A few months ago, I got to watch a new house being built just a few doors from us. When a new building goes up, the construction crew needs to make sure that certain things are done very carefully and correctly, such as laying down a good, secure foundation. Another thing is that they must make sure that the walls are straight. If the walls are leaning one way or the other, even if it is barely perceptible, they are in danger of falling. To ensure a good, safe, and strong building the walls need to be straight and proper, and line up properly. That is the message that our Scripture passage for today brings. Let’s look at what God says in His Word today.
Amos was a prophet of God, who brought His message to the northern Kingdom of Israel. His preaching ministry would have been sometime around 762 - 755 BC. Before God called Amos to bring His message to the people he was a sheep herder and a farmer of sycamore figs (vs. 14-15). He did not come from the wealthy elite, nor was he from a priestly background. God calls whoever He chooses, regardless of any special background. It doesn’t matter what occupation we may have, God can use us to bring His message to others.
As our Scripture passage opens, God gave Amos a vision, where he saw the Lord upon a wall with a plumb line in His hand (vs. 7-9). Plumb lines have been used since ancient times to ensure straight and level construction, and are made of a lead, stone, or metal piece attached to a string or line which is held out to show if the wall is straight and upright, not leaning to either side. A wall that is not straight will eventually collapse. God used this analogy with the Prophet Amos to show that He wants people to be right and straight with Him. He wants the sin that makes us crooked to be removed. God’s Word is the plumb line that helps us be aware of our sin.
Just as a plumb line ensures the straightness of a wall, God would employ a plumb line to carefully evaluate the hearts and behavior of His people. Occasionally construction workmen find that a wall has not been put up correctly, and that it is leaning. If it can’t be corrected properly, then the wall needs to come down. Unfortunately that was the case with the people of Israel. This vision let the Prophet Amos know that all hope for Israel had been exhausted, and that judgment would come (vs. 8-9). God’s judgment against Israel was irrevocable. Their sin had gone too far. The purpose of the plumb line was to illustrate how far Israel had strayed from God’s righteousness, and that it must be destroyed.
Naturally the people of Israel were not happy to hear this message. Nobody wants to hear a message that speaks against the sin in their life, and that God will bring judgment upon them because of this. People like to hear soft and fluffy messages that make them feel good, and the people of Israel were no different. They wanted to hear peace, and that God thought they were terrific. That is the same today. Preachers who bring messages against sinful behavior quickly become unpopular. They may even become publicly ridiculed and shamed in the media.
Amos was looked upon as a traitor and a conspirator because he spoke out against the king and his advisors (vs. 10). He had exposed their sins, and questioned their ways because they were not following God’s Word. Amos was also accused of being a traitor because he was not a part of their hybrid pagan/Jewish religion. Amos would not take part in that, and spoke out against the mixing of pagan idols and rituals with their worship of Yahweh, saying that God abhorred this. Amos preached the Bible, not their false pagan messages. He did not preach what the king and people wanted to hear, so he was publicly chastised and called an enemy of the people and country.
Amaziah was the chief priest in Bethel, representing Israel’s official religion of a mixture of paganism and Judaism (vs. 10). He didn’t care about God’s message, and he certainly didn’t want some other prophet coming around preaching the Bible. We see this today, as well. When a man of God comes preaching a message straight from the Bible, there are so-called “religious” leaders that might speak out against them and their message. This was done to Amos, it was done to Paul, and certainly to the Lord Jesus.
Amos, though, did not let these attacks stop him. He knew that his calling and mission was not of human origin, but was from God. He remained true and faithful to his calling, in spite of any attacks. Like Amos, even in the midst of any kind of opposition, we need to be faithful and true to bring God’s message to those around us.
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