Amos 9

CHAPTER 9

Israel to Be Destroyed (9:1–10)

1–4 In this final vision, Amos sees the Lord standing by the altar at Bethel; here the altar represents the false religion of the northern kingdom. The Lord gives orders to destroy Bethel’s temple and all the worshipers along with it (verse 1).

In verses 2–4, the Lord, using figurative language, states that it will be impossible for anyone to escape His judgment. No matter where one tries to hide, God will be there; there is no place in heaven or on earth that is beyond His reach (Psalm 139:7–8).

5–6 Here Amos briefly interrupts his vision to praise the Lord and to highlight His immense power over everything in the universe (see Amos 5:8; 8:8).

7–10 The Lord resumes His declaration of judgment on Israel. The Israelites have forfeited their privileged status as God’s special people whom He brought up from Egypt; to God the Israelites are the same as the Cushites (verse 7)—inhabitants of present–day Sudan (see Isaiah Chapter 18). The Cushites were not a significant people in biblical history, and so for God to equate them with the Israelites must have been shocking to Amos’s listeners. The Israelites could no longer boast about their exodus from Egypt; other people had migrated too. For example, the Philistines had come from Caphtor (the island of Crete).

Then God says that He will destroy the sinful kingdom (Israel)—but not totally (verse 8). He will sift the Israelites in a sieve to separate the good from the bad; the good will pass through the sieve, but the “pebbles” (the bad) will be caught and thrown out. All the sinners (the pebbles) among the Israelites—all those who have disbelieved God’s warnings—will be destroyed (verse 10).

This sifting process will produce the true remnant of Israel that God intends to save. Israel the Old Testament nation will be destroyed; Israel the remnant will be spared. God’s original choice of Israel out of all the nations of the earth has not been canceled or overturned: the Israelites (the remnant) are still God’s “chosen people.”

Israel’s Restoration (9:11–15)

11–12 “In that day,” says the Lord, “I will restore David’s fallen tent” (verse 11). “That day” is the Messianic age; David’s “fallen tent”—fallen kingdom—will be restored by the MESSIAH Jesus Christ, in accordance with God’s promise to David (see 2 Samuel 7:12–17 and comment). David’s “tent” (kingdom) will be restored as it used to be in the time of David and Solomon (verse 11).

David’s kingdom will be restored so that the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear [God’s] name can be incorporated into it³¹ (verse 12). The restored Israel under the Messiah will possess all these nations.

In Acts 15:16, James the Lord’s brother quotes verses 11–12 in order to show that it was God’s will that the GENTILES be admitted as full members of the believing community, the Church.³² Indeed, this teaching is affirmed by a number of Old Testament passages: the blessings that God intended for Israel were ultimately to be shared with the whole world (see Genesis 12:3; Isaiah 49:6).

Here in verses 11–12, therefore, the Lord is reaffirming His covenant promises to both Abraham and David. In the reign of the Messiah, all nations will share in the blessings of the restored Israel. To the New Testament writers, the church of Christ represented the spiritual or “invisible” manifestation of the coming Messianic kingdom; the full manifestation would come when Jesus returned.

13–15 The Lord, through His prophet Amos, now gives a final picture of the restored Israel. The harvests will be so plentiful that the plowman will be ready to plow before the reapers can gather in the previous year’s harvest! (verse 13). The exiled Israelites scattered all over the world will be brought back to the land (verse 14), and they will never be uprooted again (verse 15).

This great vision of the restored Israel was only partly fulfilled when the exiles returned to Judah from Babylon in 538 B.C. It is even now being fulfilled in a spiritual sense through Christ’s church. But it will reach its complete fulfillment—both physically and spiritually—when Jesus comes again and establishes His kingdom. Then the promises that first began in Genesis 12:2–3 will all come true.³³ Thus says the Lord, who will do these things (verse 12).

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¹ Hosea, a contemporary of Amos, also warned the Israelites of coming judgment, but they did not heed him either.

² Amos describes what he saw concerning Israel (verse 1). This doesn’t mean that everything Amos “saw” was in visions; it simply means that he “saw” the truth by divine revelation. Amos was given spiritual perception by God to enable him to speak God’s words.

³ In verse 3, Amos writes: For three sins . . . even for four. . . This is a Hebrew poetic expression meaning: “For their many sins—especially the one mentioned.” In each of Amos’s judgments on Israel’s neighbors, Amos mentions just one sin as an example. For another instance of this poetic use of numbers, see Proverbs 30:15,18,21,29.

⁴ For other prophecies concerning Damascus, see Isaiah 17:1–14; Jeremiah 49:23–27.

⁵ For other prophecies concerning the Philistines, see Isaiah 14:28–32; Jeremiah 47:1–7; Ezekiel 25:15–17.

⁶ For other prophecies concerning Tyre, see Isaiah Chapter 23; Ezekiel Chapters 26–28.

⁷ Edom was founded by Jacob’s twin brother Esau. Jacob had cheated Esau out of his father’s blessing (Genesis Chapter 27), and after that, Esau’s descendants (the Edomites) continued their hostility toward Jacob’s descendants (the Israelites). For other prophecies concerning Edom, see Isaiah 21:11–12; 34:5–17; Jeremiah 49:7–22; Ezekiel 25:12–14; 35:1–15.

⁸ For other prophecies concerning Ammon, see Jeremiah 49:1–6; Ezekiel 25:1–7.

⁹ For other prophecies concerning Moab, see Isaiah Chapters 15–16; Jeremiah Chapter 48.

¹⁰ A cloak given in pledge for a loan had to be returned to the owner at night so he would have something to sleep in (Exodus 22:25–27).

¹¹ The Nazirites were those who made a vow to totally consecrate themselves to the Lord for varying periods of time (see Numbers 6:1–8).

¹² Bethel, in southern Israel, was the center of pagan worship for the Israelites (see 1 Kings 12:2830,32–33).

¹³ God is not against wealth as such; He is against the misuse of it. Wealth must be gained justly and it must be used unselfishly; all wealth belongs to God, and we are but stewards of it.

¹⁴ God never authorized sacrifices to be offered at Bethel and Gilgal (verse 4); the only place sacrifices were to be offered was on the altar of the temple in Jerusalem.

¹⁵ Any grain offering burned on the altar had to be prepared without yeast (Leviticus 2:11). Only those offerings not burned on the altar could have yeast (Leviticus 7:13).

¹⁶ In verse 5, Amos paints a picture of many religious people, especially those from affluent countries. For them, religious worship is a show, a means of winning approval or of gaining new business contacts. But such worship is condemned by God (see Amos 5:21–24). If we want our worship to be acceptable to Him, we must worship Him from our hearts and according to His revealed will.

¹⁷ For further discussion on the subject of testing and discipline, see Exodus 15:25–27 and comment.

¹⁸ The picture of a burning stick being snatched from the fire (verse 11) is a picture every believer in Christ can relate to; each one of us has been “snatched from the fire” by the grace of God. By grace we have been saved from the fire of God’s judgment (see Zechariah 3:1–2 and comment).

¹⁹ According to this chapter, it does appear that God had run out of patience with Israel. Yet in the next chapter God again calls the Israelites to repentance. God does not want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9). But unrepentant sinners cannot presume on God’s patience forever; the day will come—as it came for Israel—when God’s patience ends and judgment begins.

²⁰ The house of Joseph is Israel, the northern kingdom. The two leading tribes of Israel were Ephraim and Manasseh, founded by the two eldest sons of Joseph (Genesis 41:50–52; 48:1–5).

²¹ In verse 5, the Lord mentions three places where false worship was carried out: Bethel, Gilgal, and Beersheba (in Judah). These places and the pagan shrines associated with them would be destroyed; the false gods of the Israelites would not be able to stand against the true God of Israel.

²² Notice that verses 7 and 10 are interrupted by a parenthetical statement (verses 8–9). The statement is a brief word of praise to God, similar to that in Amos 4:13. Pleiades and orion are two constellations of stars. The Lord calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land (verse 8)—an apt description of a tsunami washing over the land after an earthquake.

²³ There are many today who long for the day of the LORD (verse 18), who long for the return of Christ. However, not everyone may be ready to meet Him! Let us not be like the ancient Israelites, who thought they were awaiting a Savior but in fact were awaiting a Judge.

²⁴ For further discussion of the day of the LORD, see Joel 1:15; 2:28–32 and comments.

²⁵ A plumb line is used by builders to make sure that vertical structures are not slanted.

²⁶ Isaac was the son of Abraham and the father of Jacob. In verse 9, Amos uses “Isaac” as another name for Israel.

²⁷ Amaziah gives us a picture of false religion. He claimed to be a priest of God, but he served the king instead. He called the shrine at Bethel the king’s sanctuary (verse 13), not God’s sanctuary. Religion in Israel had become the servant of politics. But Amos shows us the role of true religion in society; God’s servants are called to examine society in the light of God’s word and to expose and condemn any evil they find.

²⁸ Amos was a shepherd (verse 14); today we would call him a “layman.” Many other prophets came from priestly families or had special training or qualifications, but not Amos. Amos is proof that the Lord can take any one of us into His service to fulfill His purposes. Let no one excuse himself from the Lord’s service by saying: “I’m only a layman; I’m only a sheepherder.”

²⁹ The Pride of Jacob is the Lord Himself; the Lord was the true pride of Israel. Thus when the Lord swears by the “Pride of Jacob,” He is swearing by “Himself,” there being no one greater for Him to swear by (see Amos 6:8; Hebrews 6:13–14).

³⁰ The false gods of Israel included all the Canaanite gods the people worshiped. But surely the most displeasing to God were the two golden calves that had been set up in His name, one at Bethel and the other at Dan in the far north (1 Kings 12:28–30).

³¹ In verse 12, Edom represents the historic enemies of Israel (see Isaiah 1:11–12); even among these enemies there will be a believing remnant. The nations represent the remaining Gentiles in the world.

³² Note that the text of James’ quotation in Acts 15:16–17 is slightly different from the Old Testament text. This is because James was quoting from the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, called the “Septuagint.” One might ask: Is James’ quotation just as much God’s word as Amos’s original statement? Yes, it is; James too was inspired by the same Holy Spirit who inspired Amos.

³³ For further discussion of prophecies of the restored Israel and the Messianic age, see Isaiah 32:1418; 35:1–4; 60:1–3; Joel 1:15; 2:28–32 and comments.