Verses 1 through 6 tell of God’s ability to plan destruction. In both instances, Amos intervenes with cries of forgiveness, and in both instances God shows His tremendous ability to show mercy.
The first punishment has to do with sending locusts to eat all the food sources in Israel. It would be so devastating that the entire nation would starve to death. The option did not leave a remnant.
The second punishment had to do with fire. God would allow the earth to become so hot that it would dry up all the water necessary for life and all the plants necessary for food. This option also would leave Israel with a remnant to survive.
Due to the remorse shown by Amos, God relents from both punishments because He desires to begin again with a remnant. God is not without mercy. In fact He desires to show mercy. Israel, however, was so steeped in their worship of pleasure that they could not conceive an anger born in God that would eradicate their way of life. They failed to see that true pleasure in life comes from honoring God, and now they faced a future without hope. When our lives are so intertwined with societal ills that we cannot see truth any longer we are in danger of the same punishment. We are in danger of missing the mercy of God. God is patient but even His patience wears thin.
To show the thoroughness of God’s determination to bring His people to submission, God showed Amos what seems to be an unusual vision. But compare verses 7 and 8 with Isaiah 28:17:
I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place. Isaiah 28:17 (NIV)
When God plans punishment, He uses a plumb line. But isn’t a plumb line used for construction? Not if you are using it to redesign a building. You use a plumb line to ensure the demolition of the right parts of the building so as not to destroy the integrity of the building. God did not want to destroy Israel – He wanted to destroy the false worship of Israel and restore a remnant that would honor Him. It was a “surgical” strike of sorts.
The people no longer measured up to God’s standard of righteousness. The plumb line showed this. God would rather have shown mercy to Israel but they refused to act in righteousness. God delights in showing mercy but delight had soured over time.
Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. Micah 7:18 (NIV)
God’s use of the plumb line was not to destroy but to rebuild. He would cut away the high places of idol worship that existed in the mountains. He would decimate the sanctuaries that housed idol worship throughout the land. His final act would remove the stain left by the sedition of Jeroboam who led the rebellion that split Israel. Jeroboam would have been God’s new king of Israel but Jeroboam had been influenced by the idol worship in Egypt and led Israel into this abhorrent style of worship.
If you do not think the sinful behaviors of your leaders do not affect the rest of the nation, then you need to look twice. Bill Clinton’s misinformation about sex is all too well documented. Look at the South Carolinian governor who refused to step aside after flying to another country to have an affair. The behaviors of a leader affect the capacity of the moral character of those they lead. Jeroboam was not the first nor will he be the last. As Charles Finney said, “They (the voters) must be honest men themselves, and instead of voting for a man because he belongs to their party..., they must find out whether he is honest and upright, and fit to be trusted.”
- What does today’s reading say to you?
- Do you pay attention to the mercy of God?
- How aware are you of those who lead you?
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