In this chapter, the Lord confirms that His plans can change. His will is not set, until it is! Here’s the chapter in its entirety: “The Sovereign Lord showed me a vision. I saw him preparing to send a vast swarm of locusts over the land. This was after the king’s share had been harvested from the fields and as the main crop was coming up. In my vision the locusts ate everything in sight that was green. Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, please forgive your people! Unless you relent, Israel will not survive, for we are only a small nation.”
So the Lord relented and did not fulfill the vision, “I won’t do it,” he said. (Yes, Lord! Thank you for showing us that your will can change, and that you can relent from fulfilling your plans. Lord, thank you!)
A Vision of Fire
Then the Sovereign Lord showed me another vision. I saw him preparing to punish his people with a great fire. The fire had burned up the depths of the sea and was devouring the entire land. Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, please don’t do it. Unless you relent, Israel will not survive, for we are only a small nation.”
Then the Lord turned from this plan, too. “I won’t do that either,” said the Sovereign Lord. (Yes, Lord!!! Whatever your will is for Marlean’s mother, Mrs. LeeDell Johnson, we are believing you will heal her body! We are asking you, in Jesus name, to restore her body and mind. For we trust and have complete faith in you, Lord! Thank you for your mercy and your grace!)
A Vision of a Plumb Line
Then he showed me another vision. I saw the Lord standing beside a wall that had been built using a plumb line. He was checking it with a plumb line to see if it was straight. And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”
I answered, “A plumb line.”
And the Lord replied, “I will test my people with this plumb line. I will no longer ignore all their sins. The pagan shrines of your ancestors and the temples of Israel will be destroyed, and I will bring the dynasty of King Jeroboam to a sudden end.” (Wow! Are our walls straight? Is the life you are living straight?)
Amos and Amaziah
But when Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, heard what Amos was saying, he rushed a message to King Jeroboam: “Amos is hatching a plot against you right here on your very doorstep! What he is saying is intolerable. It will lead to rebellion all across the land. He is saying, ‘Jeroboam will soon be killed and the people of Israel will be sent away into exile.’”
Then Amaziah sent orders to Amos: “Get out of here, you seer! Go on back to the land of Judah and do your preaching there! Don’t bother us here in Bethel with your prophecies, especially not here where the royal sanctuary is!”
But Amos replied, “I’m not one of your professional prophets. I certainly never trained to be one. I’m just a shepherd, and I take care of fig trees. But the Lord called me away from my flock and told me, “Go and prophesy to my people in Israel.’ (Yes! Will you allow the Lord to use you like He used Amos and so many other common folk?)
“Now then, listen to this message from the Lord! You say, ‘Don’t prophesy against Israel. Stop preaching against my people.’ But this is what the Lord says: Because you have refused to listen, your sons and daughters will be killed. Your land will be divided up, and you yourself will die in a foreign land. And the people of Israel will certainly become captives in exile, far from their homeland.” (Amos 7) (Wow! All because we don’t listen to the Lord!)
Lord, thank you for your Word today! Thank you for showing us that your will is not set in stone. For asking you in prayer can change your plans! Lord, you are so amazing, and we love you!
May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
….AND MAY WE ALL PRACTICE THIS WITH ONE ANOTHER.
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