As a child, I read the “Picture Bible,” a large, beautifully illustrated and colorful book that brought biblical stories to life. Later, my father ordered the three-volume cartoon version and I eagerly read it cover to cover.
The vivid images helped me engage with Scripture, making it come alive with imagination and fantasy. Some of these images are still very clear in my memory.
I especially remember the stories of the prophets, set in ancient times. They felt distant and far away from the world I knew. But now, as I read the news, I realize how relevant those prophetic voices are.
We live in a world marked by suffering and injustice—deadly floods in Texas, mass arrests by ICE, brutal murders like those committed by Brian Kohberger, ongoing war in Ukraine and the unrelenting bombing in Gaza.
As I read the tragedies unfolding before our eyes, I can’t help but wonder if some of these horrors could have been prevented.
Can we foster a ceasefire in Gaza and end the war in Ukraine? Can we have better warning systems for storms and floods to protect communities? Can we dismantle patriarchy and misogyny to end the epidemic of violence against women?
In moments like these, it feels as though we are in desperate need of prophets, voices willing to speak boldly to “kings”, leaders and elected officials, calling out injustice and failed leadership. We need prophets who will not be silent but call us all toward justice and peace.
Amos, an Old Testament prophet, spoke difficult truths to a nation that had lost its way. God showed Amos a plumb line, a simple tool used to measure whether a structure is upright.
God did not want to overlook Israel’s injustices and said, “I will set a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by” (Amos 7:8). The plumb line served as a metaphor for God’s divine standard of justice and God used it to assess Israel’s spiritual and moral uprightness.
The plumb line revealed that Israel was no longer aligned with God’s ways. Their foundations had tilted and their moral compass lost its true north.
Today, we use laser levels or chalk lines, not plumb lines, to ensure a wall is perfectly vertical. However, this plumb line metaphor is a helpful image of how we as a nation have also failed.
In many ways, we have lost our moral compass and a sense of our true north. We have diverged from our path to God. We need to realign our foundation and be rooted in God and God’s ways.
Some of us who recognize this may feel that we are incapable of making changes and cannot be as bold as some of the Old Testament prophets. In our lack of confidence, we shy away from moving the church and society towards justice.
But we must remember that Amos was not from a prophetic lineage or priestly class, but was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamore trees. He was not of high class or wealth, yet he was called by God to speak to the elite of the northern kingdom, and he obeyed.
Amos was not an insider, but an outsider who dared to speak the truth and confronted King Jeroboam and Amaziah the priest, who had both strayed from God in the pursuit of power and wealth. Amos’ message was not popular, and Amaziah tried to silence him. But Amos stood firm and spoke the truth.
Amos’ prophetic courage and message of justice challenge us today. We live in times of moral confusion, economic disparity, political corruption and religious complacency.
God’s plumb line drops in our midst. We are not aligned with the heart of God but have tilted toward injustice, nationalism, exclusion and greed.
As people of faith, we must examine the plumb lines in our own lives, churches and society. We must speak the truth about the injustices around us.
Will we stand up for justice and for love of neighbor, and align ourselves with the heart of God and stand firm like Amos? I hope we do.
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
