Compare Amos 7:1 with Exodus 10:12-15. What parallels exist regarding locusts? Seeing the Scenes Side by Side • Amos 7:1—“He was preparing swarms of locusts just after the king’s harvest, when the late spring crop was coming up.” • Exodus 10:13-14—“By morning the east wind had brought the locusts. They swarmed over all the land of Egypt and settled on all its territory.” Shared Details about the Locusts • Swarming multitudes—both texts emphasize an overwhelming, seemingly unstoppable mass. • Total devastation—vegetation is the direct target (Exodus 10:15; implied in Amos 7:1). • Divine orchestration—“the LORD sent” (Exodus 10:13); “the Lord GOD showed me… He was preparing” (Amos 7:1). • Sovereign timing—locusts arrive at a critical agricultural moment: after the king’s harvest in Israel; after the hail in Egypt. • Visibility of judgment—the land turns black (Exodus 10:15); the late crop is threatened (Amos 7:1), making sin’s consequences unmistakable. Divinely Directed Judgment • Egypt’s rebellion—Pharaoh refuses to release Israel (Exodus 10:3-7). • Israel’s complacency—Amos prophesies against injustice and covenant breach (Amos 2:6-8; 5:10-12). • Both nations experience the same instrument, underscoring that God shows no partiality when sin persists (cf. Romans 2:11). Purposes Behind the Plagues • To expose false security—Egypt’s gods of fertility vs. Israel’s reliance on royal wealth. • To prompt repentance—locusts were meant to turn hearts back before greater ruin (Exodus 10:16-17; Amos 7:2-3). • To reveal God’s supremacy—only His word commands nature (Psalm 105:34-35). A Timing Lesson • “After the king’s harvest” (Amos 7:1)—Israel had enjoyed a first crop; judgment threatens the second. • “Everything that the hail had left” (Exodus 10:12)—Egypt suffered one blow and now faces another. → In both cases God strikes when people assume the worst has passed. Intercession and Mercy Parallel • Moses pleads and God removes the plague (Exodus 10:18-19). • Amos cries, “Lord GOD, please forgive!” and God relents (Amos 7:2-3). → Judgment is certain, yet God listens to a righteous intercessor (James 5:16b). Echoes Elsewhere • Joel 1–2—locust imagery warns Judah and foreshadows “the Day of the LORD.” • Revelation 9:3-11—apocalyptic locusts highlight end-time judgment. → The motif threads through Scripture, consistently portraying God’s power to humble nations and invite repentance. |
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