Reflections on Amos 9

Amos 09 (Contemporary English Version)


1. I saw a vision of the LORD standing by the temple altar, and he said, "Shake the columns until the tops fall loose, and the doorposts crumble. Then make the pieces fall on the people below. I will take a sword and kill anyone who escapes.
   
2. "If they dig deep into the earth or climb to the sky, I'll reach out and get them.
   
3. If they escape to the peaks of Mount Carmel, I'll search and find them. And if they hide from me at the bottom of the ocean, I'll command a sea monster to bite them.
   
4. I'll send a sword to kill them, wherever their enemies drag them off as captives. I'm determined to hurt them, not to help them."
   
5. When the LORD God All-Powerful touches the earth, it melts, and its people mourn. God makes the earth rise and then fall, just like the Nile River.
   
6. He built his palace in the heavens and let its foundations rest on the earth. He scoops up the ocean and empties it on the earth. His name is the LORD.
   
7. Israel, I am the LORD God, and the Ethiopians are no less important to me than you are. I brought you out of Egypt, but I also brought the Philistines from Crete and the Arameans from Kir.
   
8. My eyes have seen what a sinful nation you are, and I'll wipe you out. But I will leave a few of Jacob's descendants. I, the LORD, have spoken!
   
9. At my command, all of you will be sifted like grain. Israelites who remain faithful will be scattered among the nations. And the others will be trapped like trash in a sifter.
   
10. Some of you are evil, and you deny that you will ever get caught. But you will be killed.
    
11. In the future, I will rebuild David's fallen kingdom. I will build it from its ruins and set it up again, just as it used to be.
    
12. Then you will capture Edom and the other nations that are mine. I, the LORD, have spoken, and my words will come true.
    
13. You will have such a harvest that you won't be able to bring in all of your wheat before plowing time. You will have grapes left over from season to season; your fruitful vineyards will cover the mountains.
    
14. I'll make Israel prosper again. You will rebuild your towns and live in them. You will drink wine from your own vineyards and eat the fruit you grow.
    
15. I'll plant your roots deep in the land I have given you, and you won't ever be uprooted again. I, the LORD God, have spoken!
    

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This last chapter reveals Amos' fifth and final vision. As with the others, it is a vision of judgment and destruction. But as is the case with the messages of judgment throughout scripture, it is accompanied with a message of hope. God's judgment is never an end in itself, but is a means toward His desired end which is redemption for all. He wants all people to be in everlasting relationship with Him. Though not all will choose this end, He wants it for as many as will choose it and does not remove it regardless of the number who turn away from Him.

In this last vision, Amos sees a large gathering of Israelites at the sanctuary at Bethel for the autumn festival. The Lord gives the command for the tops of the pillars to be smashed so that the entire sanctuary collapses on those gathered for the festival. Then the Lord says, "Then I will kill the rest of them with the sword." I would assume this to refer to all those not gathered in the sanctuary. Judgment was coming to all Israel. To emphasize that no escape is available to any of them, a range of extreme possibilities is eliminated. If they dig to Sheol or climb up to heaven, God's hand of judgment will still find them.

Should there be any doubt that these things are possible, we are reminded who it is that has determined to do them. It is "The Lord, the God of Hosts. . . He builds His upper chambers in the heavens and lays the foundation of His vault on the earth. He summons the waters of the sea and pours them out on the face of the earth. Yahweh is His name." Nor should Israel think her privileged position with God will cause her to avoid these calamities, for at this point God considered her no differently than other nations. As He had guided Israel from Egypt to this land of promise, He had also guided Israel's enemies in their migrations to territories they inhabited. But as He had reversed their destinies He would also send Israel into exile.

With a last statement of judgment also comes a statement of hope. "Look, the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth. However, I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob--the LORD's declaration." (verse 8) As one uses a sieve to separate chaff from the wheat, God will separate the righteous from the sinners. The last verses (verses 11-15) then describe a new day for Israel when she is fully restored to her earlier grandeur. This, too, is sure. As sure as was the coming judgment, for "Yahweh your God has spoken." The fulfillment of this prophecy is yet to happen. Will it be an earthly fulfillment or happen after Christ's return?