Continued...
After they left, I went to the Word of God. I read Amos 6 last, so I read Amos 7:
My Understanding: This passage of scripture is so fitting for what the Lord just had me say to these two women today, as I believe the Lord was guiding my words. In Amos’ third vision here, beginning with verse 7, the Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb. My ZNIV Bible Commentary states that “Standing connotes a posture of firmness and determination.” That made me think of how I was standing in my doorway this morning talking with these two women. I was definitely in a posture of much firmness, though kind, and determination. Then, the Lord asked Amos what he saw and he responded, “A plumb line,” to which God responded, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.”
The ZNIVBC stated this: “A plumb line is a standard by which a wall’s vertical trueness is tested.” This definitely fits with what the Lord had me say to these two women this morning. A wall is a fortification (our source of defense; strengthening), and vertical trueness is obviously symbolic of our relationship between God and man. And, God has set a standard. Jesus Christ is that standard by which we are to live our lives and the Word of God is our standard, not man’s teachings. Also, he has set a standard all through the NT with regard to our salvation. It is quite clear that true belief in Jesus Christ = repentance and obedience. They are not afterthoughts and they are not optional. And, the scriptures teach much against following the teachings of man and against forms of religion, especially when they often replace or supersede and/or contradict true faith in Jesus Christ and the teachings of scripture.
In the passage in Amos, the point here is that God’s people have not lived up to this standard either by willful choice or by ignorance of the scriptures. God has been calling out to his church to repent, to turn from their sin, and to return to God as their only God, but they have not. Time and time again he has sent them warnings through his servants, but they are not heeding the warnings. So, a time of judgment is most certainly coming when we will be judged by that standard that God has set. The people of God, for the most part, are more in line with the pattern and standards set by the world than they are living up to the standards set by God and His Word. They go through forms of religion, but so much of today’s church is following man’s teachings and the world’s standards and philosophies rather than those set by God.
So, the coming judgment will fall on these “temples” built by man, which in God’s eyes are “pagan sanctuaries” because they are still trying to make the temple of God into buildings and programs and man’s theologies and practices of religion. And, so many of them have watered down the gospel message to where it is no longer recognizable as the true gospel of Jesus Christ. So, God must judge according to the standard that he has set for his people in order, I believe, to bring his people back to “plumb,” i.e. back to a right relationship with Jesus Christ and with the Father.
This judgment will also come on the governments of the people who are leading people away from God and which are acting against God and His Word, too.
After they left, I went to the Word of God. I read Amos 6 last, so I read Amos 7:
My Understanding: This passage of scripture is so fitting for what the Lord just had me say to these two women today, as I believe the Lord was guiding my words. In Amos’ third vision here, beginning with verse 7, the Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb. My ZNIV Bible Commentary states that “Standing connotes a posture of firmness and determination.” That made me think of how I was standing in my doorway this morning talking with these two women. I was definitely in a posture of much firmness, though kind, and determination. Then, the Lord asked Amos what he saw and he responded, “A plumb line,” to which God responded, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.”
The ZNIVBC stated this: “A plumb line is a standard by which a wall’s vertical trueness is tested.” This definitely fits with what the Lord had me say to these two women this morning. A wall is a fortification (our source of defense; strengthening), and vertical trueness is obviously symbolic of our relationship between God and man. And, God has set a standard. Jesus Christ is that standard by which we are to live our lives and the Word of God is our standard, not man’s teachings. Also, he has set a standard all through the NT with regard to our salvation. It is quite clear that true belief in Jesus Christ = repentance and obedience. They are not afterthoughts and they are not optional. And, the scriptures teach much against following the teachings of man and against forms of religion, especially when they often replace or supersede and/or contradict true faith in Jesus Christ and the teachings of scripture.
In the passage in Amos, the point here is that God’s people have not lived up to this standard either by willful choice or by ignorance of the scriptures. God has been calling out to his church to repent, to turn from their sin, and to return to God as their only God, but they have not. Time and time again he has sent them warnings through his servants, but they are not heeding the warnings. So, a time of judgment is most certainly coming when we will be judged by that standard that God has set. The people of God, for the most part, are more in line with the pattern and standards set by the world than they are living up to the standards set by God and His Word. They go through forms of religion, but so much of today’s church is following man’s teachings and the world’s standards and philosophies rather than those set by God.
So, the coming judgment will fall on these “temples” built by man, which in God’s eyes are “pagan sanctuaries” because they are still trying to make the temple of God into buildings and programs and man’s theologies and practices of religion. And, so many of them have watered down the gospel message to where it is no longer recognizable as the true gospel of Jesus Christ. So, God must judge according to the standard that he has set for his people in order, I believe, to bring his people back to “plumb,” i.e. back to a right relationship with Jesus Christ and with the Father.
This judgment will also come on the governments of the people who are leading people away from God and which are acting against God and His Word, too.
