Amos 7:2

And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small. THEN I SAID, O LORD GOD, FORGIVE, I BESEECH THEE: BY WHOM SHALL JACOB ARISE? If thou, O God, dost not spare, how can Jacob maintain his ground, reduced as he is by repeated attacks of the Assyrians, and ere long about to be invaded by the Assyrian Pul? (2 Kings 15:19-12.) Amos follows Moses' intercession (Numbers 14:19, "Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people, according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now"). BY WHOM ... Literally, 'who shall Jacob arise?' Who is he, that...

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 people, as sacred history relates, was most miserable, hence the Prophet says, that locusts had been shown to him, which devoured all the grass and standing corn: 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 then the Prophet shows that sur...

1-9 God bears long, but he will not bear always with a provoking people. The remembrance of the mercies we formerly received, like the produce of the earth of the former growth, should make us submissive to the will of God, when we meet with disappointments in the latter growth. The Lord has many ways of humbling a sinful nation. Whatever trouble we are under, we should be most earnest with God for the forgiveness of sin. Sin will soon make a great people small. What will become of Israel, if the hand that should raise him be stretched out against him? See the power of prayer. See what a blessing praying people are to a land. See how ready, how swift God is to show mercy; how he waits to be gracious. Israel was a wall, a strong wall, which God himself reared as a defence to his sanctuary. The Lord now seems to stand upon this wall. He measures it; it appears to be a bowing, bulging wall...

Verse 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 such weakness that it was obliged to have recourse to strangers for support. _Menahem_ applied to Pul, king of Assyria, whence arose the final misery of the state....

EXPOSITION VERSE 1-CH. 9:10 Part III. FIVE VISIONS, WITH EXPLANATIONS, CONTINUING AND CONFIRMING THE PREVIOUS PROPHECY. The afflictions are climactic, increasing in intensity. The first two symbolize judgments which have been averted by the prophet's intercession; the third and fourth adumbrate judgments which are to fall inevitably; and the fifth proclaims the overthrow of the temple and the old theocracy. AMOS 7:1 _§ 1. The first vision, of locusts, represents Israel as a field eaten down to the ground, but shooting up afresh, and its utter destruction postponed at the prophet's prayer._...

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 i...

Amos 7:1. _Thus hath the Lord God showed 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 it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord God, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? For he is small. The Lord repented for this: it shall not be, saith the LORD._ In a vision, the prophet saw the locusts or grasshoppers come to devour all the green things of the land, a very terrible visitation. If you have never seen it, you cannot realize how utterly bare everything is made after the visit of the locusts. The prophet put up a vehement and earnest prayer; he cried, «O Lord God, forgive» and, no sooner was the intercession offered than the Lord said, «It shall not be.» Thus the impending judgment was turned aw...

III. THE FIVE VISIONS OF THE PROPHET CHAPTER 7 Three Visions and the Opposition Against Amos _ 1. The vision of locusts (Amos 7:1) _ 2. The vision concerning the fire (Amos 7:4) 3. The vision of the plumbline (Amos 7:7) 4. Opposition against Amos (Amos 7:10) Amos 7:1. In the first vision Amos saw how the Lord prepared locusts (not grasshoppers as in the A.V. They started in with their destructive work, just as they did in the day of Joel. Then Amos interceded in behalf of the sinful nation, “O Lord, GOD, forgive, I beseech Thee, by whom

THE VISION OF THE LOCUSTS. On one occasion the prophet saw (Amos 7:1) and behold, Yahweh formed locusts at the beginning of the coming up of the late spring grass (_lekesh_, RV latter growth), the grass brought on by the late spring rain (_malkosh_,_ cf._ Joel 2:23), and further described here as coming up after the king's shearing or after the king's mowings. The king's mowings may mean (_cf._ Driver) that the mowings were taken as tribute by the king. (Ehrlich takes it to mean national mowings.) The locusts were beginning to work havoc (Amos 7:2). Then, when they would have wholly devoured the herbage of the land, the prophet interceded with Yahweh, who relented ...

BY WHOM SHALL JACOB ARISE? Figure of speech Erotesis. App-6. Some codices, with Septuagint, Syriac and Vulgate, read "who shall raise up Jacob'? " JACOB. Put by Figure of speech _Metonymy_ (of the Subject), App-6, for the whole nation...