Amos 7:7-9 The Plumb Line

Thus He showed me: Behold, the Lord stood on a wall made with a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand. 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.

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.”

God shows Amos another vision, one which will appeal to all of our craftsmen – this time the vision is of God holding a plumb line. A plumb line or plummet is a line from which a weight is suspended and is used as a vertical reference. It is directed exactly toward the earth’s center of gravity, and as such it ensures that new constructions are perfectly upright. It also can be used to reveal whether an existing structure is square. You cannot tell if a structure is built perfectly upright by merely looking at it, but a plumb line will soon reveal its soundness. The plumb line has been used by builders and masons since the days of ancient Egypt .

Unlike the first two visions given to Amos, this vision is not one of complete destruction, but it is rather more ominous. Our text pictures God in two building roles – first as the architect who has designed and built a wall perfectly plumb. Secondly He is a surveyor who has returned with a plumb line to assess the soundness of the wall. The wall represents Israel , and the plumb line, the test which makes her failure official. Unlike the first two visions, this time there is no prayer offered from Amos, and no relenting on the part of God.

We have already seen in the book of Amos how the religious houses, which should have modeled how covenant grace was supposed to operate among the people of God, had instead become shrines of self-will, pride, self-indulgence, and complacency. Though Israel was built big, long and impressively, when it was put to the test – when the plumb line was dropped – it became clear to all observing, how far they had strayed. It’s been said, “beware the wrath of a patient adversary.” Up to this point God has been very patient with Israel, but now judgment was incontrovertible. Amos could no longer intercede because he could see before his eyes just how deserving of judgment Israel was. So God tells him that He will no longer pass by them for the sake of the remnant. The high places and sanctuaries characterized by Bethel , Beersheba , and Gilgal shall be made desolate and laid waste. God will even strike the house of the king.

But what is the plumb line in this vision? Alistair Begg proposes that it is made of two strands – that of Law and Redemption (Deut 7:8-11). Read Leviticus 19 to see what the strand of law requires. In it God demands that our lives display His likeness. God says, “you shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (Lev 19:2). That is our plumb line – as Christ said, “be ye perfect.” Such law is a plumb line in the hand of God with which He checks the walls of our lives. It is not until we compare our lives to the plumb line of perfect law that we find just how skewed our lives really are. It must be recognized that against the measure of God’s perfect law, the church will always be skewed. In this way the plumb line leads us to the second strand, that of Redemption.

Christian, be reminded of how Christ is the cornerstone of the church which He is building into a temple of the Holy Spirit out of stones which were once dead, but are now made alive by grace through faith. Read 1 Peter 2:4-10. Christ was measured with a plumb line, and though He was perfect, He was torn down like a badly sagging wall. He was made to pay for what is badly skewed and sagging with the walls of our lives.

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Galatians 3:10-14 The Curse

For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.”

 

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

 

John Stott has written,

 

These verses may seem difficult in both concept and vocabulary, yet they are fundamental to an understanding of Biblical Christianity. For they concern the central issue of religion, which is how to come into a right relationship with God. This is described in two ways:

 

First, it is called being justified before God, vs.11. To be justified before God is the exact opposite of being condemned by Him. It is to be declared righteous, to be accepted, to stand in His favor and under His smile. Clearly, this is a matter of the first importance.

 

Human beings have an instinctive desire to be in favor with their fellows, friend with friend, children with their parents, and employee with his boss. Similarly, although we are by nature in revolt against God, we still long to be put right with Him.

 

The second description of a person who has come to God is this: “He shall live, (verses 11-12). The life referred to here is, of course, not physical and biological, but spiritual and eternal, not the life of this age, but the life of the age to come. The simplest definition of eternal life in the Bible comes from the lips of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, “This is eternal life, that they know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.” (John 17:3).

So, justification means to be in favor with God; “eternal Life” means to be in fellowship with God. And the two are closely, indeed indissolubly, related. We cannot be in fellowship with God until we are in favor with Him.

 

This week study and meditate on Roman 4, and enjoy favor and fellowship!

 

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1 Corinthians 15:4 Risen: According to the Scriptures

In Paul’s explanation of the gospel to the Corinthians in 1 Cor 15:4, he includes Christ’s resurrection on the third day, according to the Scriptures. What Scriptures was Paul referring to? Did people in the Old Testament believe in a resurrection? Did the apostles expect Jesus to rise from the dead?

 

Although complete revelation did not come until God spoke truth through Christ, the Old Testament is a tutor and contains shadows, so we would expect to find shadows of the resurrection in the OT.

 

Read the following Scriptures and discern what the Jewish mind toward death and resurrection might have been.

 

Gen. 3:19; Job 7:9-10; Psa. 6:5, 88:10-12, 103:14-16, 115:17; Eccl. 12:7.

 

1 Kgs. 17:21- 22; 2 Kgs. 4:32-37; 2 Kgs. 13:20-21

 

Job 14:1, 7, 10-14, 19:25-27; 2 Sam. 12:23; Psa. 16:8-11, 17:15; Dan 12:21

 

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Amos 7:1-6 The Repenting God

Chapter 7 of Amos’ prophecy begins a new section of the book. In part one of this prophecy, Amos exposed the shallowness of Israel’s claim to be “the people of God.” In part two, he exposes their sin in order to demonstrate that their security as “the people of God,” is tenuous. Now here in part three the judgment is announced upon the “people of God.” As it is, we find God working simultaneously to judge a professing nation, while at the same time standing by His promise to defend and preserve the elect – His invisible people, the Israel of God (see Ps 145:13).

Our text opens with two visions of destruction of such magnitude that national survival is impossible. In each case, however, after the intercessory prayer of Amos, the Sovereign Yahweh “repents,” promising that such things would not happen. The total destruction of all of the people of God is overruled, demonstrating that even in the midst of judgment, nothing threatens the security of those who are His own.

Our text touches on two mysteries: first, the mystery of prayer. It is through the agency of human prayer that the eternal, unchangeable, infallible will of God is brought to pass. Prayer that begins with God’s perspective and looks up to divine mercy is effectual because there is in the nature of God something to which an appeal to pardoning mercy can be effectively made. There belongs to God the power and willingness to forgive (Ps 103:8-13).

The second mystery is the concept of the repentance of God. Think about this; if repentance suggests the changing of one’s mind, how is it possible that, and in what way does, the Lord who changeth not, change His mind? The answer is found in the Hebrew word nacham, which translated repent, but really means to comfort oneself. The wrath of God is the perpetual and natural reaction of a holy God in the face of unholiness and sin. Yet equally eternal and natural is His determination to save a people for Himself (Read God’s description of Himself in Ex 34:6-7). Despite this there is no strain, but rather only harmony in the divine mind. Love does not beat wrath out of existence, but rather the blood of Jesus, satisfies divine wrath, so that as the Father looks upon His children, though they be sinners deserving of judgment, mercy triumphs over judgment. So we find the repentance of God beautifully demonstrated in the cross, where justice and mercy meet.

Read the following verses where the repentance (nacham) of God is stressed. As you do consider the tension and how repentance is manifested in resolving that tension. Consider the possibility that repentance, rather than a changing of God’s mind, is a release of emotional tension involved in performing or retracting a declared act, whether it be executing wrath or blessing.

Cross-Refs: Gen 6:6, Ex 32:11-14, Is 12:1, 51:17-23, 61:1-3, Jer 18:7-11, Ez 5:13, Joel 2:12-14, Zech 1:14-17

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Galatians 3:6-9 Sons of Faith

just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.

Some false teachers had arisen in the churches of Galatia. They were teaching that a man must focus his life upon the rituals and teachings of religion, and the works of the law, instead of focusing upon Christ. They were in essence saying that a man had to be ritualized or circumcised, or in modern terms, become a church member or get baptized. Men were charged to give their lives keeping the law in order to be acceptable to God. They placed ritual and law, and that which they had to do, above Christ. Their center of attention was themselves, and what they could do to save themselves and to make themselves acceptable to God, and not upon Christ and His saving power. They stressed the flesh, the physical and the natural, the strength of man, instead of the power of the Holy Spirit. Lastly, faith was noticeably missing from their lives. Paul gave a persuasive and powerful answer from Scripture. He used Abraham to illustrate the truth that Scripture, in particular the Torah itself, proved that a man is justified by faith and not by works or law (v. 6-7). He wrote that the Torah preached the gospel of faith to Abraham (v. 8-9). He argued from Torah that the law puts a man under the curse (v. 10-12). And even drew from Torah his case that Christ has redeemed us from the curse (v. 13-14).

This week, ask yourself the following questions: Are you focused upon what you have to do, or upon Christ? Are you trying to make yourself acceptable to God? Do you stress the flesh or the spirit? Sons and daughters of faith, do an in-depth study of Hebrews chapter 11 this week!

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