June 22nd~The Plumb Line

Amos 7:1-9:15


2 Kings 14:28, 29


2 Kings 15:8-29, 6, 7

2 Chronicles 26:22, 23

Isaiah 6:1-13

God’s patience had reached its end. He was tired of warning His people of their sins; now, He moved to destroy them. Both Amos and Isaiah prophesied that it would happen. Still, neither the kings nor the people would repent of their idolatry and so they hastened their destruction.

We also got a glimpse of the nation that God would use to punish His people — the wicked Assyrians. The Assyrians were perhaps the most feared people of that day, known for their cruelty and violence. Take, for example, their capital city of Nineveh; it was not called the “City of Blood” for nothing. It was the fear of these people that caused Jonah to run in the opposite direction when God called him to preach to them.

The Assyrian King Tiglathpileser invaded the land the first time, but relented when the King of Israel paid him off with 37 tons of silver. However, with his second invasion, he took several cities and thousands of captives away from Israel. The invasions will only get worse, as we will soon see the dismantling of the Northern Kingdom of Israel at the hands of the Assyrians.

A few other noteworthy items happened in our reading today. First, did you notice that both Amos and Isaiah prophesied that Israel, after being devastated, would be restored at some point. Isaiah wrote, “Israel will remain a stump, like a tree that is cut down, but the stump will be a holy seed that will grow again” (6:13). Amos wrote that a day would come when God would “restore the fallen kingdom of David. Though it is a house of ruins, I will rebuild its walls and restore it to its former glory” (9:11- 15). Here is a look ahead at the return of Israel from exile in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah.

A second notable prophecy is that of a great famine in the land, “not a famine of bread or

water but of hearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8:11, 12). God’s Word had been rejected by His people to such a degree that He decided not to say anything for a while. Scholars believe this prophecy to relate to the 400 years of silence between the Old and New Testaments.

The last item I’d like to mention is the prophecy of the Lord standing beside a wall that had been built using a plumb line (Amos 7:7-9). A plumb line is a weight on the end of a string; builders used it to measure the height of a structure, the depth of a river, and the straightness of a wall. When God’s Word was being collected and made into a book (around 400 AD), the Church fathers chose to call the book the “Canon,” which is Greek for “plumb line.”

Daily Reflection

God’s Word, which reflects God’s nature and character, is our plumb line. With it, we are to measure all things. It is to be our guide, to help us filter and discern truth from error, to gauge godly wisdom from worldly foolishness. By obeying the Lord’s statutes, we keep our feet on a straight path.

Praise God that we do not live in a famine of hearing God’s Word. We have access to His wisdom at all times. How is this both a positive and negative truth?

How does your life measure up to the Plumb Line of God’s Word? Are you following the Lord’s instructions and walking the straight path? It was by ignoring this plumb line that led to Israel’s downfall.

BiAY.org |Day 173 — 192 Days to Go