Burunche’s Blog

The Locusts, Fire, and Plumb Line (Joel 2:1-11)

“This is what the Lord GOD showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts just after the king’s harvest, as the late spring crop was coming up. (A swarm of locusts coming from the east.) And when the locusts had eaten every green plant in the land, I said, “Lord GOD, please forgive! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?” So the LORD relented from this plan. “It will not happen,” He said.

This is what the Lord GOD showed me: The Lord GOD was calling for judgment by fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the land. Then I said, “Lord GOD, please stop! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?” So the LORD relented from this plan. “It will not happen either,” said the Lord GOD.

This is what He showed me: Behold, the Lord was standing by a wall true to plumb, with a plumb line in His hand. “Amos, what do you see?” asked the LORD. “A plumb line,” I replied. “Behold,” said the Lord, “I am setting a plumb line among My people Israel; I will no longer spare them: The high places of Isaac will be deserted, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste; and I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with My sword.”

Amaziah Accuses Amos

Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words, for this is what Amos has said: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from her homeland.’” And Amaziah said to Amos, “Go away, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah; earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. But never prophesy at Bethel again, because it is the sanctuary of the king and the temple of the kingdom.”

 “I was not a prophet,” Amos replied, “nor was I the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore-fig trees. But the LORD took me from following the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’ Now, therefore, hear the word of the LORD. You say: ‘Do not prophesy against Israel; do not preach against the house of Isaac.’ Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be divided by a measuring line, and you yourself will die on pagan soil. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from her homeland.’”

Swarms of locusts! Judgement by fire! God is preparing to destroy the nation of Israel; however, He is warning Amos so that Amos can warn the Israelites. Amazingly, each time God shows Amos a new horror that might overtake Israel, Amos begs for God to spare the nation, and God relents. Then God shows Amos a plumb line. Plumb lines are long lines with a weight attached that are hung in an attempt to demonstrate the vertical on an upright surface. If something is said to be “out of plumb,” it deviates from the true vertical.

“This is what He showed me: Behold, the Lord was standing by a wall true to plumb, with a plumb line in His hand. “Amos, what do you see?” asked the LORD. “A plumb line,” I replied. “Behold,” said the Lord, “I am setting a plumb line among My people Israel; I will no longer spare them: The high places of Isaac will be deserted, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste; and I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with My sword.”  Through the years, God has tried to show His people what is right and true, but His people aren’t paying the slightest attention. If the nation of Israel were a tower such as the leaning tower of Pisa, by now the tower would be toppling over. Why does God mention the house of Jeroboam? It was Jeroboam, the first king of Israel, who instituted idolatry by erecting two huge altars with golden calves, one in Dan and the other in Bethel. Jeroboam created his own religion to prevent his people  from going to Jerusalem to worship.

“Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel.” This is the second King Jeroboam, not the original King Jeroboam. But it’s the priest at Bethel who is trying to drive Amos away. Perhaps Amaziah has been making money by issuing false prophesies; certainly, he wouldn’t want to be upstaged by a real prophet! But Amaziah is going to pay a horrible price for his actions.

“I was not a prophet,” Amos replied, “nor was I the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore-fig trees. But the LORD took me from following the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’ Now, therefore, hear the word of the LORD. You say: ‘Do not prophesy against Israel; do not preach against the house of Isaac.’ Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be divided by a measuring line, and you yourself will die on pagan soil. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from her homeland.’”

Amos has not chosen to become a prophet; instead, God has chosen Amos. and Amaziah has exposed his entire family to destruction by his arrogance. Amaziah’s wife is fated to become a prostitute to survive while his children will be slaughtered, his land seized, and he himself will die in exile. It’s a bad idea to mess with the One True Living God!

APPLICATION: The calling to be a prophet is a difficult and exacting one. Many individuals who call themselves “Prophet” have no idea what they are doing. God has called Amos to leave Tekoah and Judah to go to Israel, where his prophecies have met anything but a favorable response. So many times, people picture themselves standing before cheering crowds as they proclaim, “Thus says the Lord!” Nobody wants to consider the strong possibility that people will not only refuse to listen but that they may attack you and your family, throw you into prison, or ruin you financially.

In Amos’s day, many prophets came from families in which prophesy was a tradition. But Amos was a farmer, a sheep herder, and a dresser of sycamore fig trees. In the social scheme of things, farmers and shepherds were considered low – class. That’s why Amos had to defend himself from the verbal attacks of Amaziah. Amaziah may have been angry that God chose Amos rather than him!

Scorned by Israelite society, Amos might give up; but he has persisted, and God honors that persistence. Amos and God are so intimately related to each other that God reveals his intentions for Israel to Amos, allowing Amos the opportunity to intercede. And God listens to Amos and changes His plans! Without Amos interceding, the destruction of Israel would have been far worse.

Most of us live in relatively obscurity, much as Amos did. But to God, there are no little people. God sees each of us and God hears our prayers. When Amos begged God to withhold the swarms of locusts and heavenly fire, God agreed. Amos’s example should encourage each of us to continue to pray on behalf of our loved ones and our society. Only in eternity will we know how much good our prayers have accomplished. How do we know whom or for what to pray for? Simple test: if a person or a situation irritates or distresses us, that’s our sign to pray! Only in eternity will we know how much good our prayers have accomplished. We might be the ones who stand between God and total destruction for individuals and even for nations.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to be persistent in prayer, knowing that You hear us and answer our prayers. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen. 

This entry was posted on May 23, 2023 at 12:01 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.