Lesson 10: Vision Three – The Plumb Line (Amos 7)

Introduction: When I was a kid I remember going to a little tourist
place where the rules of gravity did not seem to apply. Balls rolled
uphill. Floors looked level but did not feel level. The walls seemed
straight, but were not. After studying the matter, I determined it
was all an optical illusion – nothing was as it seemed. Are we
living in an “optical illusion?” Has Satan so twisted our vision that
we have trouble seeing matters in their proper light? Our lesson
this week is about testing with God’s standard. Let’s dive in!

1. The Plumb Line

1. 1. Read Amos 7:7-8. What is “plumb?” Is this a fruit that
    grows on a tree? Is it a short name for people who work
    on water and drainage systems? (Being “plumb” is a
    construction term that refers to being straight up and
    down. A “plumb line” is a string with a weight on the end.
    When you hold the string at the top, the weight makes the
    line hang down straight. Today we use a “level” instead of
    a plumb line to be sure that when we construct a building
    the walls are level.)

1. 1. 1. In Amos’ vision, God is standing with a plumb line by
      a wall that is level. Why? (God wants to show that
      the plumb line is accurate and that it has been used
      to construct a proper wall.)

1. 1. 1. God then says He is setting a plumb line in Israel.
      How would that apply to people instead of walls? What
      does this mean? (It means that God is going to
      measure His people against absolute truth. No longer
      is it a question of what seems right to the person.
      God is going use a true standard and no longer spare
      the people.)

1. 1. 1. Amos protested when he saw the visions of destruction
      by locusts and fire. God now says He will “not spare”
      Israel and Amos does not protest this time. Why not?
      (God is testing, measuring, His people. How can you
      expect to be spared from that? While we found Amos
      protesting the visions of total destruction, he does
      not protest this test because he had been warning the
      people about false godliness. (See Amos 5:18, 21-22)
      God is now going to apply His divine measure to the
      people to test whether the are what they claim to be.
      He will find out whether they are real or an “optical
      illusion.”)

1. 2. Read Amos 7:9. What are the “high places” that are going
    to be destroyed? (Idols were set up in the “high places.”
    God is going to destroy the idol worship. The test will
    reveal whether they trust other gods.)

2. The Reaction to Being Measured

1. 1. Read Amos 7:10-11. Does the High Priest agree with Amos’
    vision from God? (No.)

1. 1. 1. How does the High Priest describe Amos’ words? (He
      describes them as an attack on the King. They are a
      conspiracy, they are treason.)

1. 1. 1. How would you compare the loyalty of the High Priest
      to the King and opposed to the High Priest’s loyalty
      to God?

1. 1. 1. Why would the High Priest describe as treason God’s
      words about the destruction of idols? (This is an
      example of twisted thinking. Instead of discussing
      whether or not Amos is theologically correct, the
      High Priest just calls it treason. He badly needed a
      “plumb line” for his thinking.)

1. 2. We have previously discussed the potential parallels
    between the book of Amos and the recent attacks on the
    United States. I have asked in past lessons whether God
    allowed these recent events as a “wake up” call for us to
    turn to Him. The response of our citizens has been to come
    together in patriotism. On one hand, I love the way we
    came together, on the other hand, I wonder if all reasoned
    consideration of “our condition” is being lost in a chorus
    of “God Bless America.” What do you think? Are we in
    danger of being like this High Priest? We turn God’s
    warnings into an issue of patriotism?

1. 1. 1. Some who say the recent attacks are a “wake up” call,
      point to the sins in our society. Who was God
      measuring with His plumb line? (Verse 8 tells us the
      plumb line was set “among my people.” It is those
      who claim to be God’s followers that are subject to
      the test. If this is a wake up call, it is not for
      “them,” but for “us.”)

1. 2. Our lesson (Wednesday) draws a most peculiar conclusion
    from the High Priest’s complaint to the King that Amos is
    committing treason. It says this shows “the danger of
    politics and religion being too intricately mixed.” What
    would you say about mixing religion and politics if the
    High Priest called on the King to repent – and the King
    repented?

1. 1. 1. What is the real evil here? (The real evil is that
      “God’s man,” the High Priest, does not look at this
      issue in theological terms, he looks at it in
      political terms.)

1. 1. 1. Let’s stroll a minute down the path that the lesson
      suggests we take. If the conclusion to be drawn from
      Amos is that we must make decisions based on God’s
      Word and not civil law, how would you judge the
      strident demands for “church-state separation?” Is
      this a Biblical principle or a principle based on
      civil law (the First Amendment to the U.S.
      Constitution)? (The argument against accepting aid
      from the government has no Biblical foundation. God
      approved of the state providing money to rebuild His
      temple! 2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Nehemiah 2:1-9. On the
      other hand, Jesus tells the Church it has no proper
      goal to try to control the government. John 18:36;
      see Matthew 22:21.)

1. 2. Read Amos 7:12-13. How would you put the High Priest’s
    directions to Amos in today’s terms? (“Go away, you’re
    bothering us.”)

1. 1. 1. Who did the High Priest say was in charge? (This is
      another part of the twisted way the High Priest
      understood his job. He tells Amos to go away and not
      reveal the messages from God because the King of
      Israel is in charge here. How important it is to
      understand that our direction in life comes from
      God’s word and not from the words of man. If the
      High Priest did not understand this, little wonder
      the people did not understand it.)

1. 1. 1. Read Amos 7:16-17. What is the “downside” to ignoring
      God in favor of listening to the King of Israel?

2. Our Reaction to Being Measured

1. 1. If Amos were speaking to you, how should you react to his
    message? (You would hopefully want to “measure up” to the
    plumb line.)

1. 1. When you were in school, if the teacher had a test
    standard, you wanted to know what it was, right? “How long
    does our paper have to be?” “How many pages do we have to
    read?” What is God’s standard here? What is this “plumb
    line?” (Read Leviticus 19:2. God tells us to be holy as He
    is holy. The following verses in Leviticus 19 then go on
    to describe what God expects. These seem very much like
    the Ten Commandments.)

1. 1. 1. Read Galatians 4:24-25. Doesn’t Paul tell us that the
      “covenant” from Mount Sinai (the Ten Commandments
      were given from Sinai) bears children who are slaves?
      Does the plumb line standard of God’s Ten
      Commandments no longer apply? Need we no longer worry
      about being “holy?”

1. 2. Read Exodus 20:1-5. How does God begin His statement of
    the Ten Commandments? (He begins by drawing their
    attention to His redemptive activity. God says because I
    redeemed you, this is what I have in mind for your life.
    God then goes on to say “no other gods.” He asks us to
    trust Him alone.)

1. 1. Let’s go back to Galatians for a minute. Read Galatians
    5:1,16-18. Jesus died in our place, thus fulfilling the
    righteous requirements of the law. This is how Jesus set
    us free from the law. He “took us out of Egypt,” he took
    us out of the inescapable pit of sin and death. But, just
    as Paul tells us in Galatians not to gratify our sinful
    desires, so today we have a responsibility to acknowledge
    what God has already done for us (redemption) by making an
    effort to live a pure and upright life.)

1. 1. 1. Is this effort to live a pure and upright life a
      matter of being careful about how we behave? (Paul
      makes this critically important point in Galatians
      5:18. We need an attitude change. If we seek for a
      heart change through the power of the Holy Spirit,
      then our “Godly attitude” will govern our life and
      not our concentration on keeping the law. That is our
      goal – to have the Spirit so change our sinful hearts
      that we want to do what is right. If we have no
      interest in living according to God’s law, then it is
      doubtful that we ever accepted God’s offer of
      salvation. That is why God starts the Ten
      Commandments by saying, “Consider what I did for
      you.” He wants us to want to do His will.)

1. 2. Friend, God deeply cares about the behavior of His people.
    He has a measure, and He applies it to those who claim to
    be His. Don’t be satisfied living an “optical illusion.”
    If you see that your life is not “plumb,” will you repent
    and invite the Holy Spirit to come into your heart today
    to change your attitude?

Next Week: Vision Four – Summer Fruit