#DailyDevotion Is Your Heart True To God’s Plumb Line?

Amos 7: 7This is what [the Lord God] showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8And 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 never again pass by them; 9    the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”

A plumb line makes sure a building or wall is centered vertically and true. The Lord was putting a plumb line against his people Israel. That plumb line is the Law given them through Moses and the proclamation of the prophets since then. Yet the people of Israel and her kings were not plumb to his Law and proclamations.

The Lord had sent prophets to call them to repentance but they would not listen. Often the prophets he sent to them would be mistreated and sometimes even killed. The Israelites, as seen the book of Amos were living selfishly and self-centeredly. They cared only about themselves, pleasure and wealth to the detriment of the poor, the widowed, the orphan and the foreigner at the gate. They did not worship Yahweh alone but worshipped other gods and sometimes completely forgot him. So the Israelites and their kings were not true to God’s Law and will. Like a building that is crooked that must be torn down so too were the Israelites and their kings. The Lord is threatening them, warning them destruction is on its way. What do the Israelites do? Do they repent like the Ninevites? No, they double down and continue on their way. The Lord sends the Assyrians to destroy them within a couple of generations of further warnings.

Now the Lord Jesus Christ has sent his apostles into the world and sent pastors and evangelist to call people to repentance. For the whole world is like Israel, selfish and self-centered. It does not worshipped Yahweh in the flesh, namely Jesus. It does not worship his Father nor do they have the Holy Spirit. They seek wealth and pleasure at the expense of the poor, the widow, the orphan and the foreigner at the gate. They do not follow the law the Lord has written on their hearts. They do not love their neighbors as themselves. Now the Lord has set a date for judgment. He has sent out the warning to repent of our sins and to trust in his Son Jesus Christ for the atonement of our sins. He promises the Holy Spirit to those who are repentant and believe that they may be freed from their slavery of sin and live the lives he wants us to live, to have the life of Christ Jesus live through us. Through repentance and faith, we may avoid the judgment of the world when the Lord puts a plumb line to it and to us.

So will you repent, trust in Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, live a new life and escape the judgment or will you continue to worship yourself, wealth and pleasure?

Almighty God and Father, you have sent your servants into the world to call us to repent of our sins and to trust in your Son Jesus Christ so we might not perish. Grant us your Holy Spirit that we may indeed live repentant lives of faith so we may enter into your kingdom on the day of Christ’s revelation and judgment. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.