Single lesson
Amos 7: The Locusts, Fire, and Plumb Line
Amos 7:1–9
Amos 7:1-9 shows three visions the Lord gave to Amos: locusts, fire, and a plumb line. The passage teaches through these visions, showing both Amos’s pleas for mercy and the Lord’s clear judgment on Israel.
Before you teach
In this passage, Amos reports what the Lord Yahweh showed him. The first two visions bring appeals from Amos, and the Lord relents. The third vision includes a question to Amos and a declaration that judgment will now be set in the midst of Israel, with specific consequences named.
Explain the central teaching of Amos 7: The Locusts, Fire, and Plumb Line, using two details from the reading. This passage shows that the Lord hears Amos’s pleas for a small and weak people, yet also declares a measured and unavoidable judgment on Israel.
Welcome: Amos 7: The Locusts, Fire, and Plumb Line
5 minIntroduce “The Locusts, Fire, and Plumb Line” and locate Amos 7:1–9. This passage shows that the Lord hears Amos’s pleas for a small and weak people, yet also declares a measured and unavoidable judgment on Israel. Invite each learner to name a detail or question they will listen for.
Amos 7:1, Amos 7:5, Amos 7:9
Read and explain the passage
12 minAmos says the Lord Yahweh showed him locusts forming at a vulnerable time, during the latter growth after the king’s harvest. When the locusts had eaten the grass of the land, Amos pleaded for forgiveness. He asked how Jacob could stand, because Jacob was small. The vision highlights danger and Amos’s intercession.
The pattern repeats once more. After Amos’s second appeal, the Lord Yahweh relented concerning this vision too, saying, “This also shall not be.” These first two visions sit together. Amos prays, and the Lord announces that these shown judgments will not happen in the way Amos has seen them.
In the third vision, the Lord stood beside a wall made by a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. When Amos identified what he saw, the Lord said he would set a plumb line in the middle of his people Israel and would not again pass by them any more. Then desolation and the sword are named as outcomes.
Read the selected verses together, pausing at “The Locusts, Fire, and Plumb Line”. Use the source reading below and check the explanation against the words of the passage.
Amos 7:1, Amos 7:2, Amos 7:5, Amos 7:6, Amos 7:7, Amos 7:8, Amos 7:9
Discuss the details and their meaning
8 minUse the three questions below. Begin with “Why does Amos ask the Lord to forgive or stop in the first two visions?” and allow time to find the supporting verses. This passage shows that the Lord hears Amos’s pleas for a small and weak people, yet also declares a measured and unavoidable judgment on Israel. Ask learners to explain which details support their answer and to identify a question they would like to explore further.
Amos 7:2, Amos 7:5, Amos 7:3, Amos 7:6, Amos 7:8, Amos 7:9
Make and respond: Vision and message evidence map
12 minWork on “Amos 7: The Locusts, Fire, and Plumb Line: Vision and message evidence map”. Follow the materials and steps below, using “The Locusts, Fire, and Plumb Line” as reading headings. Each learner should include at least two accurate details and their verse references. Share one observation from the finished sheet and explain how it connects with the central teaching.
Amos 7:1, Amos 7:5, Amos 7:9
Closing: return to The Locusts, Fire, and Plumb Line
3 minRevisit Amos 7:1–9. Invite a learner to summarise what the group has learned about The Locusts, Fire, and Plumb Line and another to support the summary with a verse. Give learners a moment to complete their response sheet. They can share a question or, if appropriate for the group, join the optional prayer.
Amos 7:1, Amos 7:5, Amos 7:9
Questions to explore
Why does Amos ask the Lord to forgive or stop in the first two visions?
Look at Amos’s repeated reason: he says Jacob is small and asks how Jacob could stand.
Amos 7:2, Amos 7:5
What changes between the first two visions and the third vision?
In the first two, Amos pleads and the Lord relents; in the third, the Lord speaks of setting a plumb line among Israel and not passing by them any more.
Amos 7:3, Amos 7:6, Amos 7:8
What results are named after the plumb line is set in the midst of Israel?
Notice the three outcomes listed: the high places become desolate, the sanctuaries are laid waste, and the house of Jeroboam faces the sword.
Amos 7:9
Make, think or respond
Amos 7: The Locusts, Fire, and Plumb Line: Vision and message evidence map
What you’ll need
- plain paper or card
- pencils or pens
- a Bible or the source reading on this page
Try it together
- Fold a sheet into three panels or draw three columns. Label them “What the passage describes”, “What is explained in the text”, “What question remains”.
- Read Amos 7:1–9. Use “The Locusts, Fire, and Plumb Line” as your reading headings and add a short quotation or detail with its verse reference to each panel.
- Compare your notes with a partner. Check that every quotation is accurate and every conclusion has support in the passage.
- Circle an explanation the passage itself provides. Leave unexplained details as questions for further reading.
The finished sheet keeps the details of Amos 7: The Locusts, Fire, and Plumb Line connected to their Bible references and gives the group a way to explain what they noticed.
Adapt for your group
- For learners who need more support, prepare the reading headings “The Locusts, Fire, and Plumb Line” and let them match short quotations to the correct heading.
- For confident readers, compare two sections of Amos 7:1–9. Ask for a written explanation with two supporting references and one question that the text leaves open.
An optional closing prayer
“God, help us listen carefully as we read Amos 7:1–9. Help us understand what we have read, ask thoughtful questions and respond with care for others. Amen.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Amos 7
1 Thus the Lord Yahweh showed me: behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s harvest.
2 When they finished eating the grass of the land, then I said, “Lord Yahweh, forgive, I beg you! How could Jacob stand? For he is small.”
3 Yahweh relented concerning this. “It shall not be,” says Yahweh.
4 Thus the Lord Yahweh showed me: behold, the Lord Yahweh called for judgment by fire; and it dried up the great deep, and would have devoured the land.
5 Then I said, “Lord Yahweh, stop, I beg you! How could Jacob stand? For he is small.”
6 Yahweh relented concerning this. “This also shall not be,” says the Lord Yahweh.
7 Thus he showed me: behold, the Lord stood beside a wall made by a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand.
8 Yahweh said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I will set a plumb line in the middle of my people Israel. I will not again pass by them any more.
9 The high places of Isaac will be desolate, the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.