Amos 9 King James Version (KJV)
9 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.
2 Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:
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:
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.
5 And the Lord God of hosts 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.
6 It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in 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.
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?
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.
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.
10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
Commentary
No possibility of escape (9:1-10)
In the final vision God causes a shrine to collapse on the heads of the worshippers. The picture is that of God’s judgment on the people of Israel because of their false religion (9:1). None will escape his judgment. No place is beyond his reach (2-4). He is the God of nature, the controller of the universe. He has the power to carry out his plans (5-6).
Some Israelites might object that this could not happen to them, because they are God’s chosen people. He brought them out of Egypt and he would not send them into a foreign country again. Amos points out that past blessings are not a guarantee of present safety. God directed the movements of other nations, not just Israel, but when people are sinful he will punish them, regardless of their nationality. In this matter Israelites have no advantage over people of other nationalities, such as Ethiopians, Philistines or Syrians. God will destroy Israel, but he will preserve the minority within Israel who remain faithful to him. Through these he will fulfil his purposes (7-8).
Amos gives a final picture of the certain judgment that is to fall on the sinful Israelites. As no pebble or other worthless matter falls through a sieve, so no sinner will escape God’s judgment. If people think that because they are Israelites they will not experience God’s judgment, they are only deceiving themselves (9-10).
9:11-15 HOPE FOR THE FUTURE
Beyond judgment Amos sees God’s forgiveness. Captivity in a foreign land will bring to an end the old division between the northern state of Israel and the southern state of Judah. God will bring the reunited people back into their land, where they will live in security and prosperity under the rule of the restored Davidic dynasty. Israel’s rule will extend over other nations, here represented by Edom (11-12). The land will become so productive that grain will grow faster than farmers can harvest it. The reaper will not be able to finish his work before the next planting is due. Cities will be rebuilt and the people will live in happiness and safety (13-15).
The blessings that the prophet pictures here are far greater than those experienced by post-exilic Israel. In the New Testament Amos’s picture of the rule of the Davidic king over the nations is applied to the expansion of Christ’s kingdom among the Gentiles (Acts 15:13-18; cf. Eph 3:6). No doubt there will be an greater application in the future (cf. Rom 8:19-23; 1 Cor 15:24-28; Rev 22:1-5).