Bible Commentaries
Amos 7

Verses 1-17

Amos 7:1-3 Vision of the Locusts Amos 7:1-3 gives the first vision that the prophet received from the Lord called the Vision of the Locusts.

Amos 7:4-6 Vision of the Fire Amos 7:4-6 gives the second vision that the prophet received from the Lord called the Vision of the Fire.

Amos 7:7-9 Vision of the Plumbline Amos 7:1-3 gives the third vision that the prophet received from the Lord called the Vision of the Plumbline.

In Africa, when a building is constructed, people are often too poor to use measuring tools for the job. As I look at these buildings in Uganda, I see so many imperfections. These imperfections are not pleasant for me to look at as an American because I have see perfection in the buildings in the U.S., but local Africans do not mind these imperfections, because many of them have never known perfection in their buildings.

In this passage in Amos, God is using a plumbline in order to show the people their imperfections, imperfections that are not obvious to the people with their narrow sight. The house that God builds is perfect, without flaws. If a plumbline were laid to it, the building would show this perfection. But not so with the buildings that man builds.

Amos 7:10-17 The Confrontation of Amos with Amaziah the Priest Amos 7:10-17 gives the narrative of a confrontation that occurred between the prophet Amos and Amaziah the priest when he gave a defamatory report of the prophet’s message to King Jeroboam.

We read in 1 Kings 12:25-33 how Jeroboam I set up worship centers in Bethel and Dan, placing a golden calf in each city. The king’s motive was to keep his people from travelling to Jerusalem to worship the Lord there. He instituted his own priesthood, built an altar, ordained a feast day, and burned incense, all in order to imitate the Temple worship in Jerusalem as a way of deceiving his people. Amos the prophet went to this location deliberately so that those who made their journey to Bethel to worship could hear the word of the Lord and have an opportunity to repent of their backslidings.

Amaziah was not satisfied to rebuke Amos by himself. He made an effort to gather others with him that were strong enough to shut Amos’ mouth.

Amos 7:17 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.

Amos 7:17 “Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city” Comments - Stuart notes Amos’ prophecy against Amaziah that his wife would become a harlot fits well with the curse in Deuteronomy 28:30, “Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her.” [30]

[30] Douglas Stuart, Hosea-Jonah, in Word Biblical Commentary: 58 Volumes on CD-Rom, vol. 31, eds. Bruce M. Metzger, David A. Hubbard and Glenn W. Barker (Dallas: Word Inc., 2002), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 2.1c [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2000-2004), comments on Amos 7:17.

Amos 7:17 “and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword” - Comments - Stuart notes the death of his sons and daughters by the sword fits with Deuteronomy 32:25, “The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.” He also applies Deuteronomy 28:41 to this curse of Amaziah’s children. [31]

[31] Douglas Stuart, Hosea-Jonah, in Word Biblical Commentary: 58 Volumes on CD-Rom, vol. 31, eds. Bruce M. Metzger, David A. Hubbard and Glenn W. Barker (Dallas: Word Inc., 2002), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 2.1c [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2000-2004), comments on Amos 7:17.

Deuteronomy 28:30, “Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.”

Deuteronomy 32:25, “The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.”

Deuteronomy 28:41, “Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.”

Amos 7:17 “and thy land shall be divided by line” Comments - Stuart notes that the land Amos was referring to was the land of Israel, rather than Amaziah’s personal property. He notes that the curse described in Leviticus 26:32 fits well with this part of Amos’ prophecy. [32]

[32] Douglas Stuart, Hosea-Jonah, in Word Biblical Commentary: 58 Volumes on CD-Rom, vol. 31, eds. Bruce M. Metzger, David A. Hubbard and Glenn W. Barker (Dallas: Word Inc., 2002), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 2.1c [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2000-2004), comments on Amos 7:17.

Leviticus 26:32, “And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.”

Amos 7:17 “and thou shalt die in a polluted land” Comments - Amaziah would be carried off into exile into “a polluted land,” meaning a pagan land ruled by idols and ungodliness. Stuart notes that Israel’s exile into a foreign land reflects the curse mentioned in Leviticus 26:38-39. [33]

[33] Douglas Stuart, Hosea-Jonah, in Word Biblical Commentary: 58 Volumes on CD-Rom, vol. 31, eds. Bruce M. Metzger, David A. Hubbard and Glenn W. Barker (Dallas: Word Inc., 2002), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 2.1c [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2000-2004), comments on Amos 7:17.

Leviticus 26:38-39, “And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.”