Seeking to Save the Lost - Amos 7

“Thus the Lord God showed me: behold, He formed locust swarms at the beginning of the late crop; indeed it was the late crop after the king’s mowings. And so it was, when they had finished eating the grass of the land, that I said: ‘O Lord God, forgive, I pray! O, that Jacob may stand, for he is small!’ So the Lord relented concerning this. It shall not be,’ said the Lord.” Amos 7:1-3

Though Amos was called to speak against the sins of Israel, he did not want to see them suffer. When the Lord showed him a vision of locust consuming a crop that was about to be harvested, Amos asked God to forgive little Jacob and help him to stand. He used the name Jacob perhaps to remind the Lord of Jacob’s small beginnings. The Lord relented and did not send the locusts.

“Thus the Lord God showed me: behold, the Lord God called for conflict by fire, and it consumed the great deep and devoured the territory. Then I said: ‘O Lord God, cease, I pray! O, that Jacob may stand, for he is small!’ So the Lord relented concerning this. ‘This also shall not be,’ said the Lord God.” Amos 7:4-6

The Lord gave Amos a vision of a conflict by fire that would devour the territory. He asked the Lord not to bring the vision to pass but to help little Jacob to stand. The Lord called off the fiery conflict. Locusts eat the exposed vegetations while fire destroys the roots (the great deep).

“Thus He showed me: behold, the Lord stood on a wall made with a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand. And the Lord said to me, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘A plumb line.’ Then the Lord said: ‘Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of My people Israel. I will not pass by them anymore. The high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste. I will rise with the sword against the house of Jeroboam.’” Amos 7:7-9

Bricklayers use plumb lines to ensure a wall is straight and vertical (perpendicular) from the ground to the roofline. This is done by checking the vertical alignment of corner leads, poles, or the wall itself to ensure it is perfectly “plumb,” which is a fundamental principle of construction alongside being “level” (horizontal). The Lord gave Amos a vision of Himself (the Lord) holding a measuring line against Israel. The Lord decided that this was the last check. They have failed every test repeatedly. Now, He will tear the structure down.

Often, we people have the audacity to place our plumb line against God and tell Him that He does not meet our expectations, but that’s because we are crooked and He is straight.

There is only one way to be right with God. 1 Peter 3:18 says, “Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “He [God] made Him [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Though Jesus did not sin, He took the sins of the whole world upon Himself so that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. The only way to be right with God is to believe in Jesus Christ.

“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. For thus Amos has said: ‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive from their own land.’” Amos 7:10-11

The people of Israel (the northern tribes) worshipped golden calves in Bethel. Amaziah was a priest in the temple of these idols. The first king of the northern tribes, King Jeroboam, set up these golden calves as well as the priesthood that served them. Now, a 150 years later, a second king named Jeroboam is reigning over Israel. He protects the golden calf religion, so Amaziah accuses Amos of being conspirator against King Jeroboam. “For thus Amos has said: ‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive from their own land.’” The goal of Amaziah was to get King Jeroboam to either expel or execute Amos.

“Then Amaziah said to Amos: ‘Go, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. There eat bread, and there prophesy. But never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is the royal residence.’” Amos 7:12-13

In other words, your prophesying has crossed a tolerable line. You better flee for your life and not come back. You have spoken against our religion and our government.

In Luke 13:31-33, some Pharisees came to Jesus and urged Him, saying, “Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.” Jesus replied to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.’ Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following...” Jesus did not retreat in fear because His mission there was not yet finished. Jesus kept God’s mission first.

“Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah: ‘I was no prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet, but I was a sheep breeder and a tender of sycamore fruit. Then the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’ Now, therefore, hear the Word of the Lord: you say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not spout against the house of Isaac.’ Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Your wife shall be a harlot in the city. Your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword. Your land shall be divided by survey line. You shall die in a defiled land, and Israel shall surely be led away captive from his own land.’” Amos 7:14-17

In Acts 5:29, “Peter and the other apostles answered [those who threatened them] and said: ‘We ought to obey God rather than men.’” Likewise, the Spirit of God helped Amos to stand up to Amaziah and deliver unto him the Word of the Lord.

Acts 4:13 says that when the accusers of Peter and John saw their boldness, and “perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.” Amos, too, had been with the Lord. The Lord was his strength when he was weak.

Amos told Amaziah by the Word of the Lord that his wife would be a harlot in the city and his sons and daughters would be murdered. These words came to pass when Assyrians conquered his nation. They also divided up his land. Amaziah died in a defiled (pagan) land because he and the people of Israel had been unfaithful to God.

When I preached the Gospel and taught the Bible inside China, it became clear to me that I either stand for Christ or allow evil to rule. The government of China does not want people to be saved from hell. I met a soldier who told me that he had killed many Christians. I also met Christians who had been imprisoned for teaching the Bible to others. They were bold!

Once, while I was at gathering in China, a sudden panic came over me. We were gathered in a rented room inside a hotel run by the People’s Liberation Army. The American pastor leading the meeting was giving the people a few English words now and then to fulfill his said purpose of renting the room (to teach English). But he was also preaching the Gospel to the fifty or more attendees. The thought came to me, “We are all going to be arrested.” But then, the Lord said to me, “You may or may not have to stand before earthly authorities, but every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that I am Lord.” Everyone in the room including me will stand before God one day. At that point, I received faith to stay in China and stayed for 10 more years. I preached the Gospel and made disciples. Glory to God!

The Lord asks an important question in Isaiah 6:8, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Isaiah answered the Lord’s call, saying, “Here am I! Send me.” Many nations have an overabundance of preachers and teachers of the Bible, but some have very few to almost none.

Amos was a missionary to idolators. Are you aware that idolatry is still widely practiced in many countries? People still make statues and set offerings before them.

1 Corinthians 10:20 says that the people who offer food to idols worship demons. In Matthew 4:9, we learn that the devil even tempted Jesus to worship him. In Matthew 4:10, Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” But how can anyone know, worship and serve God unless someone who knows God introduces them to Him? Who will go?

The last words Jesus said to His disciples before He ascended to heaven were, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

The goal that the Lord has set before His people is to seek and save the lost. Save them from the greatest disaster of all disasters, that is, being in eternal hell! Save them so that they may experience the greatest blessing of all blessings, that is, to be with God in paradise forevermore.