AMOS 7:7-9 TAKING A FULL MEASURE

7 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. 8 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. 9 “The high places of Isaac will be destroyed and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.”

A plumb line is a simple, portable device that easily measures the depth of water from a boat or defines perfect vertical in construction. Its function in either case is dependent only upon the God-given physical law of gravity. A plumb line’s design is as simple as its name. The two elements needed are a string (the “line”) and a weight (the “plumb”) tied together. In this passage, one would assume that Amos is using the plumb line as a metaphor for God’s perfect righteousness, and therefore testing Israel’s witness against that perfect standard.

A plumb line is a simple device with a simple function. In carpentry, all a plumb line can do is indicate true vertical. Therefore, it can help the builder construct a wall correctly or determine whether an existing wall is still vertical. It cannot build the wall or correct the existing wall. All it can indicate is whether the wall can remain or if it needs to be torn down and rebuilt. Our spiritual and moral plumb line in the 21st Century is the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. As part of our prayers throughout the day, we need to compare our lives with that of Jesus. That way we can determine what it is that needs to face the wrecking ball of repentance and new construction by the Holy Spirit. We will all be measured by the plumb line in the judgment that comes after death. Perhaps it would be wise for us to prepare ourselves by applying that measure to our lives early and often.

Enlighten [my] understandings with knowledge of right, and govern [my will] by thy laws, that no deceit may mislead [me], no temptation corrupt [me]; that [I] may always endeavor to do good and hinder evil. Amidst all the hopes and fears of this world, take not your Holy Spirit from [me]; for the sake of Jesus Christ [my] Lord. Amen. (Samuel Johnson, 1709-84)