The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Amos 7:7-8,
"This is what he 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.'"
A plumb line is a line from which a weight is suspended to determine straight up and down, accurately. If a house is to be built a plumb line can be used to determine whether the walls are straight or not. If a fence is being built, a plumb line can be used to determine whether it is standing straight up or not.
In a figurative sense, the plumb line is used as a metaphor to determine if people's choices and actions are straight or crooked. In Isaiah 28:17, in the context of the famous passage of the Lord laying a cornerstone in Zion, in which if anyone trusts in him, he will never be put to shame (see Romans 9:33 and 10:11) we are told the Lord's plumb line to measure a man is justice and righteousness. There we read that the refuge of the sinful, "the lie" will be swept away.
In Amos 7:1-6 we read of Amos interceding with the Lord on Israel's behalf, not to destroy them as they had abandoned of the Lord. The Lord tells Amos he will relent and not destroy them completely. However, the Lord shows Amos a plumb line in his hand and tells Amos he is using it among his people, that he "will spare them no longer." The Lord says, "with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam." Amos 7:9.
Man, in his sinfulness, often lacks the ability to gauge his own actions, whether they are right or not. In Proverbs 21:2 we read, "All a man's ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart." The Lord is not deceived whatsoever in such matters. His perspective is clear and penetrating. Just as a plumb line can gauge whether a wall is straight or not, the Lord has no problem measuring us as to whether we are straight or not. As the writer of Hebrews says, "The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." Hebrews 4:12-13.
My life, measured by the plumb line of the Lord, is anything but straight and true! How wonderful it is for me that the Lord, in his mercy, has made provision for my faults, shortcomings, my sinfulness. He has paid the price for them, on a cross, satisfying his sense of justice and making the difference so that I am found straight and true in his sight!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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