In our study of Amos chapter nine, we look at the fact that there is no escape from God's judgment but blessing comes from surrender to Him. In chapter 8, we saw that judgment was proclaimed on the northern kingdom but now we will see that there is and was hope for those who surrendered.
** Note ** In this study, we will be using the Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) translation which was translated directly from Hebrew into English. You can get your own hardback or paperback copy on Amazon where we will earn a small commission.
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I saw Adonai standing beside the altar, and he said, "Strike the tops of the columns until the thresholds shake! Smash them to pieces on the heads of all the people! Those who remain I will kill with the sword; not one of them will succeed in fleeing, not one of them will escape.
Amos saw the coming destruction on the pagan temples of the northern kingdom. He saw that it was God who was bringing them down on all who took part in the idolatry. Those that were not killed by the collapsing structures would be killed by the swords of the invading army.
If they dig down to Sh'ol, my hand will haul them out; if they climb up to heaven, I will bring them down.
This verse speaks to the fact that they could not even escape God's judgment by dying. Many people want to believe that they can do anything they want because, after this life, there is nothing else and nobody to answer to. Here, God says that that is not true.
If they hide themselves on the top of the Karmel, I will search them out and capture them there; If they hide from me at the bottom of the sea, I will order the serpent to bite them there.
Here, we see that there is no place on the earth where man can hide from God. At the top of Carmel there are caves and men have tried to hide there but God knows where they are and they are still under His control. The same thing (hiding in caves) will be attempted by those who face the Great Tribulation and the result is the same (see Revelation 6:15).
If their enemies herd them into exile, I will order the sword to kill them there. I will fix my gaze on them for harm and not for good."
Some people view their time on earth as being like hell on earth but the trials of this life do not compare to the torture of hell. We are reminded here that it is God who will punish them and it is much worse than anything on this earth.
For Adonai ELOHIM-Tzva'ot is the one who can melt the earth with his touch, and make all who live on it mourn. It will all rise, just like the Nile, and then subside, like the Nile in Egypt. He builds his upper rooms in heaven and establishes his sky-vault over the earth. He summons the waters of the sea and pours them out over the earth. ADONAI is his name.
Israel is reminded that it is God who controls everything even the rains that cause the Nile to overflow its banks. His place is higher than all the earth and He knows what is best.
"People of Isra'el, are you any different from the Ethiopians to me?" asks ADONAI. "True, I brought Isra'el up from Egypt, but I also brought the P'lishtim from Kaftor, and Aram from Kir.
God's people are reminded that they are like the other nations in the fact that they, too, will be judged. There was the attitude that, because they were His chosen people, He would never judge them with His wrath. The same thing happens today in the church as there are many that trust in their membership at a place of worship instead of their relationship with Jesus Christ.
Look, the eyes of Adonai ELOHIM are on the sinful kingdom. I will wipe it off the face of the earth, yet I will not completely destroy the house of Ya'akov," says ADONAI.
We see that God promised to keep a remnant but remove the kingdom from the earth. This was fulfilled as the northern kingdom was destroyed but some of the people (a remnant) was preserved. When they returned to the land it was not as the "northern kingdom" of Israel but as the unified Israel once again.
"For when I give the order, I will shake the house of Isra'el, there among all the Goyim, as one shakes with a sieve, letting no grain fall to the ground.
God has preserved a remnant of His people from the very beginning. A sieve is used to separate rocks and debris that was picked up with the grain from the ground. As the sieve is shaken back and forth, the grain which is smaller passes through the sieve but the rocks and other things will not. That is a picture of God setting apart a people to call His own. We notice that it is the humble (smaller) things that pass through the trials (sieve). The proud (rocks) cannot make themselves smaller to sneak into the kingdom and the humble (grain) do not cling to the world (sieve). They have faith (trust) in God to catch them and preserve them for all time.
All the sinners among my people who say, 'Disaster will never overtake us or confront us,' will die by the sword.
The "sinners" among God's people refers to those that do not trust God and the truth of His word. There were false prophets that were telling the people that everything was gonna be alright. The same type of thing is happening today as many people that are "in the church" do not believe in the Word of God. When the time comes, they will be sifted out and will perish.
"When that day comes, I will raise up the fallen sukkah of David. I will close up its gaps, raise up its ruins and rebuild it as it used to be, so that Isra'el can possess what is left of Edom and of all the nations bearing my name," says ADONAI, who is doing this.
This remnant will rule and reign with Jesus Christ. David's fallen shelter refers to Jerusalem and we are reminded of the New Jerusalem described in Revelation 21. Edom was the brother of Jacob and an enemy of Israel but all nations will finally be at peace with Israel. This peace will only come through Jesus Christ and people in submission to His leadership.
"The days will come," says ADONAI, "when the plowman will overtake the reaper and the one treading grapes the one sowing seed. Sweet wine will drip down the mountains, and all the hills will flow with it.
In the new earth and new Jerusalem, the effects of sin are removed. The land will be like it was in the Garden of Eden and will produce a bounty like the world has never seen. This is a sharp contrast to the things that were described earlier concerning the judgment.
I will restore the fortunes of my people Isra'el; they will rebuild and inhabit the ruined cities; they will plant vineyards and drink their wine, cultivate gardens and eat their fruit.
God's people are called out of the nations as a remnant and inhabit this new earth. On this new earth, we will be caretakers of what God has created just as it was designed to be in Genesis. We will work but it will not be a curse like it is today.
I will plant them on their own soil, no more to be uprooted from their land, which I gave them," says ADONAI your God.
This new earth is eternal and there will be no strife between the people that live there. All will be in order as God is universally accepted as the ruler of all men.
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