A Plumb Line In Our Midst

Thursday night we began a series in Amos. We began in chapter seven. In chapter seven, God reveals his message for Israel to Amos.

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 . . . (v.8)

God shows Amos Israel's faults against a true standard . . . God's own truth about social justice and righteousness. God's message is not to an individual, but to a nation. It's difficult for Westerners to view things apart from individuality. We are radically individualistic. In this study, we are going to compare ourselves as a nation to the nation of Israel. In Amos we can see what God loves and hates about national behaviors when it comes to social justice and righteousness. 


Israel, the northern ten tribes, at this time had several stark similarities to our present-day USA. She was just over 200 years old as a nation. She was at the height of her prosperity. And, surrounding countries had reasons to be displeased with her. 


In the coming weeks, we will look at the specific sins of Israel that brought the judgment of exile on her, and compare them to ourselves . . . Israel's experience with God will be our plumb line.
Christians often recognize national sin in abortion, pornography and homosexuality. We are going to take a look at two specific sins that we will recognize in Israel: 1) social injustice and 2) the idolatry of consumerism.


Here a few links to resources that we'll use to assess the condition of our nation:

• Story of Stuff
• Economic Hitman Video
• Confessions of an Economic Hitman