Lesson 9 - Amos 7:7-17 - THE LORD SHOWED ME A PLUMB LINE
INTRODUCTION: Last week, in Amos 6:1-10, we heard this prophet, a herdsman and fig-farmer from the Southern Kingdom of Judah, deliver a severe warning of impending judgment against the leaders and wealthy people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and Judah. He issued the LORD's complaint against them in the form of a "woe," which could be rephrased, "you better pay attention to this" (vv. 1-3). The prophet accused them of "violence" in an indictment of sins that included legal injustice, economic exploitation, religious hypocrisy and apostasy, luxurious self-indulgence, and arrogant indifference towards the plight of the common people in their nation (vv. 4-6). The prophet concluded his warning by informing them that God's intention to judge them was certain, just a matter of time (vv. 7-10). Finally, we learned that the criticisms in Amos' ancient message are equally relevant to 21st Century Christians and our churches: (1) For starters, have we become so "carefree" that we have allowed our focus on our 'comforts and pleasures' to seriously limit our ability to devote our time, talents, and resources to the furtherance of the gospel? (2) Modern Christians and their churches in America now need to be increasingly "counter-culture." We need to be prepared to fight the good fight against any group, organization, or government entity that seeks to limit our freedom to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the lost people of our community, state, nation, and indeed, our world. We must not allow ourselves to be discouraged, to cave-in. Do you see that?
This week, in Amos 7:7-17, we'll study the lesson for which this prophet is best known-the 'plumb line.' This is the third in a series of visions Amos received that described in detail the coming judgment of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, plus we'll look at a historical incident. The whole section builds to a terrifying climax of inevitable judgment for the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
Read Amos 7:7-9 - A PLUMB LINE
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."
v. 7: "Thus He showed me, and behold, the Lord was standing by a vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand." - In this vision, Amos saw the LORD next to vertical wall, holding "a plumb line in His hand." A plumb line consists of length of string with a weight, a 'plumb bob,' attached to its end (see illustration). When placed next to a standing wall, the plumb bob will always point to the earth's center-of-gravity, so that the attached line will reveal whether or not a wall is perfectly true-exactly perpendicular to the horizon. The point the LORD made was that He was testing something according to an absolute standard; that His judgment wasn't arbitrary or impulsive, and the text implies that God showed Amos an example of a city wall that was true-how a 'good wall' should look.
v. 8a "The LORD said to me, "What do you see, Amos?" And I said, "A plumb line." - Although Amos' wasn't a construction expert, his answer in this verse reveals that he fully understood the function of a plumb line and how it was used to determine whether something was or wasn't true.
v. 8b: "Then the LORD said, "Behold I am about to put a plumb line In the midst of My people Israel." - God's explanation to Amos here tells us that He was preparing to test the Northern Kingdom of Israel in a manner similar to a builder using a plumb line. Moreover, the true standard-the plumb line-He would apply to Israel was undoubtedly the Mosaic Law, the Covenant He had given the nation by which He would measure their uprightness. (Ex. 19:6). Question: So, what is God's plumb line today for measuring the uprightness of modern Christians and their churches? It would be the entire Bible, all 66 books from Genesis 1 through Revelation 22.
v. 8c: "I will spare them no longer." - At this point in history, the Northern Kingdom had been in existence for nearly two centuries, since the end of Solomon's reign. There had been ups and downs in its history (see 1 and 2 Kings generally), but mostly down, very backslidden Through the OT prophets, The LORD had given them repeated warnings and opportunities to repent and keep their Covenant with Him, but they had refused to listen. They had ignored the warnings. The phrase, "I will spare them no longer," reflects that God's grace has been fully exhausted-that the time had come for Him to put an end to their corruption, once and for all. And any builder will tell you that once a wall becomes out of plumb, it's typically easier and better to tear it down and build a new one rather than try to repair it.
v. 9a: "The high places of Isaac will be desolated And the sanctuaries of Israel laid waste." Scholars believe "Isaac" is used here as a synonym for 10 tribes of northern Israel, which is peculiar to Amos' prophecy. The "high places" were temples and altars at Bethel and Dan, and possibly other places, where the Israelites mixed worship of both the LORD and pagan idols-the grossest type of apostasy and idolatry. Bible historians believe Jeroboam I did this because he feared that if his people went to the Temple in Jerusalem for worship their loyalties to him might be divided. Back to the plumb line, this tells us that as a nation and people, the Northern Kingdom measured so far out of true in their Covenant with God that complete demolition was the only solution.
v. 9b: "Then I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword." - Because of their disloyalty to Him, the LORD promised to bring a violent end to the royal house of Jeroboam. The method God would use to accomplish it would be "the sword," which is a metaphor for conquest by a foreign nation-i.e., Assyria. Actually, the line of Jeroboam ended prior to the conquest when Jeroboam II's son, Zechariah (not the prophet), was assassinated in 753 B.C. (2 Kings 15:8-10).
Read Amos 7:10-13 - AMAZIAH ACCUSES AMOS
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."
Note: Starting with v. 10, this is where we come into 'the historical incident.'
v. 10a: "Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying," - "Amaziah" was an apostate priest who served in the Bethel sanctuary (see map), which was one of the "high places" (a dirty word in God's vocabulary) established by Jeroboam I.
v. 10b: "Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is unable to endure all his words." - Since he was probably appointed by Jeroboam II, Amaziah owed his job to the king. He apparently believed that Amos' words were not only unpatriotic but actively treasonable. Although there is no actual record of Amos actually pronouncing his warnings directly to the people, this verse suggests that news of his prophesy was somehow being spread around. Amaziah apparently thought the nation could not "endure" Amos' words because there had been instances in the past when prophets had actually incited people to revolt. (see 1 Kings generally). So, Amaziah takes his allegations a step further by sending a message to Jeroboam II that actually accuses Amos of conspiring to overthrow the king. Amos wasn't trying to incite rebellion and overthrow the government; he was trying to put the fear of God into the people and their government so that they would repent of their sins.
v. 11: "For thus Amos says, 'Jeroboam will die by the sword and Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.'" - This is false. There's no record of Amos ever having said these exact words. What he did was deliver a prophecy that God would judge the kingdom and its king, without specifying when. (see v. 9, above.) But Amaziah was trying to turn this into a personal vendetta: By claiming that Amos was plotting to instigate Jeroboam II's death, Amaziah was trying to exaggerate the threat posed by Amos' ministry so that the king would take drastic steps to eliminate him. All of this shows that Amaziah completely misunderstood Amos' message. Instead of understanding it as a message from the LORD God to His people, he interpreted it as a threat to the status quo-to keeping his job. This can happen in churches today that have departed from the preaching and teaching of the true, unvarnished Word of God: When they don't like the message, they get rid of the messenger. Amaziah misunderstood Amos' message because he was spiritually 'blind,' and modern churches that have drifted away from Sound Doctrine no longer see all the evils lurking in their midst.
v. 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!" - Here, Amaziah takes matters into his own hands. The term "seer" has a similar meaning to prophet, but with a negative connotation that implies Amos had an ulterior motive. The statement to go back to "Judah" and "eat bread" could be paraphrased to say you need to go home and earn an honest living instead of trying to frighten the people here with your prophetic announcements.
v. 13: "But no longer prophesy at Bethel, for it is a sanctuary of the king and a royal residence." Now we see a new dimension: Amaziah raises a turf issue. Bethel is Amaziah's territory, given to him by Jeroboam II, the king no less. If there's 'religious work to be done here, it's Amaziah's privilege to either do it himself or to assign it to someone he chooses; and Amo, an outsider, isn't welcome!
Read Amos 7:14-17 - AMOS: I DIDN'T ASK FOR THE JOB-THE LORD SENT ME
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.'"
v. 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." - Amos replies that he's not a prophet by his own choice; he never decided to pursue prophesying as a career. He didn't come from any family lineage of prophets. (Note, in Amos' time, sons normally follower their father's line of work). In short, Amos had never been trained in any of the schools for prophets. In fact, his chief occupation was a "herdsman" (a term for a breeder of livestock) and a grower of "sycamore figs." By adding this, he shows that he had given-up a secure agricultural business in order to follow God's call as a prophet.
v. 15: "But the LORD took me from following the flock and the LORD said to me, 'Go prophesy to My people Israel.'" - Amos makes it crystal clear that the LORD (YHWH) had expressly given him a divine commission to "prophesy," and had further specified that he was to give it "to My people Israel." Therefore, everything pertaining to Amos' ministry was of God's choosing. (On a purely personal level, the Northern kingdom of Israel, with its apostate priests and corrupt leaders, was probably the last place Amos would choose to go.) But he was there because God called Him and sent him.
v. 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.'" - The LORD commanded Amos to "prophesy," but Amaziah forbids it. In doing this, this apostate priest is trying to countermand God's express order and will. This reflects that Amaziah's loyalty is to the king, not God, and in that regard He's symbolic of the spiritual rot that has infected Israel. The "house of Isaac" is a metaphor for the 10 northern tribes. But this won't be a difficult choice for Amos: He will obey the LORD.
v. 17a: "Therefore, thus says the LORD, - This is a common heading in OT prophecy, which could translate to, "I'm not speaking for myself but for God Himself, word-for-word."
v. 17b: "'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." - Amaziah has lost his opportunity to repent. When the Assyrians invade, Amaziah's wife will become a prostitute for the soldiers and his son daughters will be slaughtered by them. Amaziah himself will be sent into exile and his lands will be parceled out among the invaders. He will die alone in Assyria. He will experience hell on earth even before he gets to the real place.
v. 17c: "Moreover, Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.'" - In fact, the invaders will exile the entire 10 tribes to Assyria. The Israel that Amaziah knows will be past-tense.
APPLICATION-The Plumb Line: God's Truth or Consequences
1. The plumb line in Amos' prophecy is an absolute standard that measures faithfulness to God's word and will. In Amos' example, it showed us that as a nation and a people, the Northern Kingdom of Israel measured so far out of true in their Covenant with their LORD God-their 'wall'-that, the only solution was complete demolition. The same outcome can happen to superficial believers and churches (indeed, there are entire denominations) that have departed from the Sound Doctrines of the Bible established by apostolic interpretation and teaching.
2. Amos' prophecy teaches us that a high place can be any location or structure where people don't worship the One True God of the universe in Spirit and Truth. In Amos' example, it was the sanctuaries established at Bethel and Dan by Jeroboam. In the lesson, these places had been established in order to preserve allegiance to the secular king rather than loyalty to their LORD God. They are "religious' organizations that do not measure up to God's plumb line-the Bible. This can happen to any church anywhere, when it departs from the preaching and teaching of God's inerrant Word. This has happened in some mainline churches today that have adopted social and political agendas that conflict with the Biblical standards of God' Plumb Line. It has also resulted in many cults that label themselves as Christian churches: Mormons, J.W., Unitarians, Christian Scientists, etc.
3. Amos prophecy teaches us that God will judge churches and people that don't measure up to His plumb line. People like Amaziah, who believe in a false 'religion,' will not only suffer in this life, but will be separated from the "sheep' and sent to hell in the next. As to believing Christians who have departed from the truth of God's word, they won't lose their salvation but will still face judgment and loss of rewards at the "Bema Seat of Christ" (Rev. 22:12).
