Amos 7:1
This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The phrase "king's mowings" might refer to a literal tax, where the king claimed the first, best harvest of grass for his own use. This highlights that the coming judgment isn't just a natural disaster, but also tied to the oppressive systems of the nation itself. It emphasizes that God sees not only the destruction of crops but also the injustice that precedes it.
Amos receives a vision from God, showing destructive locusts appearing at a critical moment when the second growth of grass, meant for the people's sustenance after a royal harvest, begins to sprout. This vision foreshadows a severe judgment upon Israel, which God had previously withheld or moderated, underscoring the nation's persistent sin despite divine patience. The prophet's immediate prayer for mercy, detailed in the following verses, sets the stage for God's response and the subsequent visions of judgment.
When disaster strikes, is it just bad luck, or is there a divine hand at work? Amos' vision reveals a God who actively forms the agents of destruction.
Amos sees God not as a distant creator who set natural laws in motion and then stepped away. Instead, God is actively forming the locusts. This word, often translated as 'formed,' carries a sense of deliberate shaping, like a potter at the wheel.
God's Active Will
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Why would God send a plague of locusts at this specific time? The timing reveals everything about Israel's precarious situation and God's deep concern.
The vision pinpoints a critical moment for Israel: the 'latter growth' after the 'king's mowings.' This wasn't just any time; it was a time of fragile new beginnings.
A Harvest on the Horizon
Understand the original words
Adonay YHWH · Hebrew Noun phrase
The name for God emphasizing His absolute sovereignty and authority as the covenant-keeping Ruler of all creation. It often appears in contexts of divine revelation or profound petition.
arbeh · Hebrew Noun
Insects that consume vegetation, frequently used in the Bible as a symbol of divine judgment, destruction of crops, and total desolation brought upon a nation due to sin.
leqesh · Hebrew Noun
The second harvest or the grass that regrows after the initial main harvest; its destruction symbolizes total deprivation and the removal of the land's sustenance.
The vision of locusts occurs during a time of deceptive prosperity under Jeroboam II. The 'king's mowings' likely refer to a tax or a royal claim on the early harvest, highlighting the oppressive social and economic disparities that Amos was commissioned to condemn.
c. 786-746 BC
Reign of Jeroboam II
Amos prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam II, a period of significant territorial expansion and apparent prosperity for the Northern Kingdom of Israel. However, this prosperity masked deep social injustice and religious corruption.
c. 760 BC— this verse
Amos's Vision of Locusts
The prophet Amos receives a vision from God where locusts are formed to devour the land's vegetation just as the new growth appears after the king's harvest. This vision symbolizes a potential, devastating judgment upon Israel.
c. 760 BC
Amos Intercedes for Israel
Following the vision, Amos pleads with God to spare Israel, highlighting their weakness and vulnerability. God relents, demonstrating His mercy and willingness to hear the intercession of His prophet.
c. 760 BC
Amos's Vision of Fire
In a second vision, God forms fire to consume the land. Again, Amos intercedes, and God relents, showing His patience and the severity of the impending judgment that was being averted.
c. 759 BC
Amos's Vision of the Plumb Line
The third vision, of a plumb line, signifies God's precise measurement of Israel's unfaithfulness and impending destruction, which cannot be averted by intercession.
c. 753 BC
Death of Jeroboam II
The death of Jeroboam II marked the beginning of a period of political instability and internal strife in the Northern Kingdom, further fulfilling the warnings of impending judgment.
This passage describes locusts devouring crops, similar to Amos' vision, highlighting the destructive power of these insects as a divine instrument.
Exodus 10:12-15This account of the plague of locusts in Egypt shows God using locusts as a devastating judgment against a rebellious nation, paralleling the severity of Amos' vision.
Jeremiah 24:1-3Jeremiah receives a vision of good and bad figs, representing the fate of Judah and Jerusalem, showcasing how God uses symbolic visions to reveal future judgment and restoration.
Numbers 14:19Amos' plea, 'forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise?', echoes Moses' intercession for Israel after their rebellion, illustrating the theme of prophetic pleading for God's people.
Isaiah 10:3-4This passage critiques those who do not 'regard the work of the Lord' when struck by judgment, similar to how Amos aims to make the Israelites recognize God's hand in the locust plague, rather than just natural causes.
barnesAmos 7:1: "Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings."
And behold He formed - (that is, He was forming.) The very least things then are as much in His infinite Mind, as what we count the greatest. He has not simply made "laws of nature," as people speak, to do His work, and continue the generations of the world. He Himself was still framing them,…
calvinAmos 7:1-3: "Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings."
Sic ostendit mihi Dominus, et ecce formans locustas principio ascensionis herbae (hoc est, quum incipit herba ascendere: lqs, proprie significat secundam herbam, quam vocamus, Regian) et ecce herba post sectiones (vel, tonsuras, ut alii vertunt) Regis.
And it came to pass, that when t…
The phrase "king's mowings" might refer to a literal tax, where the king claimed the first, best harvest of grass for his own use. This highlights that the coming judgment isn't just a natural disaster, but also tied to the oppressive systems of the nation itself. It emphasizes that God sees not only the destruction of crops but also the injustice that precedes it.
Amos receives a vision from God, showing destructive locusts appearing at a critical moment when the second growth of grass, meant for the people's sustenance after a royal harvest, begins to sprout. This vision foreshadows a severe judgment upon Israel, which God had previously withheld or moderated, underscoring the nation's persistent sin despite divine patience. The prophet's immediate prayer for mercy, detailed in the following verses, sets the stage for God's response and the subsequent visions of judgment.
Amos receives a vision from God, showing destructive locusts appearing at a critical moment when the second growth of grass, meant for the people's sustenance after a royal harvest, begins to sprout. This vision foreshadows a severe judgment upon Israel, which God had previously withheld or moderated, underscoring the nation's persistent sin despite divine patience. The prophet's immediate prayer for mercy, detailed in the following verses, sets the stage for God's response and the subsequent visions of judgment.
"This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings." — The phrase "king's mowings" might refer to a literal tax, where the king claimed the first, best harvest of grass for his own use. This highlights that the coming judgment isn't just a natural disast…
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