Amos 7

V.1-15
"This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts after the king's share had been harvested and just as the 2nd crop was coming up. When they had stripped the land clean, 'I cried out, 'Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!'
So the Lord relented.
'This will not happen,' the Lord said.
This is what the Soverign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land. Then I cried out, 'Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!
So the Lord relented.
'This will not happen either,' the Sovereign Lord said.

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."

Locusts, Fire & a Plumb Line

Twice Amos was shown a vision of Israel's impending punishment

(by locusts & fire),

and his immediate response was to PRAY!

Prayer is a powerful privilege.

Amos's prayers should remind us to pray for our nation.

The plumb line is a device used to ensure the straightness of a wall.

A wall that is not straight will eventually collapse.

God wants his people to be right with him;

he wants the sin that makes us crooked removed immediately.

God's Word is the plumb line that helps us to be aware of our sin.

How do you measure up to God's plumb line?