AMOS’ VISIONS

VISIONS OF JUDGMENT

VISION OF THE LOCUSTS

1 This is what the Sovereign LORDshowed me: He was preparing swarmsof locusts after the king's share hadbeen harvested and just as the secondcrop was coming up. 2 When they hadstripped the land clean, I cried out,"Sovereign LORD, forgive! How canJacob survive? He is so small!"

3 So the LORD relented. "This will nothappen," the LORD said.

LOCUSTS

• It can be a sign of blessing andit can also be a sign of curse.

• It can also symbolize how sininvites others sins until theperson is completely eaten.

Sin starts when we allow seemingly small, negligible and

unimportant wrongdoings to prevail, as if they will not hurt

us in the end.

God’s “repentance” is the struggle between His love and

His righteousness.

God’s suspension of judgment is not meant to allow us to

lapse into a false security, but to stimulate us to utilize to the

most the few days that are given to us. Pardon and

suspension of execution are meant to bring about renewal.

VISION OF THE FIRE

4 This is what the Sovereign LORDshowed me: The Sovereign LORD wascalling for judgment by fire; it dried upthe great deep and devoured the land. 5

Then I cried out, "Sovereign LORD, I begyou, stop! How can Jacob survive? He isso small!" 6 So the LORD relented. "Thiswill not happen either," the SovereignLORD said.

FIRE

• It can symbolize the purificationand being made holy.

• It can also mean as passion forsomething or someone.

• It can also illustrate how sin canspread out easily.

Sin is communicable. Sin affects you and the people around you.

It spreads like a wild fire and before you know it, the whole

field has been burn.

Fire had already been created and it was called upon to

perform its service. It seems that the restrictions God had

put on the fire were lifted and that it was given unlimited

freedom to do its destructive work.

VISION OF THE PLUMBLINE

7 This is what he showed me: The Lordwas standing by a wall that had beenbuilt true to plumb, with a plumb line inhis hand. 8 And the LORD asked me,"What do you see, Amos?" "A plumbline," I replied.

Then the Lord said, "Look, I am setting aplumb line among my people Israel; Iwill spare them no longer. 9 "The highplaces of Isaac will be destroyed and thesanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; withmy sword I will rise against the house ofJeroboam."

10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethelsent a message to Jeroboam king ofIsrael: "Amos is raising a conspiracyagainst you in the very heart of Israel.The land cannot bear all his words. 11

For this is what Amos is saying:"`Jeroboam will die by the sword, andIsrael will surely go into exile, awayfrom their native land.'"

12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, "Get out,you seer! Go back to the land of Judah.Earn your bread there and do yourprophesying there. 13 Don't prophesyanymore at Bethel, because this is theking's sanctuary and the temple of thekingdom."

16 Now then, hear the word of the LORD.You say, "`Do not prophesy againstIsrael, and stop preaching against thehouse of Isaac.‘ 17 "Therefore this is whatthe LORD says: "`Your wife will becomea prostitute in the city, and your sonsand daughters will fall by the sword.

14 Amos answered Amaziah, "I wasneither a prophet nor a prophet's son,but I was a shepherd, and I also tookcare of sycamore-fig trees. 15 But theLORD took me from tending the flockand said to me, `Go, prophesy to mypeople Israel.'

Your land will be measured and dividedup, and you yourself will die in a pagancountry. And Israel will certainly go intoexile, away from their native land.'"

The essence of judgment is expressed nowhere better than in this vision. Judgment means a comparison between God’s

character and ours.

God’s measure is God Himself. God is like a straight wall and

His plumb line is His righteousness and His glory.

When God applies His heavenly plumb line to our

constructions, it will be evident what is crooked. We are all lost because we do not measure up

to God’s glory.

What we build will crumble because we do not keep the

straight wall of God’s character in view while we build.

God calls him to be involved in His judgment. He becomes a

witness of the fact that the wall is not straight and that the plumb line is correct. Man becomes a witness to the

righteousness of God’s dealings.

The sanctuaries were not places God had chosen to reveal

Himself, they were chosen by man. Judgment here is against

religion that retains the outward for of service to God

but that has broken with God’s revelation of Himself.

OPPOSITION OF AMAZIAH

OPPOSITION OF AMAZIAH

• The priest of Bethel felt threatened byAmos’ prophecy and he reacts to it in twoways. First he sends a message to KingJeroboam (verses 10 and11), secondly, heconfronts Amos personally (verses 12 and13). Amos answers him in verses 14-17.

OPPOSITION OF AMAZIAH

• We can hardly assume that Amaziah wouldhave taken Amos’ words seriously. He was,after all, priest of Bethel; this meant that hedid not take God’s revelation of Himselfseriously.

OPPOSITION OF AMAZIAH

• He cannot have feared that Amos’prediction would be fulfilled, but he wasrather afraid that the people would react tothe message with a sense of defeat andrenege on their allegiance to Jeroboam,their king.

OPPOSITION OF AMAZIAH

• Amaziah wanted to be, above all, politicallycorrect, to use a modern term. His reactionwas completely horizontal. Amaziah’sattitude is proof of the fact that “the sinfulmind is hostile to God.” He who reacts “inthe flesh” stands in God’s way.

As long as God speaks, there is hope. When God is silent, it is

too late.

VISION OF THE SUMMERFRUIT

1 This is what the Sovereign LORDshowed me: a basket of ripe fruit. 2

"What do you see, Amos?" he asked. "Abasket of ripe fruit," I answered. Thenthe LORD said to me, "The time is ripefor my people Israel; I will spare themno longer.

3 "In that day," declares the SovereignLORD, "the songs in the temple will turnto wailing. Many, many bodies-flungeverywhere! Silence!“ 4 Hear this, youwho trample the needy and do awaywith the poor of the land, 5 saying,"When will the New Moon be over thatwe may sell grain, and the Sabbath be

ended that we may market wheat?"-skimping the measure, boosting theprice and cheating with dishonestscales, 6 buying the poor with silver andthe needy for a pair of sandals, sellingeven the sweepings with the wheat. 7

The LORD has sworn by the Pride ofJacob: "I will never forget anything theyhave done.

8 "Will not the land tremble for this, andall who live in it mourn? The whole landwill rise like the Nile; it will be stirredup and then sink like the river of Egypt. 9

"In that day," declares the SovereignLORD, "I will make the sun go down atnoon and darken the earth in broaddaylight.

10 I will turn your religious feasts intomourning and all your singing intoweeping. I will make all of you wearsackcloth and shave your heads. I willmake that time like mourning for anonly son and the end of it like a bitterday.

11 "The days are coming," declares theSovereign LORD, "when I will send afamine through the land- not a famine offood or a thirst for water, but a famine ofhearing the words of the LORD. 12 Menwill stagger from sea to sea and wanderfrom north to east, searching for theword of the LORD, but they will not findit.

13 "In that day "the lovely young womenand strong young men will faint becauseof thirst. 14 They who swear by theshame of Samaria, or say, `As surely asyour god lives, O Dan,' or, `As surely asthe god of Beersheba lives'- they willfall, never to rise again."

SUMMERFRUIT

• It can be a sign that God’sjudgment is ripe for execution.

• It can also mean as a sign forharvest.

This explains the double meaning of the harvest. Amos’

vision clearly refers to judgment over that which is

evil. Evil, like good is a fruit that grows from a seed.

Harvest, in this context, is an indication of God’s patience. God waits with His judgment

till the harvest is ripe.

No one can reproach God for punishing men suddenly for

some little misstep. God always waits till the measure is full.

Now it has come to the point where this full basket can no

longer be undone. If God would wait any longer, He would compromise His holiness.

When people swear by something or someone, they

appeal to that which they consider of the highest value.

The character of God was no longer considered as supreme and Most High. This made the

people’s search for truth meaningless.

Seeking the Word of the Lord always involves the sacrifice of

everything else.

VISION OF THE DOORPOSTS

1 I saw the Lord standing by the altar,and he said: "Strike the tops of thepillars so that the thresholds shake.Bring them down on the heads of all thepeople; those who are left I will kill withthe sword. Not one will get away, nonewill escape. 2 Though they dig down tothe depths of the grave, from there myhand will take them.

Though they climb up to the heavens,from there I will bring them down. 3

Though they hide themselves on the topof Carmel, there I will hunt them downand seize them. Though they hide fromme at the bottom of the sea, there I willcommand the serpent to bite them.

4 Though they are driven into exile bytheir enemies, there I will command thesword to slay them. I will fix my eyesupon them for evil and not for good.“ 5

The Lord, the LORD Almighty, he whotouches the earth and it melts, and allwho live in it mourn-the whole landrises like the Nile, then sinks like theriver of Egypt-

6 he who builds his lofty palace in theheavens and sets its foundation on theearth, who calls for the waters of the seaand pours them out over the face of theland- the LORD is his name. 7 "Are notyou Israelites the same to me as theCushites?" declares the LORD. "Did I notbring Israel up from Egypt,

the Philistines from Caphtor and theArameans from Kir? 8 "Surely the eyes ofthe Sovereign LORD are on the sinfulkingdom. I will destroy it from the faceof the earth- yet I will not totally destroythe house of Jacob," declares the LORD. 9

"For I will give the command, and I willshake the house of Israel among all the

nations as grain is shaken in a sieve, andnot a pebble will reach the ground. 10 Allthe sinners among my people will die bythe sword, all those who say, `Disasterwill not overtake or meet us.'

DOORPOSTS

• It symbolizes God’spromulgation of verdict.

• It can also mean as a sign torespond to God’s decision.

The Lord stands by the altar, obviously the altar of Bethel, not the one in the temple of Jerusalem. It is the altar that

caused Israel’s distancing themselves from God. It

symbolized the break with God’s revelation of Himself.

Israel, like every human being, is born under God’s judgment.

Unless there is a radical change of position, one remains where one is: judged and condemned.

God is against them, because He sees them as they really are. God’s eyes are only for us if we

are covered by Jesus Christ.

Israel is thrown in a sieve. This means that all the dust and grit

is separated. But with the greatest care God concerns

Himself about a few pebbles, which form the rest of Jacob

and the basis of the new kingdom.

FIVE PROMISES OF RESTORATION

11 "In that day I will restore David'sfallen tent. I will repair its brokenplaces, restore its ruins, and build it as itused to be, 12 so that they may possessthe remnant of Edom and all the nationsthat bear my name,” declares the LORD,who will do these things.

13 "The days are coming," declares theLORD, "when the reaper will beovertaken by the plowman and theplanter by the one treading grapes. Newwine will drip from the mountains andflow from all the hills. 14 I will bringback my exiled people Israel; they willrebuild the ruined cities and live in

them. They will plant vineyards anddrink their wine; they will make gardensand eat their fruit. 15 I will plant Israel intheir own land, never again to beuprooted from the land I have giventhem,” says the LORD your God.

“I WILL RESTORE DAVID'S FALLEN TENT. “

“I will repair its broken places, restore

its ruins, and build it as it used to be…”

“New wine will drip from the mountains

and flow from all the hills.”

“I WILL BRING BACK MY EXILED PEOPLE ISRAEL; THEY WILL REBUILD

THE RUINED CITIES AND LIVE IN THEM. THEY WILL PLANT

VINEYARDS AND DRINK THEIR WINE; THEY WILL MAKE GARDENS AND EAT

THEIR FRUIT.”

“I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have

given them,”

Turn away from SIN and run to JESUS.