Amos 4:7 (WEB)

Passage

“I also have withheld the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest; and I caused it to rain on one city, and caused it not to rain on another city. One place was rained on, and the piece where it didn’t rain withered.

Nearby Context

Amos 4:5 offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim free will offerings and brag about them: for this pleases you, you children of Israel,” says the Lord Yahweh.

Amos 4:6 “I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in every town; yet you haven’t returned to me,” says Yahweh.

Amos 4:7 “I also have withheld the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest; and I caused it to rain on one city, and caused it not to rain on another city. One place was rained on, and the piece where it didn’t rain withered.

Amos 4:8 So two or three cities staggered to one city to drink water, and were not satisfied: yet you haven’t returned to me,” says Yahweh.

Amos 4:9 “I struck you with blight and mildew many times in your gardens and your vineyards; and your fig trees and your olive trees have the swarming locust devoured: yet you haven’t returned to me,” says Yahweh.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "withheld", "rain", "three", "months", "harvest", "caused", and "city". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "withheld" and "rain", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "I also have given you cleanness of..." into verse 8's "So two or three cities staggered to...", so "withheld" and "rain" belong inside that flow. In Amos context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "withheld" and "rain" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.