What Do You See?
Seeing is varied from the concept of looking. It is possible to look at a thing and not see it. Seeing connotates the ability to look at, process, gain understanding and appreciate the concept of the thing your eyes have beheld.
Amos, meaning one who bears a burden, was a prophet from the Southern kingdom of Judah, from Tekoa around Jerusalem. Amos’ intercession had twice persuaded the Lord to relent. In Amos 7:8, the Lord asks him by the name “what do you see?”. This shows God’s personal relationship with His children. God speaks to His children, the prophets. He wants a relationship with us. A plumb-line is a long cord with a lead weight at one end used by builders. Its purpose is to ensure that the structure being built remains upright. If the plumb-line is not directly adjacent to the wall, the final product may be a tilted wall or structure that must ultimately be torn down and rebuilt. In Amos 7:8, God tells Amos, that He is the plumb-line for the people of Israel. God is the standard by which the people of Israel had to conform. God’s plumb-line showed that the nation of Israel was not upright.
The foundation of the wall had been well laid, and the people had once obeyed Him, but as the walls had risen over time, they started to lean at an angle.
God is the builder; however, he builds through men. “For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.” (Hebrews 3:4) (Matthew 16:18) God gives man grace to succeed; the grace for completion. God set a plumb-line among His people to end their attempts to justify their wayward ways. “…I will not again pass by them anymore” God had no option but to tear them down, destroying both economic and political structures of the nation.
The Lord was setting the standard. God does not negotiate His laws. He does not change with the whims of culture (Numbers 23:19). God’s moral law is the plumb-line against which we determine right and wrong (John 17:17). Just as a carpenter’s plumb-line is not subject to the opinions or the frustration of the worker, so God’s moral standards are not subject to the opinions of man. You must learn to live your life according to God’s plumb-line rather than trying to move it to satisfy your own agendas.
Amos, the burden-bearer, the intercessor, was given an opportunity to appeal the judgment God pronounced. An intercessor is infused with spiritual grace to turn things around. (Amos 7:5-6). God desires people that will call out to heaven, sacrifice-activators, altar-bearers that will rise in prayer to bring forth the mandate of eternity into reality.
Christ is our plumb-line today. He is the example for us to follow. He lived on Earth and was subject to everything we face today as believers yet was found blameless (Hebrews 4:15). We also can succeed in our walk if we are determined to emulate Jesus Christ. Jesus knew the Word; He had a hunger for the Word and devotion towards fulfilling the dictates of the Word. He was a man of prayer; He maintained constant and consistent communication with the Father. He was submissive to the Father and allowed the Holy Spirit to supply power and He was diligent.
We must love like Christ loved and loves, treat people like He did and does, showing compassion, mercy, and offering forgiveness always. The more we work on our vertical relationship (upwards-with God), our horizontal relationships (sideways-with each other) will flourish.
God has standards. Know them and live by them. God wants to partner with you in this life for His glory to manifest. To see God’s glory, you must walk with Him in accordance with everything He has said in His Word. (Amos 3:3)God is still seeking a man to use; He is a rewarder and seeks a diligent man to reward. Be determined, deliberate, and diligent in your pursuit of Him.
“And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumb-line. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them anymore.” Amos 7:8 (KJV)
Shalom.