Amos ; What seeest Thou?


by Ray W. Burgess, Past Grand Master of Louisiana

in the FC Degree.
Why do we do this? This practice is not universal,
but ours has the sanctity of long use and sacredness.


it began to fall apart.
Expensive building projects sapped the strength and loyalty of native Israelites.
As the adjoining nations saw the opportunity to assert their independence they did so
and Solomon was unable to prevent the disintegration of the empire.
Before Solomon’s death the Aramaeans had severed themselves from his kingdom,
and shortly after the succesion by Rehoboam, a further split took place.
With this breakdown of the monarchy,
became divided into autonomous units.

That portion of Solomon’s empire north of Mount Hermon, extending as far as the Euphrates,
with its capital at Shechem.
The Northern Kingdom included the larger portion of Palestine proper,
an area of about 9,400 square miles.


subjection. Moab disappeared as a political power when Nebuchadnezzar conquered the country.

and remained tributary during the reign of Solomon.

The three kingdoms which developed from Solomon’s kingdom in western Palestine—Syria,
Israel and Judah—strove for supremacy. Wars were constant between Israel and Judah.
there developed a need & desire for the two states to reconcile their differences.

the sister states pushed their boundaries out to include the territories
which once belonged to Israel under David and Solomon.

Both kingdoms collected tolls from the caravans that passed through theirlands.
of wealthy merchants and landholders.

adorned and decorated.
and listening to strains of varied music.

The extremely rich had obtained much of their wealth by their merciless
oppression of the poor, taking exactions of wheat from them.
The merchants used false weights and measures in their business transactions,
in addition to selling refuse wheat.
Because these unscrupulous men were able to bribe the judges,
no redress was left for the innocent.

The tragedy of all this was that Israel’s social structure was completely disrupted.
Israel had originally been a very liberal community in which there was no class distinction.
Now all this had changed. Wealth, power, and affluence came to some but not to the majority.
But the affluent, rather than using their wealth to benefit all of God’s people,
their poor brothers in subjection.

there would have been little interest in religion in those days.
They thought they were in the favor of God and under His protection.
However, just the opposite was true.
The Lord despised their feasts and would not accept their sacrifices.
Their worship was a profane travesty.
searching discipline of God.

God had entered into a covenant with Israel.
to guide them in the way they should go.
and a license that no other nation had.
But Israel broke her covenant.
The gift of the land she used for selfish purposes.
She rejected the law of God and walked after lies.

What was God going to do in the face of Israel’s sin?
Would he ignore it?
Would he wink at it?
Or would he stop turning away the punishment from Israel?
The answer was “No,” he would stop turning away the punishment from Israel.
The end had come upon Israel.

There was only a slight possibility—only that possibility found in the sovereignty of God.
Here is where we begin the story about Amos.

Amos’ name probably means “burdened” or “burden-bearer.”



Seemingly before anyone else in his generation, Amos heard the lion’s roar of God’s wrath.
He introduced a new element into Old Testament prophecy.

In spite of his humble background, he was the one God chose to preach his message.
That message was of repentance and warning to a rebellious nation.
Amos possessed a sense of unquestioned obedience and a clear proclamation of God’s message.

surrounding the land of Judah and Israel.
a vivid description of God’s judgment against the nation of Israel.
rejection of God’s salvation; and defilement of the Lord’s holy name.


“Thus He showed me: and behold
the Lord stood upon a wall made by
a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand.

“I will not again pass by them any more. ‘ ‘ Amos 7:7-8


Let us look further at this plumb line!!!!

What is a plumb line? It is a simple tool made of a cord with a weight attached to one end.

Why did God say, “I will set a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel?”
The plumb line is the symbol of uprightness of character, of integrity, of honest and fair dealings
among persons. To plumb one’s life and actions is to test them by the eternal laws to God.
In all these tests, the people of Israel had failed. That’s why He said,
I will set a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel.”

So it is with Freemasonry.
The real worth of a Mason can never be measured in the opinion of his fellows
or in the Masonic honors he has attained.
The standard by which a Mason must be judged is by his own evaluation of his conduct
and by the principles which he knows to be the unerring and unchanging ones.

What can a Freemason expect to get from Freemasonry?
The rewards of Freemasonry and the wages of Masons are endless,
so long as a man is willing to strive for them.
If he is content to be a “button Mason,” paying his dues merely for the privilege of wearing a pin,
this is just what he will get out of Masonry.
If he is content to be a “knife-and-fork Mason,” showing up at his lodge
only when there is some type of banquet, he will receive only this from Masonry.

If, however, he measures himself by the plumb, and sets his standards accordingly,
he will benefit from Masonic education, Masonic philosophy
and from the association with the finest men in his community.

The standard by which a man judges himself as a Mason is the same unerring principle
by which he judges himself as a family man, as a business-man, and as a citizen.
He will learn to walk uprightly in all his endeavors,
learning from the plumb the lesson of rectitude of conduct.


I have heard this piece of Ritual many many times and wondered why the wording was so weird.  At first I thought it meant that the Israelites were the chosen people, however, that still did not explain the wording.  This paper quite correctly points out that the opposite was the case & they were to be held to account for their actions.  Very well written & explained.

Have a wonderful day & God Bless                   Norm




About Norm McEvoy