AMOS 9 JUDGEMENT and HOPE
Thee are three sections to this chapter:
V1-4 Judgment
V5-10 Sifting
V11-15 Blessing
V 1-4 Amos had a fifth vision where he saw the Lord, [Adonai- the ruler of all] standing by the altar in a temple. It was probably at Bethel, where they had placed their hope, false hope, of security. The structure was attacked and began to disintegrate. Remember Samson and the temple of Dagon, where the building fell when the pillars were moved. The judgement fell on the false and idolatrous worship at Bethel, where they had set up a sanctuary, no one would escape, there is description of hunting them down to destroy them. Judgment at the house of the Lord, even if it was not the true sanctuary, they could have worshipped God in the true and established way. No escape, even in exile as God still had his eye of judgement on them.
V 5-10 Opens with something like a hymn of praise from Amos to his God. It opens and ends with ‘The Lord.’ It shows the supreme power of the Lord over everything beginning with nature, the earth and the heavens. Amos reminds them of past problems when they had wandered from him. The Philistines and the Assyrians, they are reminded of their worth to God, more the other nations, but here says they are no more to him than he Egyptians. This was a crushing rebuke. But it was worse than that; they were likened to being as the other nations who had no relationship with God. The people were to be sifted, sorted by the Lord. They would be removed from the face of the earth. He would use the Gentiles to carry out the work, taking them away into exile. But God shows his grace and mercy and promises to spare a remnant, Judah, the stump of Jesse. [Isaiah 11.1]
V 11-5 The dynasty of `David, Judah’ was like a fallen tent, [booth], God would raise it up, repair it and restore it. They would return to the land and be blessed again. There are five wonderful promises here in the opening verses of this section:
I will restore, I will repair, I will build, I will give you the land, they will bear His Name and God says He will do it!
They are not getting these because of their deeds, but it will be an act of mercy from the Lord. It opens with the role of the king, they had not put things right, so God would do it. Edom would be destroyed, they had always been an enemy of Israel, Obadiah prophesies their destruction, so to Mt Zion there would be a place of deliverance, a place of hope provide by God. The pictures in v 13-15 are reminiscent of the days of prosperity that was the downfall of Israel, but here it is seen as a blessing as the remnant will be worshipping God; a people that will bear his name. A final promise was given that they would never again be taken from the land.
God is calling his church from every nation, from Jew and Gentile and our task is to share the gospel of his blessing with every people.