I WILL SPARE THEM NO LONGER

Passage: Amos 7:1-9

Key verse: 8b

NIV

Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line

7 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me:(A) He was preparing swarms of locusts(B) after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up. 2 When they had stripped the land clean,(C) I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive?(D) He is so small!(E)”

3 So the Lord relented.(F)

“This will not happen,” the Lord said.(G)

4 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire;(H) it dried up the great deep and devoured(I) the land. 5 Then I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!(J)”

6 So the Lord relented.(K)

“This will not happen either,” the Sovereign Lord said.(L)

7 This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb,[a] with a plumb line[b] in his hand. 8 And the Lord asked me, “What do you see,(M) Amos?(N)”

“A plumb line,(O)” I replied.

Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.(P)

9 “The high places(Q) of Isaac will be destroyed
    and the sanctuaries(R) of Israel will be ruined;
    with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.(S)”

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Footnotes
  1. Amos 7:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  2. Amos 7:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain; also in verse 8.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Warning Visions

7 (A)This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, (B)he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings. 2 When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said,

“O Lord God, please forgive!
    (C)How can Jacob stand?
    He is so small!”
3 (D)The Lord relented concerning this:
    “It shall not be,” said the Lord.

4 (E)This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, the Lord God was calling (F)for a judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. 5 Then I said,

“O Lord God, please cease!
    (G)How can Jacob stand?
    He is so small!”
6 (H)The Lord relented concerning this:
    “This also shall not be,” said the Lord God.

7 (I)This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with (J)a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the Lord said to me, (K)“Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,

“Behold, I am setting (L)a plumb line
    in the midst of my people Israel;
    (M)I will never again pass by them;
9 (N)the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
    and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
    and I will rise against (O)the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”

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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
1. This will not happen either (1-6) The LORD gave Amos three visions. In the first, Amos saw a swarm of locusts strip the land clean after the king's harvest. Knowing the suffering this would cause the people, Amos begged the LORD for forgiveness. God relented. In the second vision, Amos saw the LORD bring terrible fire that dried up the sea and burned up the land. Amos cried out for mercy again and again, God relented. 2. A vision of a plumb line (7-9) Amos had a third vision of the LORD standing by a wall. The wall had been built straight and true. The LORD measured it with a plumb line. The wall symbolized Israel who had once followed God's word and standard. But when God measured them in the present, they were far from plumb. Time for repentance had run out. God would spare them no longer. God would destroy the kingdom of Israel.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your mercy and giving us opportunities to repent. Help me to follow your ways.

One Word: Live by God's standards