Amos 7:1-3

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Amos 7:1-9

We here see that God bears long, but that he will not bear always, with a provoking people, both these God here showed the prophet: Thus hath the Lord God showed me, Amos 7:1, 4, 7. He showed him what was present, foreshowed him what was to come, gave him the knowledge both of what he did and of what he designed; for the Lord God reveals his secret unto his servants the prophets, Amos 3:7. I. We have here two instances of God's sparing mercy, remembered in the midst of judgment, the narratives... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Amos 7:1

Thus hath the Lord showed unto me ,.... What follows in this and the two chapters, before the prophet delivered what he heard from the Lord; now what he saw, the same thing, the ruin of the ten tribes, is here expressed as before, but in a different form; before in prophecy, here in vision, the more to affect and work upon the hearts of the people: and, behold, he formed grasshoppers ; or "locusts" F21 גבי "ecce fictor locustarum", Pagninus, Montanus; so Munster, Vatablus,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Amos 7:2

And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land ,.... That is, the grasshoppers or locusts; when in the vision it seemed to the prophet that almost all the grass of the land was eaten up, and they were going to seize upon the corn, and other fruits of the earth: this signifies not Sennacherib's invasion of the land of Judea, but Pul's invasion of the land of Israel, whose army seemed like these locusts; and spreading themselves over the land, threatened... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Amos 7:3

The Lord repented for this ,.... He heard the prayer of the prophet, and at his intercession averted, the threatened judgment; thus the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much, James 5:16 ; this is spoken after the manner of men; as men, when they repent of a thing, desist from it, so the Lord desisted from going on with this judgment; he did not change his mind, but changed the dispensations of his providence according to his mind and will: it shall not be, saith the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Amos 7:1

Behold, he formed grasshoppers - גבי gobai is generally understood here to signify locusts. See the notes on Joel 1 (note) and Joel 2 (note). The shooting up of the latter growth - The early crop of grass had been already mowed and housed. The second crop or rowing, as it is called in some places, was not yet begun. By the king's mowings we may understand the first crop, a portion of which the king probably claimed as being the better hay; but the words may signify simply the prime... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Amos 7:2

By whom shall Jacob arise? - The locusts, the symbols of the many enemies that had impoverished Jerusalem, having devoured much of the produce of the land, were proceeding, till, at the intercession of the prophet, they were removed. Then, seeing in the light of prophecy the nation in every sense brought low, he cries, "By whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small." Calmet justly remarks: "After the death of Jeroboam the second, the kingdom, so flourishing and powerful before, was reduced to... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Amos 7:3

The Lord repented - Changed his purpose of destroying them by the locusts. See Amos 7:6 . read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Amos 7:1

Verse 1 Amos shows in this chapter that God had already often deferred the punishments which he had yet determined to inflict on the people; and thus he reminds the Israelites of their perverseness, inasmuch as they had abused the forbearance of God, and repented not after a long lapse of time: for God had suspended his judgments for this end — that they might willingly return to the right way, as he commonly allures men by his kindness, provided they be teachable. Since then this forbearance... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Amos 7:2

Verse 2 But we must supply this prophecy or vision to its proper time. I doubt not, and I think that I can gather this from certain considerations, that the Prophet here compares the time which had preceded the reign of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, with the prosperous time which followed. For when Jeroboam the Second began to reign, the kingdom was laid waste, partly by hostile incursions, and partly by drought and heat, by inclement weather, or by pestilence. Since then the condition of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 7:1

Thus hath the Lord God showed unto me. By an inward illumination (comp. Amos 7:4 , Amos 7:7 ; and Amos 8:1 ; Jeremiah 24:1-3 ). He formed grasshoppers; rather, locusts ( Nahum 3:17 ). This points to the moral government of God, who uses nature to work his purposes, "wind and storm fulfilling his word." In the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; when the aftermath was beginning to grow under the influence of the latter rains. If the herbage was destroyed then,... read more

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