“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it.
Amos closes a book of judgment with a picture of a land so rich that harvest and sowing run into each other. Has this ever happened, who did God promise it to, and what could make the ground behave that way?
A promise still waiting
One test of this promise is history. Writers who follow the end of Amos through Israel's story say that nothing like it has happened yet:
T. B. BainesIt is clear that the blessings promised here, and in the two paragraphs before it, were not fulfilled when the exiles came back from Babylon. Each one describes a restoration under the Lord's blessing, with lasting happiness and holiness. Israel has never yet enjoyed that.
What the picture is saying
Normal farming cannot do this. Sowing follows so close on the last harvest that the seasons overlap. One writer explains what makes the difference:
W. T. P. WolstonThe land will yet bring forth richly, for the curse will be removed, and Jesus will be there. In that day "the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed." It is a very remarkable statement. But it is simply God's way of showing how fruitful everything is to be in the day spoken of here.
The curse lifted from the ground
The change in the soil reaches back to the first pages of the Bible, and to a sentence that still stands:
Edward DennettThe curse will be removed from the earth. When Adam fell the ground was cursed on his account. Whatever relief came in Noah's day, that sentence is not fully cancelled until Messiah reigns. The psalmist accordingly sings, "Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us." (Ps. 67:5-6.)
Amos goes further than Joel
Amos was not the first prophet to promise flowing hills. Joel had said they would flow with milk. One writer shows how Amos takes up Joel's words and goes further. Older translations end the verse "all the hills shall melt," where the ESV has "all the hills shall flow with it":
William KellyIt has been well noted that Amos, a prophet of Judah but sent to Israel, joins his own prophecy to Joel's. Joel's work was especially toward Judah and Jerusalem, and Amos ties their testimony together on purpose (Amos 1:2). Here is a fresh instance. Amos takes up the rich promise at the close of Joel and goes beyond it in strength: he says that all the hills shall not merely flow with milk, but melt (verse 13).
Earth, not heaven
Some readers take a passage like this as a picture of spiritual blessing. One writer answers that the scene is above nature, yet it still belongs to the earth:
The prophet describes what is surely beyond nature. Even so, he is not describing heavenly things but the earth. The earth will then be the place of boundless blessing from God, with no hurt or danger to man. This is in no way a picture of the pathway of faith, which makes its way by the power of the Spirit against the current of the world. For Satan will then be bound, and the Lord will be reigning, not in secret but openly.
The same writer allows a careful use of the verse, but draws a line:
William KellyIt only misleads when a Christian reads such a passage as if it described his own circumstances. It may be right to use the principle to illustrate the rich grace of our God. But we must be careful: such a use must not deny the passage its just and full meaning, or the clear aim and purpose of the Holy Spirit in it.
Judgment first, then planting
This harvest comes at the end of a chapter of judgment. It follows God's judgment on Israel and the rebuilding of David's house, and leads to a settlement that cannot be undone:
J. N. DarbySo in the prophet Amos we find the judgment of the kingdom of Israel. But this judgment was applied to the whole of Israel as a nation, along with their sure restoration. That restoration goes with the re-establishing of the house of David in the last days — a work done by God, which nothing should ever overthrow. He would plant them, and none should pluck them up. That testimony has certainly never been fulfilled, and just as certainly it will be. Israel shall be in their own land and never removed again.
Summary
- Curse — God cursed the ground when Adam fell. Writers hold that the sentence stands until Messiah reigns. This verse shows it lifted.
- Overflow — the plowman overtaking the reaper shows how fruitful the land will be. The curse will be gone, and Jesus will be there.
- Beyond Joel — Joel promised hills flowing with milk. Amos goes further: the hills themselves melt.
- On earth — the scene is above nature, but it is not heaven. Using it to picture God's grace to a Christian must not replace its plain meaning.
- Permanent — the harvest follows judgment and the rebuilding of David's house. It ends with a people planted and never pulled up. That has not happened yet, so it is still to come.