Amos 4:9

I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured [them]: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

I have smitten {H5221} you with blasting {H7711} and mildew {H3420}: when your gardens {H1593} and your vineyards {H3754} and your fig trees {H8384} and your olive trees {H2132} increased {H7235}, the palmerworm {H1501} devoured {H398} them: yet have ye not returned {H7725} unto me, saith {H5002} the LORD {H3068}.

"I struck your crops with hot winds and blight, your many gardens and vineyards; the cutter-worms devoured your fig and olive trees; still you haven't returned to me," says ADONAI.

“I struck you with blight and mildew in your growing gardens and vineyards; the locust devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.

I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: the multitude of your gardens and your vineyards and your fig-trees and your olive-trees hath the palmer-worm devoured: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah.

Amos 4:9 is a poignant lament from the LORD regarding His disciplinary actions against the Northern Kingdom of Israel, specifically through agricultural devastation, and their persistent refusal to repent and return to Him. This verse is part of a larger pattern in Amos 4 where God recounts various forms of judgment He sent, each ending with the same sorrowful refrain: "yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD."

Context

The prophet Amos, a shepherd from Tekoa in Judah, was called by God to prophesy primarily to the prosperous but spiritually corrupt Northern Kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II. Despite outward prosperity, Israel was rife with social injustice, idolatry, and moral decay. In Amos 4, God lists a series of judgments He inflicted upon them – famine (Amos 4:6), drought (Amos 4:7-8), pestilence and war (Amos 4:10), and finally, a devastating overthrow (Amos 4:11). Verse 9 specifically highlights agricultural plagues, which would have been particularly impactful in an agrarian society.

Key Themes

  • Divine Discipline: God's actions ("I have smitten you") are not arbitrary but are purposeful interventions designed to draw His people back to Him. These natural disasters served as wake-up calls.
  • Persistent Disobedience: Despite repeated warnings and tangible consequences, Israel remained unrepentant. The phrase "yet have ye not returned unto me" underscores their stubbornness and spiritual blindness. This highlights a common human tendency to ignore divine appeals, even in the face of hardship, as seen in Jeremiah 8:5.
  • Agricultural Ruin: The specific mention of "blasting and mildew," and the "palmerworm" devouring crops, paints a vivid picture of widespread economic and sustenance loss. These were direct attacks on their prosperity, which they often attributed to Baal or their own strength, not the LORD.

Linguistic Insights

The terms "blasting" (Hebrew: shidaphon) and "mildew" (Hebrew: yeraqon) refer to specific types of plant diseases caused by blight or rust, often associated with hot, dry winds or excessive moisture respectively. They cause crops to shrivel and turn yellow. The "palmerworm" (Hebrew: gazam) is a type of locust or caterpillar known for its destructive feeding habits, capable of stripping plants bare. These terms are found together in other biblical texts describing agricultural curses, such as Deuteronomy 28:22 and Haggai 2:17, emphasizing God's control over nature as a means of discipline.

Reflection and Application

Amos 4:9 serves as a timeless reminder that God uses various means, including adversity, to get our attention and call us to repentance. Whether personal struggles, societal challenges, or natural events, believers are called to discern God's hand and respond with humility and a desire to draw near to Him. The verse challenges us to examine our own lives: when faced with difficulties, is our first inclination to blame circumstances or others, or do we humbly ask if God is calling us to a deeper walk with Him? True prosperity, the passage implies, is found not in material abundance but in a right relationship with the LORD.

Note: Commentary was generated by an advanced AI, utilizing a prompt that emphasized Biblical fidelity over bias. We've found these insights to be consistently reliable, yet we always encourage prayerful discernment through the Holy Spirit. The Scripture text and cross-references are from verified, non-AI sources.

  • Haggai 2:17

    I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye [turned] not to me, saith the LORD.

  • Deuteronomy 28:22

    The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.

  • Joel 1:4

    That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.

  • Amos 7:1

    ¶ 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 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.

  • Amos 4:6

    ¶ And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

  • Jeremiah 5:3

    O LORD, [are] not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, [but] they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.

Add TrulyRandomVerse to your Home Screen for quick access!

← Back