God's Plumb Line
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Intro: This morning we come to the third vision that Amos has from the LORD. In the first two visions God had prepared disastrous calamities to come upon the nation in the form of locusts and famine. Amos interceded for the nation and God did relent for a time to give Israel opportunity to repent of their sin.
I’ve thought this week about this chapter and I wonder if in the life of Billy Graham, if God used him like Amos, calling nations back to the Lord. If that was the case, then the vision this morning is the last straw of God’s grace before judgment.
Let’s look at “God’s Plumb Line”
Text: Amos 7:7-17
7 Thus He showed me: Behold, the Lord stood on a wall made with a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand.
8 And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said: “Behold, I am setting a plumb line In the midst of My people Israel; I will not pass by them anymore.
9 The high places of Isaac shall be desolate, And the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste. I will rise with the sword against the house of Jeroboam.”
10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words.
11 For thus Amos has said: ‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword, And Israel shall surely be led away captive From their own land.’ ”
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos: “Go, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. There eat bread, And there prophesy.
13 But never again prophesy at Bethel, For it is the king’s sanctuary, And it is the royal residence.”
14 Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah: “I was no prophet, Nor was I a son of a prophet, But I was a sheepbreeder And a tender of sycamore fruit.
15 Then the Lord took me as I followed the flock, And the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’
16 Now therefore, hear the word of the Lord: You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel, And do not spout against the house of Isaac.’
17 “Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Your wife shall be a harlot in the city; Your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword; Your land shall be divided by survey line; You shall die in a defiled land; And Israel shall surely be led away captive From his own land.’ ”
1. God’s Plumb Line; 7-9
1. God’s Plumb Line; 7-9
A plumb line is a tool used in carpentry and mason work. A cord with a weight at one end used by masons to check if walls are vertical.
The Lord stood on a wall made with a plumb line. Israel [northern kingdom] was established with the plumb line of the Lord. [1 Kings 11:28-38]
The Word of God [Law] is his Plumb Line. The Word of God is the standard by which all people are measured. Especially his own!
16 Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily.
17 Also I will make justice the measuring line, And righteousness the plummet; The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters will overflow the hiding place.
God laid a sure foundation and set the standard by which Israel would thrive as a nation. All they had to do is keep themselves plumb.
[8-9] God placed His plumb line [Law/Word] in the midst of His people to guide them in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward.
Unfortunately Israel had become morally and politically corrupt [v. 9]
They set up pagan altars throughout the land, they desecrated Bethel the house of God a holy place, into an altar of foreign gods, and the government of Jeroboam II was evil in the sight of the Lord [2 Kings 15:8-10].
America was founded on the same principle as Israel, God’s Plumb Line!
"Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" is a well-known phrase in the United States Declaration of Independence. The phrase gives three examples of the unalienable rights which the Declaration says have been given to all humans by their Creator, and which governments are created to protect.
So what happened to America? The same thing that happened to Israel!
20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,
21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
We started interpreting scripture to meet our needs instead of upholding the Plumb Line of God’s Word. We measured ourselves by others instead of by His Word.
Religion- we often compare ourselves with other churches and congregations often compare their pastor with other pastors. How foolish of us! Other churches and other pastors are not our standard, God’s Word is our standard!
12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
Government- God’s Word was given to guide kings/governments on how to properly grow a nation of people to walk after the Lord and be prosperous and successful in Him. But man began to think they knew better than God.
There are more than 4,500 recorded, public quotes by our Founding Fathers about the Bible, God, and the importance of ethics based on Christian principles. All of these statements were delivered while government leaders stood on government properties. History shows that Judeo-Christian ethics are at the foundation of the United States of America. Morality was never seen as relative — it was always based on Natural Law and the authority of Scripture. As hard as it is for some to accept in this 21st century pop-techno-culture, this country and its moral backbone were founded on biblical principles and the freedom of religious expression.
In the early 1960’s when the U.S. courts started redefining our moral compass as a nation. The notion of “separation of church and state” was popularized at that time, removing Judeo-Christian principles from the public arena. [Drive Thru History]
2. My People Israel; 8b
2. My People Israel; 8b
This is the first time God addresses the northern kingdom as His people. But He didn’t have good news for them.
“I will not pass by them anymore”- God had placed His plumb line in the midst of his people and found that they were crooked and He would spare them no longer. This was their third strike and they were out.
Notice that Amos does not try to intercede because He knows God is just in His judgment because every effort has been given and He judges by His Word!
God has a plumb line. He has a standard. He knows where He wants us to be and how we should get there and He has provided a path for us if we are willing to take it. If your plumb line is based on your parents, friends, society, or any other standard the world offers, then your plumb line is not secure. And neither are you!
Folks, God does not negotiate His laws for anyone and He does not change with the whims of culture.
19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
3. Israel’s Response; 10-13
3. Israel’s Response; 10-13
Rejected God’s Word- Amaziah was the high priest of the northern kingdom and the personal priest of king Jeroboam II. He wrote a letter to the king telling him of the conspiracy of Amos against him [die by the sword, which he did, 2 Kings 15:10]
Rejected God’s Prophet- Amaziah then railed against Amos and told him to go home and quit preaching the Truth in the “kings sanctuary”. God’s house has become the kings/people’s house. Nobody wanted the truth!
America unfortunately has followed suit.
1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,
4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:
2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
4. Amos’ Rebuke; 14-17
4. Amos’ Rebuke; 14-17
Amos reminds Amaziah that he didn’t ask for this job, God gave it to him and he would do what God said and not worry about what men say!
The LORD Himself had a word for the High Priest.
⇒ Amaziah would see his wife so destitute that she would sell her body in order
to survive. She would actually become a prostitute.
⇒ Amaziah would also see his children killed by the swords of soldiers.
⇒ Amaziah would lose his home and land, his entire estate.
⇒ Amaziah himself would die as an exile in a foreign nation.
⇒ Amaziah would see his nation Israel conquered and the survivors exiled to the conquering nation.
11 This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him.
12 If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us.
13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.
Close;
This morning there are two types of people here. Those who have built their house on the sure foundation of Jesus Christ, and those who have built their house on the shifting sands of this world.
If your life is built on the Rock, how straight is you vertical life?
Are you staying in line with God’s Word or are you out of plumb?
If your life is built on the standards of self, others and this world, you have no vertical life at all! Your life is a mess and out of plumb!
But if you will place yourself in the hands of the Jewish Carpenter, Jesus Christ, He will get you in plumb with God!