Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed 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.
Amos was a shepherd and farmer from a small village in Judah who was called by God to deliver an uncomfortable message to the northern kingdom of Israel around 760–750 BC — a time of outward prosperity masking deep social injustice. This verse opens a series of visions God showed him. The 'king's share' refers to the first harvest of the year, which was taxed and taken by the royal court before ordinary farmers received anything. The second crop — the one just beginning to grow — was often the only food source left for working families and the poor. A locust swarm would mean total, unrecoverable devastation.
God, give me the honesty of Amos — eyes willing to see what is actually happening, not just what is comfortable. Help me not look away from who bears the weight when things break down. And where I have more than I need, show me clearly what to do with it. Amen.
Locusts in the ancient world weren't just a pest problem. A swarm could strip a field bare in hours, and there was no insurance, no government relief fund, no way to recover. Just famine. And notice the detail Amos includes: the locusts arrive *after* the king's share has already been taken. The powerful have gotten theirs. What remains — the scraps, the second crop, the only thing ordinary families were counting on to survive the year — that's what gets destroyed. Amos isn't just describing a nature vision. He's recording something with a social edge sharp enough to cut. Amos was a farmer, not a trained prophet. He knew what a locust swarm meant at ground level — he'd spent his life close to the land and close to people who depended on it. And God showed *him* this. The uncomfortable question underneath that choice is: who actually sees most clearly what's happening in a society? The invitation this verse extends is harder than it first appears — to pay attention the way Amos did, to ask who absorbs the damage after the powerful have already taken their share, and to ask honestly whether you're willing to actually look.
Why do you think God chose to show this vision to a farmer and shepherd rather than a trained religious leader or court prophet — what does that suggest?
Where do you see parallels between the dynamic Amos describes and the way economic or social systems function in your own context today?
Amos' message was deeply unwelcome and made him unpopular — what does this suggest about the relationship between genuine faithfulness and social comfort?
How does this verse challenge the way you think about your responsibility toward people who are economically or socially vulnerable in your community?
Is there something you have been avoiding seeing clearly because it would be costly or uncomfortable to acknowledge — what would it take to actually look?
And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
Joel 2:25
And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.
Malachi 3:11
If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
1 John 5:16
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree.
Jeremiah 1:11
Thus the Lord GOD showed me [a vision], and behold, He was forming a swarm of locusts when the spring crop began to sprout. And behold, the spring crop was after the king's mowing.
AMP
This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings.
ESV
Thus the Lord GOD showed me, and behold, He was forming a locust-swarm when the spring crop began to sprout. And behold, the spring crop [was] after the king's mowing.
NASB
Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the second crop was coming up.
NIV
Thus the Lord GOD showed me: Behold, He formed locust swarms at the beginning of the late crop; indeed it was the late crop after the king’s mowings.
NKJV
The Sovereign LORD showed me a vision. I saw him preparing to send a vast swarm of locusts over the land. This was after the king’s share had been harvested from the fields and as the main crop was coming up.
NLT
God, my Master, showed me this vision: He was preparing a locust swarm. The first cutting, which went to the king, was complete, and the second crop was just sprouting.
MSG