In The Word
Read Amos 7:1–8:3
Warning Through Visions
7 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. 2 And it came about, when it had finished eating the vegetation of the land, that I said,
“Lord God, please pardon!
How can Jacob stand,
For he is small?”
3 The Lord changed His mind about this.
“It shall not be,” said the Lord.
4 Thus the Lord God showed me, and behold, the Lord God was calling to contend with them by fire, and it consumed the great deep and began to consume the farm land. 5 Then I said,
“Lord God, please stop!
How can Jacob stand, for he is small?”
6 The Lord changed His mind about this.
“This too shall not be,” said the Lord God.
7 Thus He showed me, and behold, the Lord was standing by a vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand. 8 The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,
“Behold I am about to put a plumb line
In the midst of My people Israel.
I will spare them no longer.
9 “The high places of Isaac will be desolated
And the sanctuaries of Israel laid waste.
Then I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
Amos Accused, Answers
10 Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is unable to endure all his words. 11 For thus Amos says, ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword and Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’” 12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Go, you seer, flee away to the land of Judah and there eat bread and there do your prophesying! 13 But no longer prophesy at Bethel, for it is a sanctuary of the king and a royal residence.”
14 Then Amos replied to Amaziah, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs. 15 But the Lord took me from following the flock and the Lord said to me, ‘Go prophesy to My people Israel.’ 16 Now hear the word of the Lord: you are saying, ‘You shall not prophesy against Israel nor shall you speak against the house of Isaac.’ 17 Therefore, thus says the Lord, ‘Your wife will become a harlot in the city, your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be parceled up by a measuring line and you yourself will die upon unclean soil. Moreover, Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’”
Basket of Fruit and Israel’s Captivity
8 Thus the Lord God showed me, and behold, there was a basket of summer fruit.2 He said, “What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, “The end has come for My people Israel. I will spare them no longer. 3 The songs of the palace will turn to wailing in that day,” declares the Lord God. “Many will be the corpses; in every place they will cast them forth in silence.”
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
The Lord showed Amos the coming judgment of locust devouring the crops of His people, and Amos interceded and cried out, “Lord God, please pardon!” The Lord heard Amos’ plea and relented. Then the Lord showed Amos the judgment of fire consuming the land, and once again Amos interceded and the Lord relented. Next, the Lord showed Amos a vertical wall with a plumb line. The Lord was about to put a plumb line in the midst of His people, but, instead of God’s people repenting and lining up with His Word, they got the government to ban the truth from being proclaimed in the nation. The Lord said the consequence of that decision would mean that their wives would become harlots, their children would die by violence, their land would be divided, and their nation would fall.
Amos was interceding on behalf of the nation so they would not be destroyed, but, instead of repenting, the people just wanted to remove the plumb line that showed their sin. The Lord is loving, but He is also just and holy. Rejecting His Word and His teachings has consequences. If we ignore His call to repentance, then we should expect His judgment. The plumb line is His Word and His teachings. When we don’t measure up to it, then we have to be corrected. The consequences of our decisions not only affect us, but they also affect our family and even our nation. Make sure you line up with the plumb line of His Word today.