John Calvin Commentary Amos 7:7-9

"Thus he showed me: and, behold, the Lord stood beside a wall made by a plumb-line, with a plumb-line in his hand. And Jehovah 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 any more; and the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword." — Amos 7:7-9 (ASV)

This vision reveals more clearly to us what the Prophet meant before, and what the object of his doctrine was. His intention was to show the people that what they had gained by their obstinacy was only to make God implacable and to cause Him not to spare them any longer, as He had until now done.

The meaning is this: “God has until now borne with you according to His own goodness. Do not promise yourselves that He will ever deal with you in the same manner, for your rebelliousness and waywardness have provoked Him. As He sees you to be obstinate beyond measure, He must now necessarily execute final vengeance on you. Therefore, there is now no forgiveness provided for you. But as you are incurable, so the Lord on His part will remain unchangeable in the severity of His judgment and will by no means turn to mercy.”

Interpreters explain this vision in various ways and philosophize with subtlety on the word plumbline; yet almost all their refined interpretations are unconvincing. If I were inclined to offer a plausible, though perhaps overly subtle, interpretation, I would say that the plumbline is the law of God, for it prescribed to His people a regular order of things, which might serve as a plumbline, since all things were directed according to the best rule. I might speak this way, but I am not inclined to interpret with such subtlety, for I do not doubt that God meant only that this would be the last measuring, because He would punish His people without any remission and without any delay. We now grasp the Prophet’s meaning, but all this will become more evident from the words of the passage.

Thus He showed me; and, behold, the Lord stood on a wall of a plumbline. He calls that which had been formed by rule a “wall of a plumbline,” as though he had said that it was a wall built with a plumbline. God then stood on a plumbline-wall, and a plumbline, he says, was in His hand. Therefore, what some interpreters say is false: that a plumbline was cast away by God because He would no longer perform the work of a builder in ruling His people. This is frivolous, for the Prophet testifies here expressly that a plumbline was in God’s hand.

But what follows has an important meaning: God asks His Prophet, What do you see, Amos? It is probable that the Prophet was astonished at such a mysterious thing. When locusts were formed, and when there was a contention by fire, he might have easily discerned what God meant, for these visions were by no means ambiguous. But when God stood on a wall with a plumbline, this was somewhat more difficult to understand. The probability is that the Prophet was made to feel great astonishment, so that the people might be more attentive to his vision, since we commonly focus our thoughts more on hidden things. For we pay little attention to what we think is easily understood, but mystery, or something difficult to understand, sharpens our minds and attention.

I do not doubt then that God caused the Prophet to be amazed for a time, with the aim of increasing the attention of the people. What, then, do you see, Amos? A plumbline, he says. But, at the same time, he did not know what the meaning of this plumbline was, or what was its design.

Then God answers, Behold, I set a plumbline in the midst of My people; that is, I establish this to be the last rule, or the final measure. And I will not add any more to pass by them.

Since God had twice passed over the limits of His judgment by sparing them, He says, now that the final end had come, “I will proceed no further in forgiving them.” Just as when a wall is built to the plumbline, so that no part may in the least exceed another, but that there may be regularity throughout, so also this shall be the last order; this measuring shall be true and just.

“I will pass by them no more.” This, I have no doubt, is the real meaning of the Prophet. We now also perceive that the design of the other two visions was to prevent the Israelites from deceiving themselves with false self-flattery, simply because God was kind and favorable to them.

The Prophet shows that God dealt with them in this way, not because they were just, for God had already begun to execute His judgments on them. The punishments they had experienced were strong evidence of their crimes, for God is not angry with people without reason, especially with His chosen people.

Since, then, they had already been struck repeatedly, the Prophet proves that they were worthy of heavier punishments. He says that the fact that punishments had been mild and moderated was to be ascribed to the indulgence of God, because He was willing to forgive His people. But the time had now come when He would no longer pardon them, for He saw that He had to deal with incorrigible obstinacy. This is the meaning.

It now follows, And destroyed shall be the high places of Isaac, and overthrown shall be the sanctuaries (some render palaces) of Israel; and I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword. The Prophet here distinctly declares that the people trusted in vain in their temples and superstitions, for by these they further kindled God’s wrath against themselves. Indeed, he would not have expressly threatened the high places and the temples unless the Israelites had, in this way, as I have already said, provoked God’s vengeance against themselves, since they had corrupted the true and lawful worship of God.

Destroyed then shall be the high places of Isaac. It may be asked, why does he mention here the name of Isaac, which is rarely done by the Prophets? And there is also a change of one letter, for the word Isaac is commonly written with ץ, tsade, but here it is written with ש, shin. It is well known, however, that ש, shin, and ץ, tsade, are used interchangeably.

It is, however, beyond dispute that the Prophet speaks here of the holy man Isaac. The reason seems to be plainly this: because the Israelites absurdly claimed to imitate their father in their superstitions. For, as we know, temples had been erected where Isaac had worshipped God, and also where their fathers Abraham and Jacob had worshipped.

Since, then, the Israelites boasted of the examples of holy fathers, the Prophet here condemns this vain and false boasting. Those who understand the word Isaac to mean that the Prophet threatens the Idumeans as well as the Israelites have no basis for their opinion; the reason I have already mentioned is quite sufficient.

We indeed know that the Israelites constantly cited the examples of the fathers, like the woman of Samaria, who said to Christ, ‘Our fathers worshipped in this mountain’ (John 4:20). So also the Israelites were formerly accustomed to allege that the holy patriarchs worshipped God in those places—that God appeared in Bethel to holy Jacob, and also that altars were built in other places. Being armed with the examples of the fathers, they thought these examples to be their shield.

The case is the same with the Papists in our day; when they hear of anything as having been done by the fathers, they instantly seize upon it, but these are vain excuses. The Israelites were also like them; hence the Prophet says, “Behold, you gain nothing by this fallacious pretense; for destroyed shall be the high places of Isaac, even those which are now covered by an honorable name: and at the same time the temples or palaces of Israel shall be overthrown.”

And I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword. We learn from this last clause that things were then, as we have stated elsewhere, in a prosperous state in the kingdom of Israel, though God had in various ways afflicted it before Jeroboam’s time. But they had always been obstinate. God afterwards restored them to a better condition, for the state of the people greatly improved under Jeroboam: he recovered many cities and enlarged the borders of his kingdom. Then the people, in their affluence, began to grow rebellious against God.

Since the Prophet saw that they abused God’s goodness in this way, he denounced destruction on Jeroboam. Hence he says, Against the house of Jeroboam I will rise up with the sword; that is, “I will begin to execute My judgment on the offspring of the king himself. Though I may spare him, yet his posterity shall not escape My hand.”

Prayer:

Almighty God, since You so suspend Your hand in chastising us that, unless we are wholly blind and foolish, we must acknowledge that we are spared so that we may willingly return to You. We recognize that, being allured by the gentleness of Your forbearance, we should submit ourselves to You in willing obedience.

O grant that we may not harden our hearts, nor be slow, nor slothful, nor even reluctant to repent when You defer extreme punishment. Instead, may we strive to anticipate Your final vengeance and so submit ourselves to You that we may be pardoned while there is still time. May we hasten to offer our hearts, whole and sincere, to You.

And so, may we repent while urged by extreme danger, that no hidden hypocrisy may remain in our hearts. May we search every faculty of our soul in such a way that You may become to us a real and faithful witness of that integrity which You require of all who return to You to obtain pardon through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.