This week, as the Lunch Bunch crew read over our
scripture lesson for today, we talked a lot about plumb lines and the struggle
of applying wall paper straight. Plumb lines are ancient tools used to help make
a straight line. We don’t have a lot of occasions to use plumb lines in our
daily lives. But, in the ancient Near East, people had to learn how to do a lot
of different jobs – when it was time to harvest a crop, everyone harvested a
crop. When it was time to dig a trench, everyone dug a trench. When it was time
to build a new barn, a barn with even lines and straight walls, everyone built
a barn. So, a plumb line was an every-day tool in the tool box of most people
of that day and age.
In
this morning’s reading, we read about a prophesy God made through Amos, a
farmer-turned-prophet. Amos’ words were
not welcomed by those who heard him, but he wasn’t afraid to share what God
wanted him to say. Listen now to God’s
Holy word as it is transcribed in the Book of Amos, chapter 7, verses 7 through
17:
Scripture Reading Amos 7:7-17
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.
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.
“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.”
Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to
Jeroboam king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in
the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words.
For this is what Amos is saying:
“‘Jeroboam will die by the sword,
and Israel will surely go into exile,
away from their native land.’”
Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer! Go back to
the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.
Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the
king’s sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom.”
Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor the son
of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig
trees.
But the Lord took me from tending the flock and
said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’
Now then, hear the word of the Lord. You say,
“‘Do not prophesy against Israel,
and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’
“Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city,
and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword.
Your land will be measured and divided up,
and you yourself will die in a pagan country.
And Israel will surely go into exile,
away from their native land.’”
Here ends this reading of the word of God
for the People of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Message A Plumb Line
Amos came to
Israel from the neighboring country, Judah. When Kings David and Solomon ruled
the land, the countries were united, but by Amos’ lifetime, the two kingdoms
were separate. Amos’ work as a prophet is believed to have happened between 760
and 750 BCE, during the reign of King Jeroboam of Israel. Both the land of
Israel and the land of Judah were prosperous during this time period.
Sometimes, when things are going
well in our personal lives, we get cocky. Sometimes, when things are going well
in the life of our nation, we get over-confident. This has happened in the US
off and on over the past two-hundred and forty-six years. And, this also
happened in ancient Judah during the several decades of military success and
prosperity when Amos was called by God to be a prophet.
God was concerned that the
leadership of the land of Judah -- the rulers, the priests, the wealthy class –
had become too comfortable with their wealth and military victories and were
turning away from God. Instead of appreciating God, they became very proud of
themselves. And, God was not happy about their behavior and lack of
appreciation. God was not happy about their extravagance and love of excess.
God sent Amos to prophesy in
Israel….God sent a foreigner to tell the people to straighten up and get right
with God. And, as we read in the scripture this morning, the leadership of
Israel was not happy about Amos’ words.
Americans can relate to this. We
don’t appreciate it when people are critical of our country. We don’t like it
when we are “outed” as not being “the” example of freedom and liberty for the
rest of the world. We don’t like it when our fellow Americans criticize our
government and its policies and we don’t like it when people from other
countries come here and criticize us.
The King of Israel and his high
priest Amaziah didn’t like it when Amos criticized them. They told him to go
back to his own country. They told him to essentially “shut up.”
In 722 BCE, Israel was conquered by
the Assyrians. So, about thirty years
after the Israeli royal family and their chief priests told Amos to knock it
off, their children and grandchildren were conquered and forced into exile. The
events Amos foretold came true. Oh,
how the mighty have fallen.
God’s message through Amos is about
responsibility. God is paying attention to us….God is with us as the Holy
Spirit and is here to help guide us. We are responsible for what we do and what
we choose not to do. Fortunately, God
gives us a lot of help. Throughout time immortal, God has forgiven us when we
mess up. God doesn’t expect us to be perfect. God came to earth as Jesus, to
demonstrate how God wants us to live with each other – God asks us to love God
and God wants us to love each other. God
invites us to be generous and compassionate. God is here with us in the form of
the Holy Spirit, to encourage us and to share with us a spirit of wisdom and
understanding, a spirit of counsel and strength, and a spirit of knowledge and
reverence for the Lord. God helps us in our quest to live according to God’s
teachings and God’s way of life.
As we read the word of God as it was
witnessed to by Amos, we can take away a reminder that we are called to be
responsible to live as Christians in a world that doesn’t always make it easy
for us to hold true to our faith. We don’t always take criticism well. We don’t
always get everything right. But, God is with us as God’s Holy Spirit to help
us, to encourage us, and to guide us.
We thank God for God’s love and
grace and for the impact Jesus has made on our lives.
Let us live out our faith in love.
Amen.
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