Predicazioni/Amos/Il filo a piombo di Dio: profezia, verità e coraggio/Traduzione in inglese
God's Plumb Line: Prophecy, Truth, and Courage
What is the role of the prophet in the Bible? Only to predict the future or also to denounce injustice and religious hypocrisy? The prophet Amos, a simple man and not “by profession,” is called by God to confront the corrupt power of his time. In Amos 7:7–17 we discover a very timely message: the prophetic voice is disturbing, but necessary. Between plumb line, state priest and fidelity to the divine mandate, this biblical reflection invites us to have the courage of truth and to be vigilant against the seductions that undermine the Word.
Voice that reports
Even today, Western countries boast of being champions of freedom and democracy in contrast to what are considered "autarchies", but this is largely hypocritical propaganda. In fact, even here, power is firmly in the hands of oligarchies that intend to keep it at all costs. In fact, they impose narratives and "official truths" through the mass media and anyone who dares to contradict them is repressed with censorship, defamation, marginalization or worse. Even parliaments today are in fact largely "homogenized" and any real opposition is neutralized, disappears, is eliminated. Even here, "single thought" prevails no less than elsewhere.
Where are today the critical, prophetic voices of protest and denunciation that unmask lies and condemn injustice? Where has the prophetic function of the churches gone, often complacent towards power and gregarious, conveniently dealing only with "spiritual questions"? Many, when they think of the word "prophet", immediately imagine someone who predicts the future. This predictive function, in the common sense of the term, is however completely secondary. In the Bible, and particularly clearly in the prophets of the Old Testament, the main function of the prophet is not to foretell future events, but to proclaim the Word of God in the present , to denounce sin and iniquity , to unmask religious hypocrisy and to announce divine judgment . The prophet is not so much a seer, in the restrictive sense of the term, but a witness to the truth, often inconvenient , and for this very reason rejected .
This prophetic dimension as a denunciation appears largely neglected today in the evangelical world, where the prophet is sometimes reduced to a motivational figure or a “revealer” of future events. The Bible, however, is clear: the prophet is sent by God to speak out against injustice, inconsistency and disobedience, especially among his people . He is a messenger who cannot be bought or silenced, and often comes into conflict with the religious authorities of the time , as happens to Amos in his confrontation with Amaziah, priest of the royal sanctuary of Bethel.
This critical function towards the religious institutions themselves is not only legitimate, but today more than ever necessary. Authentic prophecy is not born in the palaces of power, nor in official liturgical centers, but often outside the structures : God chooses, for example, Amos, shepherd and farmer , not a priest, nor a “son of a prophet”. And like Jesus himself, Amos is accused of conspiracy and chased away, because the truth always disturbs those who have settled into their religious certainties.
The Biblical text
Today we will reflect on the experience of the prophet Amos by focusing on a passage from his book as found in chapter seven.
“He showed me this: the LORD was standing on a wall, with a plumb line in his hand. And the LORD said to me, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘A plumb line.’ And the LORD said, ‘Behold, I will set a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will no longer spare them; the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be destroyed; and I will rise up with the sword against the house of Jeroboam.’” Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos is conspiring against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land cannot bear all his words. For Amos has said, ‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall be carried away captive from their land.’” Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee to the land of Judah; eat your bread there, and prophesy there; but do not prophesy any more in Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary and a royal residence.' Then Amos answered and said, 'I am not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet; I was a herdsman, and a gardener of sycamore trees. And the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.' Now therefore hear the word of the LORD; you say, 'You shall not prophesy against Israel, and you shall not preach against the house of Isaac.' Therefore thus says the LORD: 'Your wife shall play the harlot in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be divided with a line, and you yourself shall die in an unclean land, and Israel shall surely go into exile from his land.'" (Amos 7:7-17).
The historical and literary context
The book of Amos is set in the 8th century BC, during the reign of Jeroboam II in the Northern Kingdom (Israel), a time of economic prosperity, territorial expansion and apparent stability. However, behind the facade of well-being was hidden a deeply corrupt society : the poor were oppressed, justice was sold, religious worship was reduced to hypocritical formalism. Amos, although a Jew, is sent by God to the Northern Kingdom to proclaim divine judgment. His word is addressed not only to the people, but to religious and political institutions .
From a literary point of view, Amos 7 opens the final section of the book, consisting of five symbolic visions . The first two (7:1–6) show a possibility of intercession, but with the third vision, that of the plumb line (7:7–9), the judgment becomes irrevocable . God declares that he will no longer pass by: Israel will be measured and found out of the right measure. Following (vv. 10–17), the story of the meeting between Amos and Amaziah offers a rare narrative glimpse , a historical episode that embodies the conflict between authentic prophecy and the official cult of power .
The priest Amaziah is an official of the royal sanctuary of Bethel , the center of state worship. Seeing a threat in Amos, he accuses him of conspiracy and has him expelled. Amos's response is clear: I am not a prophet by profession, but by the calling of God . And instead of defending himself, he pronounces an oracle of personal judgment against Amaziah himself. The voice of the prophet, as already anticipated in the ministries of John the Baptist and then of Jesus , unmasks false religious securities and announces the ruin of an unfaithful system .
The Plumb Line (vv. 7–9)
The Lord shows Amos a plumb line , the instrument used to check the verticality of a wall. It is a powerful image: God is no longer willing to tolerate a distorted, deviant, unbalanced religion. The yardstick is not the human one, but the justice and holiness of God . Israel has gone too far. The cult is corrupt, the institutions are unjust, the people are idolatrous. God thus announces the judgment: the sanctuary of Isaac will be devastated, the kingdom will be destroyed, the sword will punish the house of Jeroboam.
John Calvin , in his commentary, emphasizes that the plumb line represents the Word of God : it is the criterion, the judge, the norm. We cannot adjust our religious structures by bending them to convenience: God does not accept half measures. His judgment begins at His house. Even today, in our churches, in our lives, God measures rightly : His justice (what is right in His eyes) is not negotiable.
In a Christological perspective, Christ himself is the measure of God's justice , the Word made flesh who judges hearts. Whoever encounters the Christ of the Scriptures is questioned in his false religious securities. He does not come to confirm our institutions (always relative and fallible), but to straighten what is crooked, tear down what is false, and rebuild the people called to serve God in accordance with revealed truth .
The conflict between prophecy and power (vv. 10–13)
In our text, the priest Amaziah is the voice of the official religion. His words are revealing: he accuses Amos not of blasphemy or theological error, but of threatening political stability . In essence: "Your message disturbs the established order". It is the drama of when religion has sold itself to power: it cares more about political stability than about faithfulness to God , about an artificial "social peace" more than peace, the shalom that is the fruit of conformity to the law of God.
Amaziah says to Amos: "Go, prophet, but prophesy elsewhere". In other words: "practice your religion, but do not disturb our system" . It is the same attitude that Jesus will encounter from the high priests: "By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority to do these things? " (Mark 11:28). The truth is not tolerated when it undermines power. The prophet is always uncomfortable , because he does not belong to the system, he is not an expression of it nor is he at its service, but to God .
Interesting how John Calvin sees in Amasia the figure of the corrupt minister , who wants the tranquility of the people, not their conversion. Today this challenges us: are our churches open to the prophetic voice or do they fear it? Do we seek the truth, or do we only want to be confirmed in our earthly certainties?
The Authentic Vocation (vv. 14–17)
Amos answers with simplicity and power: “I am not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet; I was a herdsman, and I grew sycamore trees. And the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel .’” Amos has no religious titles, he is not a professional, but he is called by God . His authority does not come from a human ordination, but from a divine calling. In this he anticipates the figure of Christ himself , who does not fit into the rabbinical schools, nor is he recognized by the religious establishment, but speaks with authority, “not like the scribes” (Matthew 7:29).
His answer ends with a new prophecy, personal and directed against Amaziah: his family will suffer judgment, the people will be deported. The prophet does not bend. He announces the truth even if it costs him isolation . And here we find the cross of the prophet , anticipation of the cross of Christ : whoever is faithful to God will pay with rejection, but cannot remain silent .
Conclusion and application
The text of Amos 7:7–17 comes to us as an invitation to prophetic fidelity , to the courage of truth. Today more than ever, churches need prophets and not officials . We need a Word that measures correctly, that unmasks formalistic religion, that has the courage to denounce injustice even , so to speak, within ecclesiastical walls . Christ himself walked this path: the path of truth that saves, but which passes through the cross .
Where are we in this story? Are we like Amos, ready to speak, even from the outside? Or like Amaziah, guardians of worship but unable to listen to God? Are we conveniently blind and silent in the face of injustice because we are more interested in preserving our institutions, powers and privileges, than in serving and spreading the Kingdom of God?
"I will set a plumb line in the midst of my people," says the Word of God, may the Lord find us upright and faithful. And may our voice, like that of Amos, be guided not by consensus, but by divine calling.
If Amos’ message teaches us anything, it is that faithfulness to God’s truth always comes at a cost , and that the prophetic voice is inconvenient not only for the world, but also for religious structures that have distanced themselves from the heart of the Word. Today, as then, the courage to speak according to justice and truth is often hindered not only by explicit threats, but also by subtle forms of pressure, compromise, and flattery.
For this reason, I want to conclude by leaving you with timely and penetrating words written by John Calvin in his commentary on this same text. He reminds us that whoever wishes to serve God faithfully must prepare to resist both violence and deception , and that prophetic perseverance requires a double vigilance: against fear and against seduction .
"Whoever wishes to devote himself firmly and steadfastly to the service of the Church and of God must prepare himself to fight on both fronts: he must resist both fear and deception... They must be ready to face the fear of death and remain fearless, even if they should die; they must be willing to bend their necks, if necessary, in the fulfillment of their task, and to seal their doctrine with their own blood. [...] I know well that the most insidious danger has always come from this side: that is, when enemies try to frighten the faithful with arguments like these: 'What else do you seek but that religion should flourish everywhere, that sound doctrine should be appreciated, that peace should be established? But it is clear that a terrible war is about to break out... and religion will be destroyed. And all this will be the fault of your obstinacy!' [...] We must recognize the wiles with which Satan seeks to undermine the work of the righteous and the constancy of the servants of God."
May the Lord give us discernment, firmness and courage , so that we do not let ourselves be intimidated or seduced. May he make us, like Amos, men and women called by God , ready to tell the truth with love, but without fear, and to bear the weight of testimony even when it costs us everything. Amen.
Let us pray: Lord God almighty, You who measure hearts with the plumb line of Your truth, You who call the simple to speak with courage and raise the voice of Your servants against injustice and deceit, teach us not to fear the judgment of men, but to fear only You, the just Judge. Give us eyes to see what is crooked and lips to proclaim what is right. Free us from the fear of rejection, and from the compromise that empties the truth. Make us steadfast in Your Word, humble in service, but firm in testimony, even when it costs us. Like Your servant Amos, make us walk in the vocation that You have given us, not for honor, not for profession, but for fidelity to Your Name. And like our Lord Jesus Christ, let us too carry the cross of truth, without turning our faces back, knowing that You will be with us until the end. In the name of Your Son, Prophet, Priest and King, Jesus Christ, Amen.
Paolo Castellina, July 3, 2025