I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said:
“Strike the tops of the pillars
so that the thresholds shake.
Bring them down on the heads of all the people;
those who are left I will kill with the sword.
Not one will get away,
none will escape.
Though they dig down to the depths below,
from there my hand will take them.
Though they climb up to the heavens above,
from there I will bring them down.
Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,
there I will hunt them down and seize them.
Though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea,
there I will command the serpent to bite them.
Though they are driven into exile by their enemies,
there I will command the sword to slay them.
“I will keep my eye on them
for harm and not for good.”
The Lord, the Lord Almighty—
he touches the earth and it melts,
and all who live in it mourn;
the whole land rises like the Nile,
then sinks like the river of Egypt;
he builds his lofty palace in the heavens
and sets its foundation on the earth;
he calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out over the face of the land—
the Lord is his name.
“Are not you Israelites
the same to me as the Cushites?”
declares the Lord.
“Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt,
the Philistines from Caphtor
and the Arameans from Kir?
“Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord
are on the sinful kingdom.
I will destroy it
from the face of the earth.
Yet I will not totally destroy
the descendants of Jacob,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will give the command,
and I will shake the people of Israel
among all the nations
as grain is shaken in a sieve,
and not a pebble will reach the ground.
All the sinners among my people
will die by the sword,
all those who say,
‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’
“In that day
“I will restore David’s fallen shelter—
I will repair its broken walls
and restore its ruins—
and will rebuild it as it used to be,
so that they may possess the remnant of Edom
and all the nations that bear my name,”
declares the Lord, who will do these things.
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman
and the planter by the one treading grapes.
New wine will drip from the mountains
and flow from all the hills,
and I will bring my people Israel back from exile.
“They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them.
They will plant vineyards and drink their wine;
they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
I will plant Israel in their own land,
never again to be uprooted
from the land I have given them,”
says the Lord your God.
- Amos 9:1-15
Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments
Amos 7:10-9:15 ‘Confrontation with Amaziah’: “The account in Amos 7:10–17 of Amos’s encounter with Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, includes the message that Amaziah sent to Jeroboam II (7:10, 11). The message reports a prophecy in which Amos predicts that Jeroboam will die violently and that Israel will go into exile. This prophecy thus dates Amos’s ministry sometime before the end of Jeroboam’s reign in 753 B.C.
“Attempts have been made to date Amos’s ministry by an earthquake which occurred during the reign of Judah’s King Azariah (or Uzziah), but which was still remembered hundreds of years later (see Zech. 14:5). Amos received his vision two years before the earthquake (Amos 1:1).
“Unfortunately, an exact date for this earthquake is uncertain. Archaeological work at the city of Hazor shows evidence that it happened sometime in the mid-8th century B.C. The Jewish historian Josephus connects the earthquake with the violation of the priest’s office by Azariah (2 Chr. 26:16–20). When Azariah’s violation resulted in leprosy, his son Jotham governed with him as coregent (2 Kin. 15:5). Jotham’s 10-year coregency with Azariah began in 750 B.C., so following Josephus would place Amos’s ministry a few years before 750.”
- Timothy B. Cargal, et al., The Chronological Study Bible
Amos 9:1-10 ‘total devastation’: “The Lord appeared at the altar to announce the total devastation of Israel in this final vision of Amos. None would be able to escape the Lord’s judgment, which began with those who claimed to believe him as Israel had believed. The sovereignty of the Lord permitted no hiding place. ‘The depths below’ (Heb. she’ol), is the place of the dead (v. 2). Compare the list of hiding places in verses 2–4 with those of Psalm 139:7–12. In Psalm 139 the Lord’s omnipresence is related to his benevolent care for his people. In Amos 9:1–10 the Lord’s omnipresence is related to his judgment. Israel could not claim privileged status with the Lord (v. 7). The Lord’s sovereignty was behind the movement of Israel’s enemies, the Philistines and the Arameans, just as the Lord had initiated Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. God’s eyes focused on his people for calamity and not for good (vv. 4, 8). Judgment would fall on those who least expected it (v. 10).”
- Dorothy Kelley Patterson, General Editor, NIV Woman’s Study Bible (Karen H. Jobes, Minor Prophets contributor)
Amos 9:1-3 ‘Judgment is Inescapable’: “Amos’ declaration sounded like a classic, you can run but you cannot hide scenario… Because it is! No route granted escape from the imposing judgment of the Lord.
“A story from the civil war era tells of a young soldier brought before General Robert E Lee. The young man was charged with some offence and was so afraid that he shook. Wanting to be reassuring General Lee looked at him, and said, ‘Don’t be afraid son, you’ll get justice here.’ The young soldier replied, ‘That’s why I’m shaking, sir.’”
- Jay McCluskey, A Long Walk with the Minor Prophets
Amos 9:1 ‘bad idea to seek shelter in the temples of false gods’: ”This describes the coming of the Assyrians. We need to understand that ‘the altar’ is not the altar of Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem but is probably the altar of the temple to Baal in Samaria. I have seen the ruins of this temple in Samaria.
“’Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them.’ At the time of the siege, the people would seek refuge in the temples, but the temples would be brought down so suddenly that many of the people would be trapped when the pillars crumbled.
“’He that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.’ Those who would escape alive from the city would be carried into captivity.”
- J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible, Vol III, Proverbs to Malachi
Amos 9:3 ‘Carmel’: “A mountainous region, rising 1800 feet above the Mediterranean, known for its many caves and forests.”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
Amos 9:4 ‘evil should fear God’: “’And though they go into captivity before their enemies’—that is, going voluntarily in order to spare their lives, they still will not escape God’s judgment.
“My friend, the wicked do well to fear God and to fear the future. There is no escape for them. The man who commits suicide, thinking that he will get rid of his troubles, will move into real trouble when he faces God. It is like jumping from the frying pan into the fire—and that almost literally.”
- J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible, Vol III, Proverbs to Malachi
Amos 9:5-6 ‘Judgment is Great’: “Israel was guilty of a dismissive attitude toward God. They disregarded the awesome greatness of God through their self-serving practices. Even today, many people choose to live however they wish while granting the Lord mere ‘token’ attention at best.”
- Jay McCluskey, A Long Walk with the Minor Prophets
Amos 9:7 ‘God is the God of All Peoples’: “The prophet Amos recognized that Israel was not the only people who had received Yahweh’s mercy. In a series of short poetic statements, Amos describes the universal power of Yahweh and reminds the Israelites that God is not concerned with them alone (Amos 9:7).
“The prophet cites examples of three other peoples for whom Yahweh cares and for whom He has acted in the past. This places the sin of Israel in a much broader context. There are others for whom God needs to work, and Israel must not put herself above the other nations or assume that she will be treated differently from the other nations.
“The three peoples named by Amos are the Ethiopians, Philistines, and Syrians. Yahweh’s mercy thus reaches to a distant people (the Ethiopians), as well as to Israel’s neighboring enemies (the Philistines and Syrians). He has brought to Canaan people from the centers of differing cultures: from Egypt (Egyptian cultural sphere), from Caphtor (East Mediterranean cultural sphere), and from Kir (Mesopotamian cultural sphere). Yahweh’s concern is for all people.
“It is not important to Amos that none of the other three peoples worshiped Yahweh. Israel had been called to be God’s special people and to worship Yahweh alone, but had not done so. Now, as easily as God had brought these peoples into the land, He would scatter the Israelites from out of the land and into the world.”
- Timothy B. Cargal, et al., The Chronological Study Bible
Amos 9:8 ‘sinful kingdom’: “’The sinful kingdom’ is Israel, of course. ‘I will destroy it from off the face of the earth’ means that He will destroy it as a separate kingdom. When God returns the people of Israel to their land, they will not be a divided kingdom but will be one nation under the sovereignty of the One sitting on the throne of David.”
- J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible, Vol III, Proverbs to Malachi
Amos 9:9 ‘sift … among all nations’: “Only the chaff was to be punished; His remnant was to be preserved to inherit the blessings spoken of in the following verses.”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
Amos 9:11-15 ‘days are coming’: “Hope existed for Israel beyond judgment. ‘The days are coming’ (v. 13) is language used in the OT to describe the future blessings and hope of the messianic age (see Jer 31:31–34). The judgment message of Amos 5:11 stands in contrast to the restoration message of Amos 9:14. Amos saw the restoration of Israel as complete and permanent (v. 15). The Lord’s judgments have a redemptive purpose in the lives of his people.”
- Dorothy Kelley Patterson, General Editor, NIV Woman’s Study Bible (Karen H. Jobes, Minor Prophets contributor)
Amos 9:11-15 ‘The Restoration of Israel’: “ Amos makes five key points about the future restoration of Israel. First, the throne of David will be restored (verse u). Using the common prophetic phrase “in that day,’ God promises to raise again the tabernacle of David, which has fallen. The Hebrew word for ‘booth’ refers to a hut, and in this case, a broken-down one. The point is that at the time of Messiah’s coming, the house of David will be a broken-down dynasty, which Isaiah also points out (Isaiah 11:1). In fact, this verse is the origin of the Talmudic name for the Messiah as Ben Naphli, which means ‘the son of the fallen one.” Now this broken-down hut is to be repaired, meaning that it will be restored to its former glory. In Acts 15:16-17, James applies Amos 9:11 to the present day of Gentile salvation. James is not saying that Amos 9:11 had been fulfilled. He is merely pointing out that it was necessary to have a period of Gentile salvation before the final restoration of the
tabernacle of David, and the prophecy will be fulfilled only when that occurs.
“Second, Amos emphasizes Israel’s future supremacy over the Gentiles (verse 12). This will be true of the nations in general and of Edom in particular.
“Third, there will be increased production in the land (verse13)-so much so that the reaping will take place at the same time as the planting. This verse may be a quotation of Joel 3:18.
“Fourth, there will be a restoration of the land (verse 14). God will restore the people to the land and restore the land to the people, and Israel will finally possess all of the Promised Land.
“Fifth, this restoration will be perpetual (verse 15). God promises that following the final restoration, the people will never again ‘be rooted out from their land which I have given them.’ Statements such as these show that this prophecy was not fulfilled by the Babylonian captivity, as some claim. The wording is such that it’s clear Scripture is speaking of a restoration after which the people cannot be forced from the land again. That has yet to be fulfilled, and it will take place in the messianic kingdom.”
- Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson, Exploring Bible Prophecy
Amos 9:11-14 ‘restoration’: “In spite of the judgment, though, God will not forget his people. In that day I will restore the fallen shelter of David (9:11) is a reference to the Davidic monarchy. In the future millennial kingdom, Jesus Christ will sit on David’s throne. The days are coming when God’s rich blessings will be upon Israel. The land will be filled with abundance (9:13), and God will restore their fortunes (9:14). Peace and prosperity will be established God’s way and maintained according to his kingdom agenda.”
- Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
Amos 9:11-12 ‘God will save Gentiles’: ”These words are quoted in the New Testament in Acts 15:16-18, in the account of the first council at Jerusalem. As the Jewish Christian leaders wondered whether God would save the Gentiles without the law of Moses, James stood and quoted this verse from Amos. The statement that God will restore David’s fallen tent is a prophetic picture of the coming of Christ, representing the house of David. James uses this passage to show that God, as He had promised through the prophets, would bless the world through Jesus.“
- Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible
Amos 9:11 ‘Hope’: “ Like a rickety shack, David’s dynasty was about to collapse. But one day God would restore and rebuild and establish the kingdom He promised. I love that God is in the restoration business.
“Years ago, a church member named Gary Robbins lived near our campus. In his retirement, Gary restored old furniture. I routinely saw him working in his driveway on a china cabinet, a dresser, or a buffet. He would take these ugly and worn pieces of furniture and restore their beauty and usefulness. When Gary passed away, I used ‘restoration’ as the theme for his funeral. I noted how God takes our weathered brokenness, restoring us to His beautiful design. In eternity, we will experience the Lord’s ultimate restoration.”
- Jay McCluskey, A Long Walk with the Minor Prophets
Amos 9:11 ‘tabernacle of David’: “A reference to the dynasty of David … God will ‘raise up’ and ‘rebuild’ this tabernacle on earth for Christ to rule in His millennial kingdom (cf. Zech. 14:9–11). The apostles used this passage to illustrate that Gentiles could thus be a part of God’s redemption. See … Acts 15:13–18.”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
Amos 9:13 ‘’: “What is the doctrinal lesson taught in this text, and what does it teach us about revival? I think it is this-that God is absolute monarch over the hearts of people. God does not say here if people are willing, but he gives an absolute promise of a blessing. As much as to say, ‘I have the key of men’s hearts; I can induce the plow-man to overtake the reaper; I am Master of the soil-how-ever hard and rocky it may be, I can break it, and I can make it fruitful.’ When God promises to bless his church and to save sinners, he does not add, ‘If the sinners are willing to be saved.’ No, God leads free will In sweet captivity, and his free grace is all-triumphant. Sure, people do have a free will, and God does not violate it; but the free will is sweetly bound with chains of the divine love until it becomes freer than it ever was before. The Lord, when he means to save sinners, does not stop to ask them whether they want to be saved-but like a rushing mighty wind, the divine influence sweeps away every obstacle; the unwilling heart bends before the forceful gust of grace, and sinners who would not yield are made to yield by God!”
- Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes
Amos 9:14 ‘Promise to restore Israel’: “God is going to restore Israel to the land. Never again will it be the southern kingdom of Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel. It will all be Israel, an undivided kingdom, as it was in the beginning of its history. It will be all twelve tribes. They are scattered over the whole world today. They are sifted among all nations. Any idea that ‘the ten lost tribes’ are the people of Great Britain and of the United States is unscriptural. The prophecy clearly states that they will be sifted among all nations. Just look around you. Has God done that, or hasn’t He done it? But it will not be that way forever. God will return them to the land. ‘I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them.’”
- J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible, Vol III, Proverbs to Malachi
Amos 9:15 ‘no longer shall they be pulled up from the land’: “The ultimate fulfillment of God’s land promise to Abraham (cf. Gen. 12:7; 15:7; 17:8) will occur during Christ’s millennial reign on earth (cf. Joel 2:26, 27).”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
My Thoughts
The knocking down the pillars to kill everyone who was taking refuge in a temple devoted to false god worship… This reminded me of Samson destroying the temple of Dagon, killing more in his death than he did as the judge over Israel (Judges 16:28-30).
But in the following verses, Amos goes into detail that if you escape the temple collapsing, there would be no place to hide.
Punishment was inescapable.
In verses 5 and 6, God can do all that, yet we worship Him with a complacent heart, if at all.
God will destroy all sinners. God describes them as those who say disaster will not come.
How many today claim that there is no End Times? How many today think that the problems are fixable by mankind and thus there is no need to fear any End Times?
But God will save His remnant. Other nations will survive to worship God during the millennium reign.
And Israel will be restored and the earth will produce bountiful crops.
Many speak of the present Israel as the Israel of this promise, but it does not meet all the prophecies. Yet, the continuing fight over whose land it belongs to seems to be the focus of that final battle.
Some Serendipitous Reflections
Amos 9:1-10 Israel to be Destroyed 1. How do you attempt to hide from God: (a) Ignore certain pressing issues? (b) Skip church? (c) Keep on moving and don’t slow down? (d) Stop praying and reading the Bible? (e) Other: ?
“2. If God shook the Church today, what would fall out? Would you? When have you experienced God shaking you?
“3. How do you accept critical news: (a) Shoot the messenger? (b) Pull the covers over your head? (c) Grin and bear it? (d) Praise the Lord, anyway? (e) Act on it?
Amos 9:11-15 Israel’s Restoration 1. When have you felt as though you were back in the promised land after a long exile?
“2. Which area of your life needs a fresh touch of God’s spirit today?
“3. In silent review and prayer, ask God to use Amos to reveal any sin that needs to be addressed. Jot that on paper. Pair up and share Amos’ promise of renewal to each other. (Share what’s on the paper, only as you wish.) Find some group way to destroy the slips of paper, thus symbolizing God for-gives and forgets our sin.”
- Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups
Amos 9 has two sets of questions as noted.
Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.
If you like these Thursday morning Bible studies, but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Thursday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
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