John Calvin Commentary Amos 7:1-3

"Thus the Lord Jehovah showed me: and, behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king`s mowings. And it came to pass that, when they made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord Jehovah, forgive, I beseech thee: how shall Jacob stand? for he is small. Jehovah repented concerning this: It shall not be, saith Jehovah." — Amos 7:1-3 (ASV)

Amos shows in this chapter that God had often deferred the punishments He had determined to inflict on the people. Thus, he reminds the Israelites of their perverseness, since they had abused God's forbearance and had not repented even after a long time. God had suspended His judgments for this purpose: that they might willingly return to the right way, as He commonly draws people by His kindness, provided they are teachable.

Since this forbearance of God had been fruitless, Amos reproves the Israelites, though he also had another object in view. For we know that when God spares ungodly people and does not immediately inflict the punishments they deserve, they scoff and harden themselves for the future, so that they fear nothing. When the Lord threatens and does not instantly execute His vengeance, they then especially think that all warnings are mere empty threats. Therefore, they harden their minds in complacency and believe they can trifle with God with impunity.

Since this stubbornness prevailed among the Israelites, the Prophet here shows in various ways that they gloried in vain and thus complacently despised God's judgment. For though the Lord had spared them for a time, the final vengeance was not far off. This is the essence of the matter, but each expression must be considered in its turn.

A vision, he says, had been shown to him by the Lord; and the vision was that God Himself had formed locusts. Yet some think יוצר, iutsar, is a noun and translate it as 'creation'; others, as 'a swarm' or 'a troop.' But these are strained interpretations. The Lord then, I have no doubt, formed locusts in the Prophet’s presence, which devoured all the grass.

He therefore says, when the grass began to grow, that is, after the cuttings of the king. Here also commentators vary: some think this refers to the king's sheep shearings. Others regard it as the mowing of hay, saying that the best grass was then cut for the king's use, to feed his horses and cattle. But these conjectures have no solid basis.

Therefore, I do not doubt that the Prophet here calls it a 'royal cutting' when, by public order, they began to cut their meadows. It is indeed credible that there was some regulation at that time; just as with us, no one begins the vintage at his own will, but a specific, regular time is observed. So those cuttings, which were done publicly, were called 'royal,' just as a public road is called the 'king's highway.' Yet, I believe the Prophet, under this figurative expression, refers to the previous calamities by which the people had already been reduced in number.

But we must place this prophecy or vision in its proper historical context. I do not doubt, and I believe I can gather this from certain considerations, that the Prophet here compares the time that preceded the reign of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, with the prosperous time that followed.

For when Jeroboam the Second began to reign, the kingdom was laid waste, partly by enemy invasions and partly by drought, heat, harsh weather, or pestilence. Since the condition of the people, as sacred history records, was extremely miserable, the Prophet therefore says that locusts had been shown to him, which devoured all the grass and standing grain. For he not only says that locusts were formed, but also that they devoured the grass, so that nothing remained. When they had finished, he says, to eat the grass of the earth, then I said, Lord Jehovah, etc. Thus, the Prophet shows that clear signs of God’s wrath had already appeared then, and that the people had already been partly afflicted, but yet God had afterward given them time for repentance.

Now, by locusts, I understand a moderate kind of punishment. We have seen elsewhere (Joel 1:4) that the country had then been nearly consumed by locusts, cankerworms, and similar pests. But in this place, the Prophet metaphorically designates enemy invasions, which had not immediately laid waste the whole country but had desolated it to some extent.

This was indeed obvious to all, but few viewed it as God's judgment, just as the Lord also complains that the rebellious do not regard the hand of the one who strikes them (Isaiah 10:3–4). Though the Israelites saw their land consumed, they did not think that God was displeased with them. For ungodly people do not willingly examine themselves nor raise their eyes to heaven when the Lord disciplines them. They would become, as it were, stupefied in their calamities rather than consider God's judgment, so that they might be seriously led to repentance; this, almost all of them naturally shun.

Therefore, the Prophet says that this was especially shown to him. The calamity then was known to all and plain for the people to see; but the Prophet alone, by a vision, understood that God was punishing the people's sins in this manner. At the same time, the special purpose of the vision was to make the Israelites know that God's hand was withheld, as it were, in the middle of its work.

They had seen the enemies coming; they had experienced many hardships. But they thought that the enemies retreated either through good fortune or some other means. They did not consider that God had spared them, which was the most important point. It was therefore shown to the Prophet in a vision that God spared His people, though He had resolved to destroy the whole land.

And the Prophet expressly declares that God had been appeased through his intercession and prayer. From this, what I have already referred to appears very clearly: that is, the Prophet condemns the unbelieving for having perversely trifled with God, for they regarded the threats they had heard from the mouth of Amos and others as jests.

Why was this? Because God had spared them. The Prophet shows how this took place: “The Lord,” he says, “had at first resolved to destroy you, but He still waits for you and therefore suspends His extreme vengeance, so that by His kindness He may draw you to Himself. And this has been done through my prayers.

“Therefore, there is no reason for you to think that I am influenced by hatred or cruelty when I address you with such severity. This I do necessarily on account of my office; but I am still concerned and anxious for your safety, and of this the Lord is a witness, and so is the vision I now declare to you.”

We now see that God’s servants had so controlled and moderated their emotions that pity did not prevent them from being severe whenever their calling so required. Also, this severity did not obliterate feelings of compassion from their minds. Amos, as we have already seen, severely denounced the people, sharply reproved their vices, and daily summoned incorrigible people to the tribunal of God.

Since he was so vehemently indignant about their vices and so sharply threatened them, he might have appeared to have forgotten all compassion. But this passage shows that he had not stripped himself of pity, even though he faithfully discharged his office and was not diverted from his purpose when he saw that he was dealing with wicked and obstinate people. He was therefore severe because God commanded him to be; it was what his calling required. But at the same time, he pitied the people.

Let all teachers in the Church, then, learn to cultivate these two attitudes: to be vehemently indignant whenever they see the worship of God profaned, to burn with zeal for God, and to show the severity that appeared in all the Prophets whenever proper order decays. At the same time, they should sympathize with miserable people whom they see rushing headlong into destruction, bewail their madness, and intercede with God as much as they can—in such a way, however, that their compassion does not make them lazy or indifferent, so as to be indulgent towards people's sins.

Indeed, they ought to possess the frame of mind I have mentioned, so that they may go forth as humble petitioners before God and implore pardon for miserable and wretched people. But when they come to the people, acting in another capacity, so that they may be severe and rigid, let them remember by whom they are sent and with what commands. Let them know that they are the ministers of God, who is the judge of the world, and therefore ought not to spare the people. This, then, is what we must heed.

Now, as to the word repent, as applied to God, let us understand, as has been stated elsewhere, that God does not change His purpose so as to retract what He has once determined. He indeed knew what He would do before He showed the vision to His prophet Amos. But He accommodates Himself to the limits of human understanding when He mentions such changes.

It was, then, God's eternal purpose to threaten the people, to show signs of His displeasure, and yet to suspend His vengeance for a time, so that their stubbornness might be all the more inexcusable. But in the meantime, as this was ineffective, He reveals something else: that He was already armed to execute His vengeance.

God, then, does not state what He had decreed, but what the Israelites deserved and what punishment or reward was due to them. When, therefore, God begins to inflict punishment on sinners, it is as if He intended to execute His vengeance fully. He, however, forms a purpose within Himself, but that is hidden from us. As soon, then, as He lifts up His finger, we ought to regard it as owing to His mercy that we are not instantly reduced to nothing. When this happens, it is as if He changed His purpose or as if He withheld His hand.

This, then, ought to be borne in mind when the prophet says that God created locusts to devour all the grass, but that he humbly pleaded with God to put an end to this calamity. He then adds that God repented—not that there was any change of mind in God, but because God suddenly and beyond hope suspended the vengeance that was close at hand. It shall not then be.

With regard to the clause, Be propitious, I pray; how will Jacob rise up, or who will raise up Jacob? it appears that the Prophet saw no other remedy unless the Lord, according to His infinite goodness, forgave the people; therefore, he prays for pardon. In the meantime, he shows that he prayed for the Church. “Lord,” he says, “Your hand does not now pursue strangers, but an elect people, Your special possession.”

For by the name Jacob, the Prophet highlights the covenant that God made with Abraham and the Patriarchs, as if he said, “O God, will You be unrelenting towards the people whom You have chosen and adopted, of whom You are the Father? Remember that they are neither Babylonians, nor Egyptians, nor Assyrians, but a royal priesthood, and Your holy and special people.”

And there is nothing that inclines God more to mercy than the recollection of His freely given covenant, as we have seen elsewhere.

He then says that Jacob was small. He does not claim Jacob's worthiness or offer any proof of excellence, but says that he was small, as if he said, “O Lord, You now draw forth Your power against miserable creatures who are already weakened enough.” For he calls him small because he had been worn out by many calamities.

Therefore I said that reference is made here to that miserable time, of which Scripture records when it states that the free as well as the captive were reduced to extreme distress before Jeroboam the second began to reign. Then indeed God restored His people, but that favor was short-lived, for immediately after the death of King Jeroboam, a rebellion arose which proved ruinous to the whole kingdom: his son Zechariah, as is well known, was slain by Shallum (2 Kings 15:8–10).

How then will Jacob rise up? Some take the verb יקום, ikum, in a transitive sense: “Who will raise him up?” But others think it is an intransitive verb: “How will Jacob rise up?” that is, by what means will Jacob rise up, as מי, mi, may be taken to mean 'how' or 'by what means.' How then will Jacob rise up? But this difference is not very significant to the main point. It is enough, then, to say that the Prophet here speaks of the people's weakness, so that on this account God might be more inclined to forgive them.