Amos 7:1-9
The Plumb Line
Read the passage
1This is what the Lord GOD showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts just after the king’s harvest, as the late spring crop was coming up.
2And when the locusts had eaten every green plant in the land, I said, “Lord GOD, please forgive! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?”
3So the LORD relented from this plan. “It will not happen,” He said.
4This is what the Lord GOD showed me: The Lord GOD was calling for judgment by fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the land.
5Then I said, “Lord GOD, please stop! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?”
6So the LORD relented from this plan. “It will not happen either,” said the Lord GOD.
7This is what He showed me: Behold, the Lord was standing by a wall true to plumb, with a plumb line in His hand.
8“Amos, what do you see?” asked the LORD. “A plumb line,” I replied. “Behold,” said the Lord, “I am setting a plumb line among My people Israel; I will no longer spare them:
9The high places of Isaac will be deserted, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste; and I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with My sword.”
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
The Lord GOD shows Amos locusts being prepared just after the king’s harvest, as the late spring crop comes up. In the vision they eat every green plant. Amos cries, “Lord GOD, please forgive! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?” The LORD relents and says it will not happen.
In the next vision the LORD calls for judgment by fire. It consumes the great deep and devours the land. Amos pleads for Him to stop, again asking how Jacob can survive. The LORD relents from this judgment too.
Then Amos sees the Lord beside a wall true to plumb, holding a plumb line. This tool shows whether a wall is straight. The LORD says He is setting a plumb line among Israel and will no longer spare them.
Israel’s high places and sanctuaries will be laid waste, and the LORD will rise against Jeroboam’s house with the sword. The visions show both His response to Amos’s prayers and His decision that judgment will come. The prophet who has delivered hard accusations also pleads for the people’s survival.
Questions
1 What did Amos do when he saw the locusts?
AnswerHe pleaded with the LORD, asking how Jacob could survive because the nation was so small and vulnerable before the coming disaster.
2 How did the LORD respond to the first two visions?
AnswerThe LORD relented after Amos’s intercession and said the announced disaster would not happen, showing mercy before the final word of judgment.
3 What did the LORD hold in the third vision?
AnswerHe held a plumb line beside a wall built with one, measuring Israel against a standard that exposed its crookedness.
4 What would happen to Israel's high places and sanctuaries?
AnswerThey would be laid waste, and the LORD would rise against the house of Jeroboam with His sword. This vision ends with judgment that He says He will no longer spare them.
What This Means for Us
Amos does not delight in the destruction he sees. He asks God to forgive and spare the people he has been sent to confront.
Pray for someone whose wrongdoing troubles you. Ask for repentance, protection for those being harmed, and mercy for the person doing wrong. Honest concern about sin can belong beside a sincere desire for the sinner’s good.
Prayer
LORD, give us compassion to pray for others and honesty to receive Your correction. Straighten what is crooked in us before our harm becomes settled and defended. Amen.