7:7 This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall
built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand.
7:8 And the LORD said to me, "Amos, what do you see?" And I said, "A
plumb line." Then the Lord said, "See, I am setting a plumb line in
the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by;
7:9 the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the
sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against
the house of Jeroboam with the sword."
7:10 Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to King Jeroboam of
Israel, saying, "Amos has conspired against you in the very center
of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words.
7:11 For thus Amos has said, 'Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and
Israel must go into exile away from his land.'"
7:12 And Amaziah said to Amos, "O seer, go, flee away to the land of
Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there;
7:13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king's
sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom."
7:14 Then Amos answered Amaziah, "I am no prophet, nor a prophet's
son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees,
7:15 and the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD
said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'
Amos, a shepherd from the southern village of Tekoa, is called by God
to preach against Israel, the Northern Kingdom, in a time of economic
prosperity. Today's reading illustrates how Amos's stinging criticism
of those in authority alienated him from both king and priest.
Have many of you looked into the word "plumb line"? This is the only
time that the word appears in the Hebrew. We do not really know what
it means. The Septuigent translates it into a Greek word that we know
means "temper metal". Jerome translated it into a word that means
"tin." In the volgate it is a word that means, "tempered steal".
Sometime during the middle ages it was translated into a word that
meant "plumb line" and we have been using that word ever since. That
is about all the commentaries I have been looking at can tell me. It
seems pretty important to have some kind of understanding of what this
word means to understand the passage as a whole. Preaching in Kansas
A "plumb line" is a line used by a bricklayer or builder to keep a
wall straight and true. That is, straight up and down. It ensure that
the wall does not lean in or out but is square and even. Without one,
a wall can follow the lay of the land, and be weakened by
inappropriate angles.
Injustice is all about things being uneven. Hence the common symbol
for justice is a set of scales. Amos was called from obscurity (a
common shepherd and keeper of sycamores) to alert the people of Israel
that they were not necessarily as straight and as true as they might
think. They were committing injustice and whilst they could see
injustice in their neighbours, they couldn't see it in themselves.
I have posted previously in the other lections, but I accept the
challenge.
Regards, KGB in Aussie
Steve in NC:
Some of us do not have the same OT lesson and Psalm assigned each
week, although the Gospels are the same. I love the Amos imagery, but
it won't do me any good in my preaching this week. (It is is year B,
Proper 10 for Lutherans) JRW in OH
This is by no way an official or building advise column but while in
seminary I had a good friend that worked as a brick layer. I was
discussing this weeks passage with him and he made the comment that in
order to make a brick facing connect to a building he often uses
pieces of metal nailed to the the building on one end and the other
end embedded in the brick mortar. Could this be a similar analogy to
the "tempered steel" or "tin" in other translations. Could it be a way
to "connect" the bricks to the true building? Could it mean that we
are forever "connected" or held to to God through his saving work yet
to come in Jesus or is that a too far stretch, and maybe it applies to
something more immediate in the northern kingdom?
Just some thoughts out loud
Mark in SW WA
Preaching in Kansas,
Thanks so much for the unwrapping of a plumb line as an up and down
measurement. I liken this to our relationship with God. That being
said, Jesus' Good Samaritan parable seems to speak of our side to side
measurement, namely our relationship with each other. Hence, both
texts enhance the understanding of the other.
Plumb lines and levels are apparently what we need to measure up...and
across.
Blessings, RB in PA
Why is my Gospel Page coming out looking like a combination of Greek
and Korean?
Sally in GA
What I think is really interesting in this passage is Amaziah telling
Amos to go prophesy somewhere else and "never again prophesy at
Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a temple of the
kingdom"!!!
Indeed! I'll be talking about the tension between prophet and
patriot...how prophets, or anyone who dares to speak out against their
country's policies are labelled "unpatriotic" ... when they may, in
fact be the more patriotic ... loving their country enough to want it
to live up to its founding visions.
df Guam
I know it's late in the week and most won't see this posting, but did
anyone else notice that the scripture posting at the top of this page
omitted the final two verses (16 and 17) from the lectionary posting
for this date?
The prophesy is a brutal one and the warning a dire one.
Don in ON
Plumb line is good enough, just know that God is referring to what is
built on the land, namely the idolatrous high places Jeroboam 1 had
erected (golden calves and all, even up in Dan). He as much as said He
will not harm the land (though Amaziah lies about that). And read 1
Kings 12:31, Amaziah wasn't even a Levite, he was a fake priest. His
arrogance to God's servant should be considered mockery. Read
Galatians 6:7,8. That is why God deals so harshly with him, but spares
the people by sending them into exile - to live another day and
another opportunity for repentance. God continually has commpassion on
His people, to a point, 2 Chronicles 36:15,16. Also explore what he
means by eat your bread there, in Judah. Does that mean simply earn
your living there, or is Amaziah poking fun at the small size of Tekoa,
which is outside of Bethlehem, the House of Bread? And then what is
the glorious occurance to come to Bethlehem? Does God really repay
Amaziah's mockery in full? STUDY!
JB in Chicago
