AMOS - CHAPTER 9
A
Bible Study - Commentary by Jim Melough
Copyright
2002 James Melough
9:1.
“And I saw the Lord standing upon the altar:, and he said, Smite the lintel of
the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and
I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not
flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.”
Appropriate to His being the
Lord Who was about to execute judgment, the word Lord as used here is Adonai
Master, rather than Jehovah, the name associated with redemption and
covenant blessing.
The location of the altar
isn’t mentioned, but it was probably at Samaria or Bethel or Dan, and was
representative of all the idolatrous altars with which the land abounded. The
Lord’s standing upon it (some translations read “beside it”) may be indicative
of His power over all such altars, and of His determination to destroy them
and all those who used them.
The lintel here is literally
the capital which ornamented the top of a pillar, the smashing of the capital
being the equivalent of shattering the whole pillar. With the supporting
pillars destroyed the roof would collapse upon the heads of those in the
temple, thus “cutting them on the head,” that is, killing them. “... all of
them” declares the completeness of the slaughter, emphasized in the phrase, “I
will slay the last of them with the sword.” No matter where a man might flee,
or hope to hide himself, there would be no escaping the wrath of God. To the
last man they would die.
All of this was undoubtedly
what Amos saw in a vision, rather than an actual occurrence, for it is
impossible to believe that the people, without resistance, would have
permitted the prophet to destroy them by bringing their temple down upon their
heads. The mention of the sword confirms that what he was being shown was the
coming total destruction of the people at the hand of God using the Assyrians
as His instrument.
9:2.
“Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they
climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:”
9:3.
“And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take
them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the
sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:”
Some understand Carmel and the
bottom of the sea to represent the earthly extremes of height and depth; and
heaven and hell, the universal or cosmic limits.
In virtually the same
language, but in a very different context, David describes the impossibility
of separating one’s self from the presence of God. He worships for the fact
that there is no place where he could ever be beyond God’s watchful protecting
care, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy
presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in
hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell
in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy
right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me: even
the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee;
but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to
thee,” Ps 139:7-12.
The reference to their being
bitten by the serpent may be a figurative way of saying that they would be
delivered into the hand of Satan, as were Hymenaeus and Alexander, see 1 Tim
1:20, for other Scriptures make it clear that the serpent is a type of Satan,
e.g., Job 41:1; Ps 71:13-14; 104:26; Isa 27:1; Re 12:9; 20:2.
Who can begin to imagine what
a terrible thing it is for a man to so sin as to take himself out from under
God’s watchful care, and make himself instead subject to the destructive power
of Satan without hope of God’s delivering intervention!
9:4.
“And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command
the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for
evil, and not for good.”
“Captivity” as used here
stresses the thought of exile, and the idea seems to be that even if some of
them were to flee into other lands to escape the Assyrian, they would not
thereby save themselves: God would still slay them. This does not, however,
exclude the truth that He would also slay them even in Assyrian captivity.
“I will set mine eyes upon
them” means simply that God would watch over them, but for evil, not good. No
matter where they might seek to hide, they would be unable to escape Divine
judgment.
9:5.
“And the Lord God of hosts (armies) is he that toucheth the land, and it shall
melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like
a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.”
These and the following
examples of God’s omnipotence ought to have warned the people that He had the
power to execute the threatened judgment.
Relative to its being said
that the land would melt, the word “melt” is used here figuratively to
describe the utter helplessness that would grip the people, just as today we
use the expression “as weak as water.” Their former complacent boasting would
give place to mourning.
The melting of the land, and
its being like a flood are understood by some to refer to volcanic and
earthquake activity.
See 8:8 for comments on the
Nile’s rising like a flood.
9:6.
“It is he that buildeth his stories (stairs) in (to) the heaven, and hath
founded his troop (vault, arch, ceiling) in (over) the earth; he that calleth
for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth:
The Lord is his name.”
Relative to these stories or
stairs to heaven, Tatford writes, “The different heavens were sometimes
referred to as the stairs to the heaven of heavens.”
His “troop” (vault, arch,
ceiling), however, can scarcely refer to anything other than the canopy of
heaven in which are suspended the clouds, and in which He has placed the
heavenly bodies.
His calling for the waters of
the sea, and his pouring them out upon the face of the earth, are viewed by
some as a reference to His use of the sea water in judgments such as those
which enveloped the preAdamic earth, and the world of Noah; but it is perhaps
more likely that the reference is to His drawing up the sea water into the
atmosphere by evaporation, and then sending it back to water the earth as
life-giving rain.
9:7.
“Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel?
saith the Lord. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and
the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?”
By their idolatry Israel had
made themselves as despised in God’s eyes as the Ethiopians were in theirs.
He reminded them that but for His deliverance they would have been nothing but
a company of slaves in Egypt, just as the Philistines would have been unheard
of had He not brought them from Caphtor (Crete), and likewise the Syrians (Aramaens),
had He not brought them from Kir in Mesopotamia. These two nations were
inveterate foes of Israel, yet here God is virtually setting the three of them
on the same level.
Israel, in her foolish pride,
attributed her place of prominence to her own power, just as the Philistines
and Syrians credited themselves with having achieved their places of
prominence by their own power; but God reminded Israel that she was no better
than, and now no more to Him, than these heathen neighbors whom she despised
and hated.
9:8.
“Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will
destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly
destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord.”
The sinful kingdom was Israel
(the ten northern tribes), and because they had refused to repent, God was
about to destroy them. But, as noted already, the destruction was to be of
that present wicked generation, and not the complete annihilation of the
nation Israel. God would preserve for Himself a remnant, which in a day still
future, but now imminent, would emerge from the Tribulation judgments, as the
new believing Israel in whom would be fulfilled in the Millennium all the
promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
9:9.
“For, lo I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all
nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall
upon the earth.”
This has been fulfilled during
the past two thousand years, for since AD 70 Israel has been scattered among
the nations, having to move from place to place trying to escape persecution,
just like grain shaken from side to side in a sieve, the final and most
terrible phase of the Divine sifting to occur in the fast approaching
Tribulation.
The small believing remnant
that has always existed in the midst of the apostate mass of the nation, would
have to share in the sifting process, but it is of them that God says there
“shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.” Many of them also would die
amongst their unbelieving brethren in the course of that sifting, but how
different the end result! Death that has transported their souls to paradise
to await the resurrection of life, has swept the souls of their unbelieving
fellows into the torment of hell to await the resurrection of damnation. And
so will it be in the coming Tribulation sifting, but out of it will emerge
also a living believing remnant, the new Israel that will enter the Millennium
to enjoy all the blessings promised the fathers.
9:10.
“All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil
shall not overtake nor prevent (meet) us.”
In their arrogant ignorance of
the nature of the God with Whom they dealt, they were confident that their
outward observance of an empty ritual guaranteed them immunity from judgment,
either on earth, or in eternity, this latter being indicated in their
confidence that it would not prevent (meet) them.
Christendom, equally arrogant
and ignorant, labors under the same delusion.
9:11.
“In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close
up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as
in the days of old.”
The word used here for
tabernacle means primarily a hut or booth, and indicates how low the once
glorious house had fallen.
In the midst of judgment God
remembers mercy. Having pronounced judgment upon the apostate mass, He then
speaks words of assurance and comfort to the small believing remnant. On that
same day in which the Lord Jesus Christ, returned to earth in power and glory
after the Tribulation, and having banished every unbeliever into hell, will
then address the remnant, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world,” Mt 25:34, and they, with
the believing remnant of the nations, will pass into the enjoyment of the
millennial kingdom. During that glorious age all the promises recorded in
this verse will be fulfilled. Israel will be head of all the nations, and a
literal descendant of David will sit upon the throne, ruling not only over
Israel, but over all the nations, their kings being subordinate to him. The
splendor of Solomon’s reign was but a faint foreshadowing of the glory that
will be Israel’s in that coming day.
Relative to the king who will
rule in the Millennium, it should be understood that he will not be the Lord
Jesus Christ, for Scripture makes it clear that that king will be a man of the
Davidic line who will offer worship, see Eze 45:17-22; 46:2-12, something
Christ does not do: He is worshiped. Furthermore, that king will also beget
literal children, see Eze 46:16,18, something Christ does not do. The Lord’s
reign over the millennial earth will be theocratic as in the days of David and
Solomon, that is it will be exercised by a regent, a man of the Davidic line,
whose throne will be in the earthly Jerusalem, while Christ will exercise
dominion over the millennial earth from the heavenly Jerusalem.
9:12.
“That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are
called by my name, saith the Lord that doeth this.”
This continues God’s assurance
to the believing remnant begun in the preceding verse, for “the remnant of
Edom” and the remnant of all the heathen (Gentile nations), identifies this
remnant as being the believers from amongst the nations, who will pass out of
the Tribulation into the Millennium with the believing remnant of Israel.
Their being “called by my name” confirms that they are believers; and Israel’s
“possessing” them confirms that she will have dominion over them during the
Millennium.
9:13.
“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the
reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains
shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt (flow with wine).”
This describes the fertility
and abundance of the millennial earth. The harvests will be so great that it
will take till plowing time to gather them in. And likewise with the grape
harvests: with the vines flourishing everywhere, the yield will be
phenomenal. Inasmuch as wine is a biblical symbol of joy and gladness, the
special mention of the grape harvest, may be to indicate that peace and joy
will prevail world wide during the Millennium.
9:14.
“And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall
build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and
drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of
them.”
This is the assurance that God
will yet gather Israel back into the land out of the countries where she has
been scattered under the dominion of the Gentiles for the past two thousand
years. The rebuilding of her ruined cities, the planting of vineyards and
drinking wine, the making of gardens and eating their produce, are all the
pleasant occupations of peace and joy and prosperity, all of them enhancing
the picture of millennial blessing.
9:15.
“And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up
out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.”
As they will plant in peace in
the land given them by God, so will He plant them in peace in that same land,
with the assurance that they will never again be carried out of it.
While most of this little book
has been taken up with the sad catalog of Israel’s sins, and of the judgments
she must suffer because of them, these few closing verses shed forth the light
of the dawning of a glorious new day, a morning without clouds, when the long
night of Israel’s weeping will give place to the joy which comes “in the
morning.”
An even more glorious morning
awaits the believers of this present evil age. How dark and long the night
has been! How many and bitter the tears that have been shed! But God’s
promise remains the same, and is about to be fulfilled, “... weeping may
endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning,” Ps 30:5. All the signs in
the world today point to the fact that the night is about to give place to the
glorious light of the morning spoken of by David, “And he shall be as the
light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds,” 2
Sa 23:4.
The Lord’s promise to His own
is, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye
may be also,” Jn 14:2-3. Relative to that coming Paul assures us that it will
be with the speed of light, “... in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,” 1
Cor 15:25 - and it could be today! The rapture and eternal blessing of the
Church will precede the millennial blessing of Israel.
THE END