ON THE VANGUARD

SEEK THE SAVIOR
“This is what [the LORD] showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. And the LORD asked me, ‘What do you see, Amos?’
“’A plumb line,’ I replied.
“Then the Lord said, ‘Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.’”
Amos 7:7-8

Amos is considered one of the ‘minor’ prophets, minor only meaning that his writing is small compared to such prophets as Isaiah or Ezekiel. The message that he brings is still from God and still true. It is said that Amos prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah in Judah, and Jeroboam II in Israel. From Amos 1:1, where he states it is two years since the earth quake during the reign of Uzziah, and the confirmation of this by Zechariah where he also speaks of the earth quake (Zech 14:5), we can deduce that Amos was written at approximately 750 BC. But even though the words he spoke were spoken so long ago, the truth that he prophesied to the people of Israel is still valid for us today.
There are two main points seen as you read Amos 7:1-9, and I want to take a minute to look at both. In verses 1-3, God shows Amos that He is preparing to unleash a swarm of locusts between the king’s share which had been harvested and the second crop that was coming up. As Amos saw this vision, he cried out to God on behalf of the people. “God, if you do this, how will Your people survive?” So God relented. In a second vision, found in verses 4-6, God then showed Amos His judgment through fire. The fire dried up the great deep and devoured the land. But again Amos begged of the LORD, “If you do this, how can Your people survive?” God relented once more.
A third vision was seen by Amos and recorded in verses 7-9. In this vision God stood by a wall that had been built true to plumb. True to plumb means balanced exactly toward the earth’s center of gravity. God was showing Amos a plumb line and spoke to him concerning the fate of Israel. God was about to check Israel’s center of gravity to see if it was in line with His ways. If not, God was not going to spare them a third time. In essence, God had helped Israel to stand tall, but he was looking to see if over time the wall was still in line with His original structuring. If the wall showed to be bowed or bulged, God would knock it down and rebuild it.
Matthew Henry writes, “The Lord now seems to stand upon this wall. He measures it; it appears to be a bowing, bulging wall. Thus God would bring the people of Israel to the trial, would discover their wickedness; and the time will come, when those who have been spared often, shall be spared no longer. But the Lord still calls Israel his people. The repeated prayer and success of the prophet should lead us to seek the Savior.”
Twice, the prayer and petition of Amos spared the people. To us, that should be an indication that a humble prayer of forgiveness followed by a turning from evil and a walking out in God’s ways can indeed lead to mercy on us by God. But then, it is also true, that if we ignore the change that we need to make, God’s mercy will eventually run out. Let us not be ones who forsake the mercy of God, but rather let us be those who cry out in forgiveness, change our ways to match His, and truly seek our Savior.