripe for judgment.”¹ God said the end had come for His people Israel (vv. 1-2). Verses 3-8 tell of the evils that Israel had committed. Therefore, God would turn their feasts into mourning, and they would all be in sackcloth in grief (v. 10). J. Vernon McGee summarizes verses 11-14 as “dark days would come.”²

Amos 9:1–10: In his fifth vision, Amos saw the Lord standing beside the altar (v. 1a). This sounds like a hopeful statement, but the fifth vision was worse than the others. Verses 1-10 are about judgment and destruction. The temple would be destroyed, and the people would try unsuccessfully to escape. It didn’t matter where they tried to hide. It didn’t matter if they went to the depths of Sheol or the highest place in the universe, heaven. It didn’t matter if they could go to Mount Carmel, the highest place in their area or to the sea floor, the lowest. God said He would command the sea serpent to bite them if they tried to hide on the sea floor. Even if they were taken into captivity, God would find them and pass judgment on them (vv. 1b-4). In Romans 8:38-39, Paul wrote that nothing could separate us from the love of God through Christ our Lord.

Amos described God’s power—as creator, He can touch the earth and it will melt. MacArthur explains, “Like the Nile River, which annually provided water and rich soil deposits for farmers by greatly overflowing its banks, so judgment would overflow the land of Israel for the unrighteous arrogance of the nation.”³

In verse 7 God told the Israelites they were the same as the Cushites, the Philistines, and the Arameans—other sinful nations. However, the judgment of the Israelites would not be as bad as it would be for those nations, because God would not totally destroy Israel. The eyes of the Lord were on the nation of Israel (v. 8). He was going to shake the house of Israel through other nations, but He would preserve a remnant of Israel (v. 9). Sadly, those who, in their ignorance and sin, thought they could never face disaster would die by the sword (v. 10).

Amos 9:11–15: However, despite the dire warnings, there was hope in Amos’ message. There will be a remnant from David that will be restored (v. 11). The land would be rebuilt, and the remnant would be given power over the nations that defeated Israel. The Lord would make all this happen (v. 12).

Verse 13 begins a picture of prosperity. The plowmen, those who tread grapes, and those who sowed seeds will be back at work. The mountains and hills will flow with produced wine. The fortunes of the people will be restored, and they will rebuild their cities, vineyards, and gardens (v. 14). God promised He would plant the remnant on their land, and they would never be uprooted again (v. 15).

Verses 11-15 are a picture of the millennial kingdom to come. When Jesus comes back the second time, after the seven years of tribulation, He will usher in a thousand-year reign. That reign is what is described in these verses.

CLOSING

Amos goes from judgment to restoration. When Christ returns, He will plant the Jews back in their land. They will never again be uprooted because Jesus is the ultimate Restorer.