This lesson teaches children that God is patient and merciful, but He also tells the truth and keeps His promises. It suits children ages 5 to 11 and takes about 20 to 30 minutes.
Big Idea
God listens when we ask Him for mercy, and He always does what is right and true, even when we do not want to hear it.
Memory Verse
Amos 5:24
But let justice roll on like rivers, and righteousness like a mighty stream.
(WEB)
Have children stand and stretch both arms out wide, then slowly roll them down in front of their bodies like water running down a hill. Say the verse together while the arms move, and ask them to do it three times.
The Story: Amos 7 for Kids
Long ago, God showed a shepherd named Amos some strange and frightening pictures. Amos was not a famous preacher. He took care of sheep and picked fruit from fig trees in the countryside, and God chose him to speak to the people of Israel. In the first picture, God was making swarms of locusts that were about to eat all the new grass in the land. Israel’s king had already taken his share of the harvest, so there would be very little left for anyone else.
Amos was worried. He cried out, “Lord, please forgive them! How could Jacob stand? They are so small.” God listened to Amos, and He changed His plan. The locusts did not come. Then God showed Amos a second picture, a great fire that was ready to dry up the deep waters and burn the whole land. Once again Amos begged God to stop, and once again God listened and held back the fire.
The third picture was different. God showed Amos a wall with a plumb line hanging beside it. A plumb line is a string with a weight on the end, and builders use it to check whether a wall stands straight. God said, “Amos, what do you see?” Amos answered, “A plumb line.” Then God explained that He was going to measure His people by a straight standard, and He would no longer pass them by without correcting them.
A priest named Amaziah heard what Amos was saying and ran to tell King Jeroboam that Amos was causing trouble. Amaziah then told Amos to go home to the land of Judah and stop speaking in Bethel. Amos answered that he was not a professional prophet at all. He was a herdsman and a farmer, and God had taken him from his flock and told him to speak. Amos told them both to listen to what the Lord had said, because God’s words would come true.
The story teaches that God hears prayers for mercy. It also teaches that God’s truth stands firm, and His people must listen to it.
Read It Together
Amos 7:1-3
1 Thus the Lord the LORD showed me: and behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s harvest. 2 When they finished eating the grass of the land, then I said, “Lord the LORD, forgive, I beg you! How could Jacob stand? For he is small.” 3 The LORD relented concerning this. “It shall not be,” says the LORD.
(WEB)
Point out that Amos prayed for God’s people even though they had not been faithful. Ask the children what they notice about how God responded to Amos’s prayer.
Amos 7:7-8
7 Thus he showed me and behold, the Lord stood beside a wall made by a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 The LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I will set a plumb line in the middle of my people Israel. I will not again pass by them any more.
(WEB)
Show the children that God used a plumb line, a tool for making things straight, to explain His plan. Ask them what it means for something to be straight and true.
Amos 7:14-15
14 Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was a herdsman, and a farmer of sycamore figs; 15 and the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’
(WEB)
Explain that Amos was an ordinary man who did ordinary work, and God still called him to speak. Remind children that God can use anyone who is willing to listen and obey.
Talk About It
- What did Amos ask God to do when he saw the locusts and the fire?
- Why do you think God changed His plan when Amos prayed?
- What is a plumb line, and why would God use one to show His people something?
- How do you think Amos felt when the priest told him to go away?
- What is one way you can listen to God’s words this week?
Activity Ideas
Plumb Line Drawing
You will need paper, crayons, a piece of string, and a small washer or bead. Tie the bead to the end of the string and let it hang straight down. Have the children draw a tall line beside a wall, using the string as a guide to make the line perfectly straight. Talk about how God’s truth is like that straight line, always true and steady.
Locust and Fire Freeze Game
Clear a space in the room. Choose one child to be Amos and the rest to be locusts. When the leader says “locusts,” the children hop around like insects. When the leader says “Lord, forgive!” everyone freezes and the leader counts to five. This shows children how God hears prayers and holds back judgment when people ask for mercy.
Take-Home Prayer Card
You will need an index card, a marker, and a pencil. Write “God hears my prayers” on one side and “God always tells the truth” on the other. Let each child decorate the card with a simple picture of a string and weight. Encourage them to keep the card on their bedside table and read it each night before sleep.
Teacher Notes
For adults, this chapter shows that God’s justice and mercy work together. Amos pleads for Israel, and God relents, yet God also measures His people against His unchanging standard. The plumb line reminds us that God’s word is the true measure of right and wrong, and it is not something we can bend to fit our own ideas.
Avoid suggesting to children that asking God for something guarantees a particular outcome. Explain that God hears and responds in His own wisdom, and that His faithfulness is what they can trust most.
A Prayer to Close
Lord, thank You for hearing us when we ask for mercy. Help us to listen to Your truth and to live straight and true, just as the plumb line shows. Thank You that You are patient and faithful to us. Amen.
