The Strand Study Bible

AMOS 7:3

1385

AMOS 7:17

land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small. God answers Amos and the judgment is withheld 3 The LORD repented for this: It shall not be, saith the LORD. Second vision - The fire 4 Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord GOD called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part. Amos (again) intercedes on behalf of the people 5 Then said I, O Lord GOD, cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small. God answers Amos (again) and the judgment is withheld 6 The LORD repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord GOD. Third vision - The plumbline 7 Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plum- bline, with a 1 plumbline in his hand. 8 And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the LORD , Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: 2 I will not again pass by them any more: 9 3 And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword . P Amaziah sends accusations against Amos to King Jeroboam II Date - c. 765 BC/AM 3235 10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to 4 Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, 3 and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land. P The promise of Israel’s fall to Assyria (Fulfilled - II Ki 17:6 & 18:10,11 - 721 BC)

12 Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: 13 But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king’s chapel, and it is the king’s court. 14 Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit: 15 And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel. 16 Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac. 17 Therefore thus saith the LORD ; 3 Thy wife shall be anharlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted 5 land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land. P

1. Note - In this Scripture, God’s plumbline showed His people how far they had really strayed from His standard of righteousness. Sadly, Israel failed to measure up spiritually (II Ki 21:13). Just as a plumbline cannot make a wall straight (it can only reveal its crookedness); just as a schoolmaster cannot make a student learn (he can only reveals that student’s ignorance); just as a mirror cannot cleanse a person (it can only reveal that person’s filthiness), so the law cannot save us (it can only reveal to us what poor condition we are in). The law was written in order to lead us to CHRIST , who alone can save - Jonah 2:9 , Exo 14:31 , Gen 49:18 and Heb 6:1 c ). 2. Note - Whenever you cross the line of God’s mercy, even intercessory prayer from some of the greatest people of God (I Sam 16:1 and Ezk 14:12-20) will be to no avail ( I will not again pass by them any more ). 3. Fulfilled- II Ki 17:6 & 18:10-11 (Fall of Israel) 4. Amos 1:1 5. or, “land of Assyria” Hos 9:1-3

MED SEA

Jordan River

• Samaria

• Bethel

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Tekoa

Amaziah of Bethel sends accusations against Amos to King Jeroboam II in Samaria Map #220

7:7 God’s Word can be compared to three items: (1) a plumbline (to show us our crookedness - Amos 7:7 ); (2) a mirror (to show us our filthiness - II Cor 3:18 and Jms 1:23-25); and (3) a schoolmaster (to show us our ignorance - Gal 3:24 ). The people of God are admonished to look into God’s Word as if it were a mirror, to line up with God’s Word as if it were a plumbline, and to listen to God’s Word as if God were speaking just to you. Billy Graham in God’s Ambassador notes: When we approach the Bible as history and biography, we approach the Bible in the wrong spirit. We must read the Bible, not primarily as historians seeking information, but as men and women seeking God. 1 1 Graham, Billy. God’s Ambassador , San Diego, CA: W Publishing Group. 1999. Print.