Ask anyone who works in building construction, or ask any realtor, and they will tell you that a good foundation is very crucial to any building. If you have a faulty foundation, or one that is damaged in any way, the stability of the whole building is at risk. At the very least, all the floors and walls will not be level. This holds true not only for building structures, but also for our spiritual lives as well. Having a faulty spiritual foundation, or even worse, none at all, is eternally dangerous. Let’s take a look today at the word that God gave the prophet Amos.
Amos was a prophet during the 8th century BC., the majority of his messages from God came during the approximate years of 760 - 755 BC. Most of his ministry was focused on the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Amos was neither from the priestly line, nor from the tribe of Levi. Instead, he held a secular job as a shepherd and a sycamore fig farmer (vs. 14). When his brief ministry ended, that was probably what Amos returned to doing.
As our Scripture opens, the Lord has given Amos a vision. In this vision the prophet saw the Lord standing on a wall that had been made with a plumb line, and He had a plumb line in His hand. A plumb line is a string with a weight at the bottom, and is used by builders to make sure that the walls are vertically straight. God was using a plumb line to see how well the people of Israel were standing spiritually, whether straight and narrow or off kilter (vs. 7-9). God employed a plumb line to carefully evaluate the hearts and behavior of His people back in the days of the prophet, and does so today, as well. God was not going to ignore their sin anymore, nor would He spare His judgment. That was irremediable. We are to live by His standards, not our own.
In approximately the year 930 BC, the united Kingdom of Israel split in two, northern Israel and southern Judah. Almost immediately the new king of Israel, Jeroboam I, set up idols for his people to worship, as he was afraid that if they continued to travel to Jerusalem to worship Yahweh in the Temple, they might eventually desire to reunite the kingdoms, which he didn’t want. The most prominent site for the worship of Jeroboam’s idols was in the city of Bethel (I Kings 12:26-29). At the time of our Scripture, Bethel was still the major religious center for the mongrel pagan worship, which mixed a very corrupt worship of Yahweh with that of numerous pagan gods.
Amaziah, the priest at Bethel, notified King Jeroboam II of the preaching of Amos, and how he was preaching of the coming of judgment of the Lord. This did not sit well with those in authority, and they looked at Amos as a traitor. True prophets of Yahweh were often seen as traitors and conspirators because they spoke out against the king and his advisors, questioning their authority and exposing their sins. The words of Amos cut deep into the heart of Israel’s leadership, causing them to accuse him of conspiracy against the king (vs. 10-15). This was a dangerous position for Amos to be in. It could cost him his life, but that did not stop the prophet from giving his message. Amaziah told Amos to pack up and get lost. He told him to leave the country, to take his message of divine judgment somewhere else. The people, and especially the king, did not want to hear that.
Not only was Amos’ message from the Lord a negative one, they questioned his credentials. Who was he to tell them that they were sinners, living in apostasy from Yahweh? He was not one of the religious elite, with a string of divinity degrees. He was just a rancher and farmer. Amos had been quite content doing that, however, when the Lord called him, he set his job on the side and obeyed. Without any special preparation, education, or upbringing, Amos obeyed God’s call to go prophesy to the people. Obedience is the test of a faithful servant. Amos did not put anything before the Lord, not his career, not his safety, or even his life. Are we willing to take a stand like Amos did? Are we willing to put Jesus first? Regardless of who you are and what you do for a living, God wants to use you to spread the Gospel. We are to be His ambassadors (II Corinthians 5:20).
God’s plumb line for the nation showed that they were way off kilter. They were a structure that was ready to collapse. The foundation was so damaged it was useless. If God sets a plumb line on us, how well would our spiritual lives line up? Not only do major sins get our spiritual life out of whack, but things like resentment, bitterness, pride, discouragement, and unbelief put our walls out of kilter. The tool needed to straighten us up is repentance at the Cross of Jesus Christ. He is our Master Builder. Let Jesus be your Foundation so our spiritual life will be strong and straight.
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