Plumbline in the book of amos

Instead of discussing whether or not amos is theologically correct, the high priest just calls it treason. God also asked me this question which resulted in an exhaustive study from genesis to revelation on the subject of walls and plumblines. A teaching outline for the book of amos expository. The plumb line has been used by builders and masons since the days of ancient egypt. The plumb line was used by builders to ensure that a wall was vertical, that is, that the wall was straight up and down.

Unlike the first two visions, this time there is no prayer offered from amos, and no relenting on the part of god. What king gets from these figures, from augustine and aquinas, but also from amos, is precisely that which amos can continue to give us today. God uses the illustration of a plumb line in amos to portray what he means by righteousness. Amos 19 new international version niv 1 the words of amos, one of the shepherds of tekoa the vision he saw concerning israel two years before the earthquake, when uzziah was king of judah and jeroboam son of jehoash a was king of israel. The lord showed amos a vision of him standing by a. Amos and gods plumb line sermon by howard strickland. Then the lord said, behold i am about to put a plumb line in the midst of my people israel. Editors and copyists added comments to the prophets original oracles that they deemed appropriate in light of events that occurred after his death. The plumb line to which we must measure up today is christ and his word john 12. Amos was from tekoa, a small town in judah about 6 miles south of bethlehem and 11 miles from jerusalem.

Not all of the material found in these chapters came from amos himself. The book of amos is great stuff, and as the schedule here at the chapel happens to break out, for better or for worse, you and i will be together like this 3 times in the next 6 weeks, so i thought we would use that time to do a short three week series in the book of amos. The peoples hearts were crooked, and they stopped caring about what god wanted. It is the third of the minor prophetic books and was written by the prophet amos in the reign of jereboam ii of israel c. But amos also knew that judgment would come, because he knew what was taking place in israel. This summary of the book of amos provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of amos. In chapter 7 of the book of amos, i found what became my basis for collaborative intervention. So i scurried home and found information online that. As with each of the minor prophets, the title comes from the name of the prophet to whom god gave his message 1. The plumb line was gods standard by which the people of israel would be measured. In verse 17, the plumb line is defined as justice and righteousness. Amos has been called the plumb line prophet because he had a vision of.

As young christian it didnt take me too long to run into the concept of the plumb line around church circles. John ritenbaugh warns us that the book of amos is specifically addressed to us the end time church the israel of god the ones who have actually made the new covenant with god. The thirtieth book in the bible is the book of amos. The purpose of this brief article is to make suggestions concerning sermons which may be preached from the book of amos. Behold, the lord stood on a wall made with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand.

Then god threatened judgment by fire, and amos again repented in behalf of the people. Uzziah was king of judah, and jeroboam ii was king of israel. Amos begged for gods mercy and god responded to amos plea. Amos pleaded with god to relent his judgment and, in their place, god places a. Recent scholarship has shown amoss hymn is an ancient narrative text, has identified a new verse at 7. The book of amos is the earliest of the book of the twelve prophets, and is relevant today, as it addresses social injustice, so prevalent in our world. Now in amoss story, the plumb line is also very important if you want to build a straight wall.

Jan 24, 2011 amos third vision and the plumb line posted on january 24, 2011 by claude mariottini in my previous studies on amos, i discussed his call, his first vision and the power of intercessory prayer, and the second vision and the repentance of god. Amos told the people of israel that the god was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. When the cord is held in such a way that the weight can dangle freely, an exact vertical can be determined. The bible never lets us escape from the fact that there is a judgment coming, and we are held morally accountable. The person who is righteous has been measured against the standard of gods law and found to be in alignment. Measure what you do and say against the plumb line. The people of israel did not see themselves as having fallen and being in need of repentance. He was preparing swarms of locusts after the kings share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up.

The prophet amos employs the plumb line as a powerful metaphor for justice in society. The purpose of the vision was gods desire to show amos that the plumb line was accurate and that it had been used to construct a proper wall. A weight attached to a string a builder uses to measure how straight a wall is. Now, on this occasion, we have nothing before us but this plumb line, but there is a great deal to be learnt from it. Amos, whose name means burden, gives no family pedigree, hence we can assume he was not of noble or prominent stock, like isaiah or zephaniah. When you pray, things actually change, you change as you feel a deep sense of knowing youre becoming like you want to be. God was measuring israels religious conduct and behavior. Amos 7 new international version niv locusts, fire and a plumb line.

The book of the twelve prophets was originally on one parchment roll because of the brevity of the text, and originally formed one book of the 24 books of hebrew scripture. The book of amos is great stuff, and as the schedule here at the chapel happens to break out, for better or for worse, you and i will be together. Lessons from the book of amos part vi steps to life. God always uses his servants in the best possible way, and as they ought to be used. The book of amos was written during the era of divided kingdoms of israel but in an age which is much prosperous than the previous times especially the northern kingdom of isreal with ruler jeroboam ii reached at such a level of growth and prosperity as was not seen after david and solomon. It is used by builders as a vertical reference point to make sure what they are building is straight. Painters and carpenters use plumb lines to keep their work straight. Thus he showed me, and behold, the lord was standing by a vertical wall with a plumb line in his hand. The plumb line is mentioned several times throughout the old and new testaments. Amos pleaded with god to relent his judgment and, in their place, god places. Amos 7 new international version niv locusts, fire and a plumb line 7 this is what the sovereign lord showed me. When you hold the string at the top, the weight makes the line hang down straight. Amos and hosea were coworkers and may even have gone on preaching tours through the land together, although hosea continued his work after amos passed from the scene. People would say that the word of god is like a plumb line for your life.

Book of amos bible survey what was the significance of the horns of the altar amos 3. A religious man, grandpa amos favorite bible verse was from the book of amos where its noted that the lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand a literal plumbline is a line from which a weight is suspended to determine verticality. Unlike the first two visions given to amos, this vision is not one of complete destruction, but it is rather more ominous. The students discover that although amos message was very bad news to gods people because of their wickedness they would be punished. Amos was a sheepbreeder and tender of sycamore trees. In amos vision, god is standing with a plumb line by a wall that is level. The lord set a plumb line among his people amos youtube. Outline of the book of amos you only have i know of all the families of the earth.

In amos vision, god was standing with a plumb line by a wall that was level. Let his vision come before us, as though we saw it ourselves. New american standard bible the lord said to me, what do you see, amos. Amos the plumb line prophet disciplers bible studies. The plumbline vv 79 the lord revealed to amos a third vision of judgmenta plumbline. With plumbline, prayer is something you can hardly imagine, that its this good. Amos obeyed god and shared his message with the king of israel and the priest amaziah told him to. The bible amos, judgement of god on kingdom of judah. Theres a joy welling up inside of you as you watch your family connect with god in a deep and meaningful way. Christian standard bible the lord asked me, what do you see, amos.

In a vision of the plumb line which the lord was holding to measure israel amos learns that the lord is going to judge the nation and especially the house of jeroboam for their corrupt worship 7. The metaphors of amos are very forcible, though homely and simple. Then the lord said, look, i am setting a plumb line among my people israel. Jul 11, 2018 was not jesus an extremist for love was not amos an extremist for justice. Today we use a level instead of a plumb line to be sure that when we construct a building the walls are level. The central idea of the book of amos is that god puts his people on the same level as the surrounding nations god expects the same purity of them all. And, as a human plumbline would reveal structural inaccuracy and weakness, so gods plumbline would make evident moral inaccuracy and weakness. No grasshoppers, no fire, but a plumbline the lord showed amos that grasshoppers would devour the fall crops of israel, but amos pleaded with god for mercy, and god called off the grasshoppers.

Amos proclaimed gods judgment upon his people for failing to live by gods standards of justice and righteousness. Paul shares excerpts from the book of amos where the prophet shares a word with the people of israel. Amos 7 locusts, fire and a plumb line this bible gateway. It is used by builders as a vertical reference point. The wall represents israel, and the plumb line, the test which makes her failure official. Preaching from amos will afford the preacher with a challenging opportunity and a staggering responsibility to proclaim some old truths in relation to new situations. Behold, said the lord, i am setting a plumb line among my people israel. Line your life up with the bible and it will be a plumb line to keep focused on what is upright and true.

He confesses he is a herdsman and a gatherer of sycamore fruit wild figs. Then said the lord, behold, i will set a plumbline in the midst of my people israel. There are many synonyms for gods word such as the bible, cannon, manuscripts, sword of the spirit, fire, hammer, manna, truth, bread of life, love letter, two edged sword, book of life, torah, pentateuch,tanakh, but today i want to look at the synonym plumb line. Isaiah and micah followed amos s ministry and may have heard him preach when they were lads. The book of amos, which is the earliest of the prophetic writings to be preserved in book form, consists of nine chapters. It provides a standard against which one can measure what he has built. Amos and the crumbling kingdom bible story lifekids youtube. So i scurried home and found information online that amos prophesized in israel during the reign of king jeroboam. Secondly he is a surveyor who has returned with a plumb line to assess the soundness of the wall. To remember that amos had a difficult job to do lets turn to amos 7. Mar 31, 2008 you cannot tell if a structure is built perfectly upright by merely looking at it, but a plumb line will soon reveal its soundness. A plumb line, also called a plummet, is a cord with a nonmagnetic weight attached to one end. But the book of judges tells us they did not want to live gods way.

The first opens with a general title to the work, giving the authors name and the general date of his ministry i, 1, and a text or motto in four poetical lines i, 2, describing under a fine image the lords power over palestine. Just as amos looked at gods word and saw a plumbline next to a wall, so the standard of gods word will only be revealed as the only standard of plumb as it is seen in relation to his holy remnant people. The plumb line was the reason amos could not protest gods judgment. Lewis johnson who once said, amos is the kind of book that rewards constant study. She mentioned she attended a local church service that discussed the book of amos. He is not to be confused with amoz stout, strong, the father of isaiah isaiah 1. There was a mystery about the vision, but the vision itself was not mysterious. As we see this fact being brought about in the book of amos, it should sober us in our thinking. God gave amos a vision of a plumb line a cord with a lead bob attached to one end, used to determine perpendicularity.

In the book of amos we see god giving a key vision to the prophet amos to share with the northern kingdom of israel. Here in amos 7, god is reapplying the plumbline standard of the law to israel to show amos how far his nation had shifted away from the perfect standard with which she had been constructed, and why he could no longer pass by them any more in mercy, but must rather bring the judgment that their sin demanded. Amos and the crumbling kingdom bible story lifekids. The twelve include hosea, joel, amos, obadiah, jonah, micah, nahum, habakkuk, zephaniah, haggai, zechariah, and malachi.

A fire that destroys not only vegetation but even underground water. However, amos preference to begin a new section of thought with an introductory formula suggests that verse 8, which begins with behold, introduces the final section of his book. The book of amos is written in some of the finest ot hebrew style. The book of the prophet amos the prophet amos lived in the eighth century bc and was a common herdsman and keeper of sycamore fig trees 7. A plumb line, also called a plummet, is a cord with a. Jul 18, 2016 she mentioned she attended a local church service that discussed the book of amos. If they did not line up with this standard, they would be punished. We have previously discussed the potential parallels between the book of amos and the recent attacks on the united states. For, as king rightly notes, if we do not have justice as a plum line, then the. In each instance, it is used as gods measure of the integrity of his people. The following lesson was adapted for a small group of children ranging in ages from 611.