"What do you see, Amos?" he asked. "A basket of ripe fruit," I answered. (Amos 8:2)After Israel's crimes are clearly delineated, God shows Amos a vision of Israel's punishment. First he sees a locust invasion and then fires ravaging the countryside, both of which spell drought and starvation for the kingdom. Twice, Amos intercedes: How can Jacob survive? He is so small! (7:2 and 5) In both cases, God relents.
Then Amos sees a wall built perfectly straight as confirmed by a plumb line. What do you see, Amos? And Amos replies, A plumb line (v. 8). And God explains he is placing a plumb line among the people of Israel, and that no further deviation from true will be tolerated. The first two visions were about God bringing punishment upon Israel. J. Keir Howard asserts that the third vision implies Israel will crumble from within, doomed by its own crookedness. [1]
Then God shows Amos another vision: a basket of ripe fruit. Have you ever noticed apples or pears arriving at the perfect stage of ripeness? We better eat these quick, or they're going to rot. Once fruit is ripe, there's really no way to hold back time - in a day or two they'll have to be thrown out.
God relented from sending the locusts or the fires, but Israel's own internal decay was bringing it down. The wheels were set in motion, with no rescue in sight.
What would God's plumb line show about your life?
[1] J. Keir Howard. "Amos." New International Bible Commentary. rev. ed. Ed.: F. F. Bruce (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 1999).
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