Amos 7:8

"And Jehovah said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumb-line. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumb-line in the midst of my people Israel; I will not again pass by them any more."

The direct conversation which Amos here mentions as occurring between himself and the Lord was probably for the purpose of emphasizing the truth that Amaziah later ignored in his message to the king, namely, that the words of denunciation uttered by the prophet were not his words at all, but the words of the true God of Israel.

"A plumb-line in the midst of my people Israel ..." This was an ominous promise:

"The plumb-line was used not only in building, but in destroying houses (2 Kings 21:13; Isaiah 28:17; 34:11, and Lamentations 2:8). It denotes that God's judgments are measured out by the most exact rules of justice."[19]

"I will not again pass by them any more ..." Again, the clear reference to the ancient Passover is evident; only, this time, he will not do a similar thing. As Smith said:

"The word `pass by' here and in Amos 5:17 was probably deliberately used by Amos (rather, by the Lord) to represent the reversal of the "passover" when God passed through Egypt in judgment, but delivered Israel (Exodus 12:23)."[20]

Through the passage of time, the word "passover" had come to have somewhat the same meaning as forgiveness. As Motyet noted, "The phrase "pass by", used again at Amos 8:2, appears in Micah 7:18 in the meaning `to forgive.'"[21]

Before leaving this passage, it should be noted that some allegations commonly made regarding this passage should be rejected. "In spite of his plans to punish Israel, for Yahweh they will always remain his beloved and chosen people."[22] As regards the secular, fleshly descendants of Abraham, nothing could be further wrong that such a view, except in its unique application to the true Israel of God, the church of Jesus Christ. That the rebellious and grossly wicked children of Abraham in the fleshly sense whose notorious rebellions against God and all righteousness are the burden of the entire Old Testament, and who climaxed their unrighteousness by the murder of the Son of God Himself - that that people are, in some sense, still "the chosen people of God" is a monstrous error.