Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

What in tarnation is a plumb line?

One dictionary defines it as a piece of string with a weight attached to one end, used either to test if something vertical, such as a wall, is exactly straight, or to find the depth of water.

For Amos, the first portion of the definition applies for us. The plumb line would check for straightness, but more specifically to test for vertical trueness. The plumb line does not cause the crookedness, nor nor can it be blamed if poor workmanship is to be blamed.

The plumb line is used to show that the wall is not vertical. The plumb line is used to show whether the wall was constructed properly and remains. It is an impartial judge.

In this instance, Amos saw that the plumb line was not giving the nation good news. When the nation was compared with the plumb line, crookedness became evident.

Now specifically, the vision was as depicted, yet I can’t help to see that the outworking of the vision may have been the application of the law of God against the people of God. When the law of God is brought forward to to judge whether the people of God were upright and straight, the law is strict, harsh and impartial.

Yes, the people were continually under the law, with expectations of living under the law. Failure in both the northern kingdom, which Amos is addressing, and the southern kingdom was common, with the mercy of God being extended over and over again.

This mercy was not available for the norther kingdom this time. When the plumb line was consulted, the verdict was given. The Lord said,

vs 9 I will never again pass by them

For the northern kingdom, judgement had been given, with no mercy available. Not one chapter later, this judgement is reiterated, stating

Amos 8:2 And he said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the LORD said to me, “The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass by them.

God will never again pass by them. Interesting terminology. Pass by them. Hmmmm

Exodus 12:12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD.

The Israelites were witness to a deliverance that crippled their masters in Egypt, and the night of the passover, that effected their freedom, Moses wrote of the Lord passing through the land of Egypt, executing judgement.

For Israel, the Lord had “passed by”, had provided mercy to the nation in their sin. This was to stop, and judgement was to be executed. He is the Lord. The nation was dispersed, with many put to death by the Assyrians. The nation never recovered.

When we look to the Law of God, the standard is the person of God. It reflects His holiness, and by doing so, reveals all unholiness and unrighteousness. No wonder it is maligned, despised and ignored by the masses. It judges! It condemns!

In the days of the theocracy of Israel, mercy was provided, and it seemed the law of God was not applied evenly, even seemingly making the law of God of no effect. For the Law of God to be executed consistently, continually and with legal force, none under the Law would survive.

Yet the nation of Israel, at least the southern nation, though sinful, continued to be protected, carried through a captivity and returned to the land to bring forth the Law of God in human form, the Messiah.

He truly was a plumb line for the nation to experience. He lived the Law of God perfectly, and because of that was condemned by sinners, and experienced the outworking of the Law of God,

His death completed many actions for the salvation we so richly enjoy, but for our post today, we can be reminded that His death also showed that the law of God was satisfied, even though it appeared to be applied unevenly, and that any mercy shown to the people of God previously was to be satisfied at the cross. All sin was dealt with at the cross, past present and future, and though Jesus acted as a plumb line in the land during His sojourn, He also provided the satisfaction of justice the plumb line revealed was necessary.

He is the plumb line, He that is the perfect representation of the Law of God, showing us how far we have fallen, and thankfully, showing us how far He will go to redeem us.

Thank you Jesus for being the standard, and satisfying the standard set. You are truly everything we could hope for!

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