Amos 9

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.” Amos 9:1

The fifth and last vision of Amos is a blood curdler. God is standing by the altar commanding that it be stricken down upon the heads of the worshippers. God swears that the escapees will be killed with the sword. Amos is certainly focusing the wrath of God upon the king’s altar at Bethel. Some have felt that the Jerusalem altar is implied and perhaps it is to a small degree. However, this book is about the Northern Kingdom of Samaria and its religious abuses at the calf shrines of Dan and Bethel. We remember that God swore to do this to Bethel in 3:14.

We can be fairly sure that there was a building or structure that served as a temple. Pett points out that the Philistines had a pagan temple that Samson brought down upon their heads (Judg. 16:29-30). [1] It was very important to the Lord to end this idolatry. Motyer says, “The Lord himself was superintending the destruction of the shrine.” [2] He was determined that no one would get away. The Bible even mentions God’s anger with the Bethel altar some 200 years earlier in 1 Kings 13:1-9. The former prophet of God had predicted its destruction. [3] Now at last it was about to happen.

“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” (9:2-3). It is impossible to run away from God or to hide from him. Motyer says, “Thus Amos compels mythology to serve the truth and to display the omnipresence and omnipotence of the only God.” [4] There is certainly no escape for the sinner from the face of the Almighty and Holy God.

R. Harper tells us that Mt. Carmel was noted for its limestone caves. He says that there are more than 2,000 of them. They are arranged in a serpentine fashion that makes the discovery of a fugitive almost impossible. [5] Still, these Carmel caves can provide no escape from the eyes of an angry God.

“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” (9:4). How true are the curses of Deuteronomy 28:49-68. In all the history of Israel’s dispersion, the sword of persecution was never far from them.

The Greatness Of God

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.

Amos 9:5-6

The people of Israel never seemed to understand the greatness of their God. A.W. Tozer said: “The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of him.” [6] The prophet seemed fixated on the rising and falling of the Nile River. He spoke about it in the previous chapter (8:8). The God of Israel was Almighty. Jeremiah said of him: “Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you” (Jer. 32:17). Israel traded the all-powerful God for weak and worthless idols made with their own hands.

Israel’s Forfeited Advantage

“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?” Amos 9:7

We see here that the Israelites sacrificed their national distinctions when they succumbed to pagan idol worship. Phillips says, “They were as far from God as the pagan Ethiopians were. In God’s sight they were ‘children of the Ethiopians (Cushites), the descendants of Ham, not Abraham.’” [7] Israel was not the only people that God moved across the world. God moved the Philistines from Caphtor (probably Crete) and the Arameans from Kir (A city of the Medes). God is the Lord of the whole earth. He can do anything he pleases to any people anywhere.

“‘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” (9:8). The Kingdom of Samaria was doomed. It would never appear again in the history of the world. However, the Merciful God was not willing to destroy all the people. He would leave a remnant, and that remnant would return to the land to join with Judah at the end of the age.

“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’” (9:9-10).

Perhaps Jamieson and company explain this picture best. They say, “While the chaff and dust (the wicked) fall through (perish), all the solid grains (the godly elect) remain (are preserved).” [8] Phillips remarks about their situation: “The Hebrew people are literally found among all nations. And perilous is their lot. Antisemitism is endemic in all Gentile societies and from time to time becomes epidemic…not one grain of true wheat will perish.” [9] Since the recent Gaza War antisemitism has now increased above 1000 percent in some nations.

The Restoration Of Israel

“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. Amos 9:11-12

The idea of a Golden Age or Utopia has always been in the minds of many people. Some who popularized the idea were the Roman poet Virgil, Thomas More, Samuel Butler, Edward Bellamy, Henry David Thoreau, Robert Owen and Leo Tolstoy. [10] It is truly interesting that the Bible speaks of a Golden Age and it is called the Millennium. In this blessed era, the fallen shelter or tabernacle of King David will be restored, since the returning Christ is the rightful heir of David’s throne. In the New Testament, James speaks of this very event in Acts 15:16-18.

The Millennial Age happens immediately following the return of Christ. When the heavenly trumpet sounds the dead in Christ will be resurrected in their immortal and glorified bodies. Those saints who are still alive will be changed instantly into their glorified bodies. It appears that the resurrected David will rule over all of Israel. (Ezek. 37:24) The resurrected twelve disciples will rule over the various tribes (Matt. 19:28) and Christ will assume rule over all the earth.

In this special time of one thousand years, Satan will be restrained and his antichrist and false prophet will be cast into Hell forever (Rev. 20:10). The wicked will be removed from the earth by the angels (Matt. 13:41-42). The overcoming saints of God will work with Christ in ruling the earth. (Rev. 20:6) This will usher in a time of great peace and prosperity for Israel especially and for the whole world. People from all nations will gather in Israel to worship the True God.

At this time Edom will be judged and totally destroyed. Motyer sees “Edom typically and eschatologically as the figure par excellence of enmity to the people of God (cf. Is. 63:1f; Ezek. 35).” [11] Actually, the Messiah when he returns will apparently come through Edom and will leave that ancient and bitter people with their blood splattered on his garments (Isa. 63:1).

“‘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’” (9:13-14). J. A. Motyer comments: “When, however, its rightful King returns to Eden (cf. Is. 11:6-9) all the energies, pent up for the centuries during which sin abounded and death reigned, will explode in one triumphant burgeoning as nature hastens to lay its tribute at the feet of him whose right it is to reign.” [12] Once the curse is lifted, we will see abundant and unbelievable fruitfulness in the earth.

There are many things that we do not understand about the Millennial Age. There will be resurrected and glorified saints of God ruling with Christ on the earth. (Rev. 5:10), over cities (Lk. 19:17) and even over nations (Rev. 2:26). However, it is clear that there will be many people still living in their fleshly bodies. God will bring all of his people back home and they will be doing fleshly things like rebuilding cities and living in them, planting vineyards and making gardens. In short, they will receive all the blessings prophesied to them over all the centuries. Isaiah tells us that they will be living and dying at very old ages (Isa. 65:20-22; cf. Zech. 8:4-5). We know that when the Millennium ends Satan will be released (Rev. 20:3) and a fleshly army will rebel once more against Christ. When they are destroyed, they will be buried by Israel (Ezek. 39:11-16). So they are obviously a fleshly army.

“‘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” (9:15). Phillips says, “But when he comes back he will plant the Jews in the land in such a way that no power on earth will be able to dislodge them.” [13] After the last battle on earth that ends the Millennial Age, the devil himself will be thrown into Hell (Rev. 20:10 and the eternal ages of peace and glory will begin, never to end.

Footnotes

1. Pett, Commentary on Amos 6, Pett’s Commentary on the Bible, v. 9:1.

2. Guthrie, Motyer, et. al., The New Bible Commentary: Revised, p. 739.

3. Pett, Commentary on Amos 6, Pett’s Commentary on the Bible, vs. 9:1-4.

4. Guthrie, Motyer, et. al., The New Bible Commentary: Revised, p. 740.

5. Cited in Coffman, Commentaries on the Bible, vs. 9:2-4.

6. Quoted in Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT, p. 1434.

7. Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 114.

8. Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 114)

9. Boice, The Minor Prophets, Vol. 2, p. 222.

10. Guthrie, Motyer, et. al., The New Bible Commentary: Revised, p. 741.

11. Ibid.

12. Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 161.