“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 would be tolerated. The first two visions
were about God bringing punishment upon the kingdom. 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 pears or peaches
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.
TODAY’S MEDITATION
What would God’s plumb line
show about your life?
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