This Is What The Lord Showed Me

“This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit. And he said, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘A basket of summer fruit.’ Then the LORD said to me, ‘The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass by them.’”

The Minor Prophets are very relevant to the Christian. They speak to our time. They deal with cultural malaise and national collapse in the midst of seeming prosperity. They deal with moral decline and spiritual apostasy. These are pertinent to our time. The prophet Amos is unique. He does not claim that he was a prophet except that God called him and sent him. He refers to himself as a “herdsman and dresser of sycamore figs,” hardly someone you would think would be able to deliver a series of sermons against a sinning nation (7:14, 15). Yet this is what Amos does. He is sent by God to the northern kingdom of Israel. Uzziah is king in Judah (792–740 BC) and Jeroboam is king in Israel (793–753 BC). It was a prosperous time for both nations. If there had been a stock market in those days, things would be very bullish. The economy would have reached new heights. Both nations enjoyed political stability. Both Uzziah and Jeroboam enjoyed long reigns. But it was a time of corruption and idolatry.

We know that sin always exists and parades its wares, but just let a little prosperity come our way and sin really takes off. Israel had become extravagant and that opened the door for continuing idolatry. Amos pronounces judgment upon both nations and also upon foreign nations (Amos 1, 2). God never punishes any nation for being righteous. Righteousness exalts a nation and sin is a reproach to any people (Prov. 14:34). God punishes the nations for their wickedness. Their wickedness is manifest all the more because of their prosperity. Prosperity is also a blessing from God; however, it is always incredible to think that we take the blessings of God and despise them and use them for our own ends. In chapters 1 and 2, the Lord introduces his punishments against the nations and his people with these words: “Thus says the Lord: for three transgressions and for four…” (1:3, 6, 9, 11, 13; 2:1, 4, 6). It is not simply one sin, but sin upon sin.

Amos’ overall theme is that you cannot mess with God. He is just and will vindicate himself. The recurring words, “the day of the Lord,” reflect this ultimate justice universally (5:18, 20). So you might get away with sin for a time, but a time is coming when you won’t. That’s what Amos is communicating, and guilt is compounded because of the blessings of common grace. The nation of Israel took these blessings as the blessings of God and any “day of the Lord” would obviously be a judgment upon their enemies. This mindset was also seen in the first century among the Jews of Jesus’ day. Israel was always blind to their sin. This is because sin blinds. Sin blinds in such a way that you think you’re okay. Sin is always deceptively dangerous. Israel had abused its opportunities for prosperity by amassing their wealth at the expense of the poor. This was a common theme in Old Testament history. It was not simply a matter of money versus no money, but was ultimately revealed in status and class distinctions among God’s people. Since I am rich or better off than you, I must be under God’s blessing and you are not. Perhaps this mindset lay behind the financial dispute over the widows’ benefits in Acts 6. Such distinctions exist in church congregations (James 2:1–13). Amos will state that it is Israel that will be subject to other nations as a punishment from God. They will not be the rulers of the world. Within a few years they will be in captivity to Assyria (722 BC), and won’t be a nation any longer. Amos lays out God’s judgments as oracles or messages of divine judgment. No doubt the nation was very pleased when Amos denounced the enemies of Israel: Damascus (Syria), Gaza (Philistines), Tyre (Phoenicians), Edom (Esau’s descendants), the Ammonites and Moab (Lot’s descendants). These were Israel’s enemies and they were getting what they deserved. But Amos says Israel and Judah will not escape either, and no doubt, from this moment on, they viewed the prophet with undisguised malice (see 7:10–13).

The introductory words by Amos—“for three transgressions and for four”—are a poetic device expressing plurality and multiplicity. It is a plurality of judgment and then some more. God is saying that he will not hold back, and he confirms this by adding the next phrase: “I will not revoke the punishment.” The phrase belonging to our verse is “this is what the Lord showed me.” It occurs four times in Amos, and every usage is an introduction to the judgment that God is going to deliver (7:1, 4, 7; 8:1). They are “vision judgments.” God is warning the nation through the prophet of what is coming upon them. The Old Testament prophet’s ministry was not merely about prophetic events far in the future, but events very close at hand. Thus their preaching was directed to their current day. They were not merely fore-tellers but forth-tellers. The phrase, “Thus says the Lord,” indicates both aspects (near and far). Amos sees a vision. God shows him something and them applies the vision (what Amos sees) to the nation. In Amos 7:1 God shows Amos locusts devouring the harvest crops. This probably does refer to physical locust destruction, but the message to Israel is: just as locusts suddenly descend and devour and nothing is left, in the same way judgment will fall on Israel. The second judgment would be an intense fire that dried up the sea and scorched the earth. This judgment points to the absolute pain of judgment with no remission of that pain. Amos recognizes the devastating severity of God’s judgment and pleads for mercy (7:2, 5). His plea for mercy is heard by God who promises that he will not do what he said: “The Lord relented concerning this: ‘It shall not be’ said the Lord.” (7:3, 6). But the third and fourth vision judgments (7:7; 8:1) will be carried out.

In Amos 8:1 Amos is shown a basket of summer fruit. Summer fruit is the last of the harvest. It is reminiscent of Jeremiah’s words: “the harvest is past, the summer is ended and we are not saved” (Jer. 8:20). God’s patience has finally run out. He has waited and waited, as if waiting for the end of the harvest, but there has been no repentance, so God will bring his wrath upon Israel. Amos says in verse 2 that “the end has come upon my people Israel.” Israel has failed to produce the harvest or fruit of repentance, just as the Pharisees and Sadducees were in coming to John the Baptist. John told them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matt. 3:7, 8). Jesus spoke to Israel in a similar way in the parable of the wicked tenants. He said to the Jewish leaders: “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits” (Matt. 21:43).

What fruit does God require, then? Surely the fruit of faith and repentance for starters! Surely a display of kindness and compassion and mercy to others! Surely the ongoing maturing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives manifested by his fruit (Gal. 5:22–24). Amos ends his prophecy with a promise of hope in Amos 9:11–15—a promise that James proclaims in Acts 15:13–18 as fulfilled in the Church. The rebuilding of the tent of David is nothing less than the building of God including believing Jews and Gentiles—“a people called by my name”(Amos 9:12; Acts 15:17). So out of judgment, mercy is revealed. There will be a people who will produce fruit in keeping with repentance. This is because Jesus has borne our judgment and curse. That’s what the New Testament shows us.