“Thus He showed me: Behold, the Lord stood on a wall made with a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand. And the Lord said to me, 'Amos, what do you see?' And I said, 'A plumb line.' Then the Lord said, Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of My people Israel; I will not pass by them anymore. The high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste. I will rise with the sword against the house of Jeroboam" (Amos 7:7-9) Ancient Israel (Samaria) and their kings did not keep God’s word (Joshua 24:4).They adopted the idols of their pagan neighbors (Exodus 20:4). They engaged in sexual immorality and did not practice justice and mercy (Amos 2:6-7). Their kings scoffed at the messengers of God (1 Kings 18:17-18). God did not take this rejection lightly. After warning Israel for several years through His prophets, He sent many of them into Assyrian Captivity for 185 years in 721 B.C. because they failed God’s plumb line – they were not faithful to His word.
Today, we have God’s second greatest gift to humanity – the Bible as the plumb line. Why? (1) The Bible is Inerrant (Psalm 19:7); (2) The Bible is Infallible (Psalm 119:89); (3) The Bible is Able to cleanse the soul (John 15:3); (4) The Bible is Inspired (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Without guidance from the word of God (Psalm 119:105), we are “the blind leading the blind” (Matthew 15:14). Within its pages, we find God’s glorious plan of redemption for humanity – the Gospel of Jesus Christ (John 8:31-32).
On the Day of Judgment, what will the Judge say to us as Christians who read these words? How will we measure up to God’s plumb line of faithfulness? Will we be any different from the faithless Israelites of the prophet Amos’ day? Know this: “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him - the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day” (John 12:48). ---Roelf L. Ruffner (see related video here).
---Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets
Comments
Post a Comment