Amos 7:7 7This is what he showed me: The LORD was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand.
I was helping my Dad with some carpentry work one Saturday afternoon years ago, when he told me to go get a ‘plumb line’ from his tool box. Now, I had been my Dad’s assistant for a few years (though I was still only 6). I learned to run to his tool box for hammers, pliers, screw drivers, (even Phillips head.) I ran for screws, ratchets, utility cutters, electrical wire, and on and on. I loved working with my Dad. The scent of his tool box was a comfort to me. Mineral oil with fresh wood, old leather gloves with paint and grease in splotches, just the scent of knowing Daddy was near.
“A plumb line? What’s a plumb line Dad?” was my confused response. I never got that request before and I did not even know what to look for! He laughed, “I forgot you have not seen one of those before. He walked over to the tool box and pulled out a string with a metal ornament tied to the end.
He explained, “I need to find out if the wall I am putting up is ‘plumb’ meaning straight. If you want to build a straight room you need a plumb line for the standard. I watched as he held the string near the ceiling and allowed the metal ornament to drop. Of course the metal would be straight and he could see if his wall measured up. It did! My Dad was a great carpenter.
Later on in my life as I pondered the mysteries of the Bible I remembered that plumb line.Well it turns out our Lord was a great carpenter too! He used plumb lines in illustrations many times to show us in a ‘hands on’ way how to live our lives. Just like a straight wall requires a plumb line to see how it measures up, our lives need to be checked against God’s ‘plumb line’…His Word!
Let’s explore; In the natural world a plumb line is used to check the depth of water when it is dropped into a deep body of water, or the vertical accuracy in an upright structure. Both point us to ‘the measure of a man (or woman) against the standard. How well are we living out our live against the ‘plumb line’ the Lord shows in His Word. There are two uses for the plumb line. They can be applied to our lives periodically and should determine how deep our walk is with the Lord, and how close we come to the perfect plumb line Jesus displayed for us when He was here, and in His word.
Isaiah 28:17 17I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place.
You see if God did not have a standard for us to follow, how would we ever know if we were doing it right? His ‘plumb line’ set down in the Bible so many years ago sets the moral standard for our lives, and our lives run the best when we follow it. This standard is straight and perfect, it is not subject to changing with the whims of the age.
The plumb line never lies. Gravity pulls the weighted piece of metal straight down when it is dropped. God’s precepts never lie either! They are the same yesterday, today and forever. Have you checked your plumb line against the Word lately? If their are corrections that need to be made, please make them today!
Leave a Reply