John Gill Commentary Amos 7

Thus has the Lord shown to 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 , as the word is rendered, (Isaiah 33:4) ; and so the Septuagint here, and other versions. Kimchi interprets it, and, behold, a collection or swarm of locusts; and the Targum, a creation of them. Though Aben Ezra takes the word to be a verb, and not a noun, and the sense to be, agreeably to our version, he showed me the blessed God, who was forming locusts; it appeared to Amos, in the vision of prophecy, as if the Lord was making locusts, large and great ones, and many of them; not that this was really done, only visionally, and was an emblem of the Assyrian army, prepared and ready to devour the land of Israel; see (Joel 1:4) (Nahum 3:17) .

And this was in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, [it
was] the latter growth after the king's mowings ;
when the first grass was mowed down, and the first crop gathered in, for the use of the king's cattle; as the later grass was just springing up, and promised a second crop, these grasshoppers or locusts were forming, which threatened the destruction of it.

This must be towards the close of the summer, and when autumn was coming on, at which time naturalists tell us that locusts breed. So Aristotle ^F23 says, they bring forth at the going out of the summer; and of one sort of them he says, their eggs perish in the waters of autumn, or when it is a wet autumn; but in a dry autumn there is a large increase of them: and so Pliny says ^F24 , they breed in the autumn season and lie under the earth all the winter, and appear in the spring: and Columella observes ^F25 , that locusts are most suitably and commodiously fed with grass in autumn; which is called "cordum", or the latter grass, that comes or springs late in the year; such as this now was.

The Mahometans speak ^F26 much of God being the Maker of locusts; they say he made them of the clay which was left at the formation of Adam; and represent him saying, I am God, nor is there any Lord of locusts besides me, who feed them, and send them for food to the people, or as a punishment to them, as I please: they call them the army of the most high God, and will not suffer any to kill them; (See Gill on Revelation 9:3); whether all this is founded on this passage of Scripture, I cannot say; however, there is no reason from thence to make the locusts so peculiarly the workmanship of God as they do, since this was only in a visionary way; though it may be observed, that it is with great propriety, agreeable to the nature of these creatures, that God is represented as forming them at such a season of the year.

Some, by "the king's mowings", understand the carrying captive the ten tribes by Shalmaneser king of Assyria; so Ribera; after which things were in a flourishing state, or at least began to be so, in the two tribes under Hezekiah, when they were threatened with ruin by the army of Sennacherib, from which there was a deliverance: but as this vision, and the rest, only respect the ten tribes of Israel, "the king's mowings" of the first crop may signify the distresses of the people of Israel, in the times of Jehoahaz king of Israel, by Hazael and Benhadad kings of Syria, (2 Kings 13:3 2 Kings 13:4 2 Kings 13:22) ; when things revived again, like the shooting up of the later grass, in the reign of Joash, and especially of Jeroboam his son, who restored the coast of Israel, the Lord having compassion on them, (2 Kings 13:25) (2 Kings 14:25 2 Kings 14:26) ; but after his death things grew worse; his son reigned but six months, and he that slew him but one; and in the reign of Menahem, that succeeded him, an invasion of the land was made by Pul king of Assyria, (2 Kings 15:19) ; which is generally thought to be intended here.

Or else, as others, it may refer to the troubles in the interregnum, after the death of Jeroboam, to his son's mounting the throne, the space of eleven years, when, and afterwards, Israel was in a declining state.

FOOTNOTES:

• F21: (ybg) "ecce fictor locustarum", Pagninus, Montanus; so Munster, Vatablus, Cocceius, Burkius.
• F23: Hist. Animal. l. 5. c. 28, 29.
• F24: Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 29.
• F25: Apud Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 4. c. 6. col. 484.
• F26: Vid. Bochart, ib. col. 486.

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 it with desolation, as these locusts seemed to have wholly consumed all the grass of the land; then the prophet said what follows:

then I said, O Lord God, forgive, I beseech thee ;
the sins of the people, as the Targum, which were the cause of these locusts coming, or of the Assyrian army invading the land; and the prophet prays that God would avert this judgment, signified in this vision, or remove it, which is often in Scripture meant by the forgiveness of sin, (Exodus 32:31Exodus 32:32) (Numbers 14:19) (1 Kings 8:33 1 Kings 8:34 1 Kings 8:36 1 Kings 8:37 1 Kings 8:39) ; this is the business of the prophets and ministers of the Lord, to intercede for a people when ruin is near; and happy is that people, when they have such to stand up in the breach for them.

The argument the prophet uses is, by whom shall Jacob arise? for he [is] small ;
or "little" ^F1 ; like the first shooting up of the grass, after it has been own: or, as Noldius ``who will stand and ask "pardon" for their sins?'' or, "who will raise up Jacob?" ^F5 from that low condition in which he is, or likely to be in, if God forgive not, and does not avert the judgment threatened, to a high and glorious state of prosperity and happiness; for, if all are cut off, there will be none left to be instruments of such a work:

"for he [is] small"; few in number, and greatly weakened by one calamity or another; and, if this should take place, would be fewer and weaker still. So the church of Christ, which is often signified by Jacob, is sometimes in a very low estate; the number of converts few; has but a little strength to bear afflictions, perform duty, and withstand enemies; it is a day of small things with it, with respect to light and knowledge, and the exercise of grace, especially faith; when some like the prophet are concerned for it, by whom it shall arise; the God of Jacob can cause it to arise, and can raise up instruments for such service, and make his ministers, and the ministry of the word and ordinances, means of increasing the number, stature, spiritual light, knowledge, grace, and strength of his people.

FOOTNOTES:

• F1: (Njq) "parvulus", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus; "parvus", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius.
• F5: "Quis suseitabit Jahacob?" V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus.
• F2:
  F2 renders it, "how [otherwise] should Jacob stand?" and so Kimchi, how should there be a standing for him? that is, unless God forgives his sin, and turns away his wrath, how shall he stand up under the weight of his sins, which must lie upon him, unless forgiven? and how shall he bear the wrath and indignation of God for them? and so if any sinner is not forgiven, how shall he stand before God to serve and worship him now? or at his tribunal with confidence hereafter? or sustain his wrath and displeasure to all eternity? see (Psalms 130:3Psalms 130:4) ; or, "who of" or "in Jacob shall stand"? not one will be left; all must be cut off, if God forgive not; for all are sinners, there are none without sin: or, "who shall stand for Jacob?" or intercede for him? it will be to no purpose, if God is inexorable: so the Targum,
• F3: "Quis staret, Jahacobo?" Junius & Tremellius; "quis remaneret Jacobo?" Piscator.
• F4: "Quis stabit pro Jacobo?" Mercerus.

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, says the Lord
these grasshoppers or locusts, the Assyrian army, shall not at this time destroy the land of Israel: Pul king of Assyria took a sum of money of the king of Israel, and so turned back, and stayed not in the land, (2 Kings 15:19 2 Kings 15:20) .

Thus has the Lord showed unto me Another vision after this manner: and, look, the Lord God called to contend by fire;

gave out that he would have a controversy with his people Israel, and proclaimed the time when he would try the cause with them, and that by fire: or he called his family, as Jarchi; that is, his angels, as Kimchi, to cause fire to descend upon Israel, as upon Sodom and Gomorrah; so other Rabbins Kimchi mentions: or, as he interprets it, the scorching heat of the sun, like fire that restrained the rain, dried up the plants, and lessened the waters of the river, and so brought on a general drought, and in consequence famine: or rather a foreign army, involving them in war, burning their cities and towns; see (Amos 1:4Amos 1:7Amos 1:10Amos 1:12Amos 1:14);

and it devoured the great deep; it seemed, as if it did; as the fire from heaven, in Elijah's time, licked up the water in the trench, (1 Kings 18:38); so this, coming at God's command, seemed to dry up the whole ocean; by which may be meant the multitude of people, nations, and kingdoms, subdued by the Assyrians; see (Revelation 17:15);

and did eat up a part; a part of a field, as Jarchi and Aben Ezra; of the king's field, (Amos 7:1); as Kimchi; showing, as he observes, that the reigning king was a bad king, and that this was for his sin: or rather a part of the land of Israel; and so refers, as is generally thought, to Tiglathpileser's invasion of the land, who carried captive a part of it, (2 Kings 15:29).

Then said I, O Lord God, cease, I beseech you
From destroying the land; do not allow this calamity to proceed any further; using the same argument as before: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he [is] small; (See Gill on Amos 7:2).