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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
9:1-15 A Vision of the Lord Standing beside the Altar. This vision has two parts, one negative (vv. 1-10) and the other positive (vv. 11-15). The negative aspect is the culmination of the previous oracles and visions. God renders as worthless all the sacrifices that the Israelites had given in an attempt to manipulate God on their behalf while they brought reproach to his name with their sinful lives. God would shatter (v. 1) their pagan temples and demand their own lives as sacrifices (vv. 9-10). But God's ultimate purpose in judgment is never destruction (v. 8); it is always restoration. So vv. 11-15 depict a day on the other side of judgment when Israel, again recognizing David (v. 11), would be restored to its land.
9:1-10 The Thresholds Shaken. The primary theme of this part of the vision is the inescapability of God's judgment. He will search out the sinful Israelites wherever they try to hide from him (vv. 1-4). The final piece of lyrical poetry in the book comes next, emphasizing the sovereign power of the Creator (vv. 5-6; see also 4:13; 5:8-9). The ultimate blow is to the idea that Israel ought to receive special favor from God because they are uniquely chosen (9:10). In fact, says Amos, God had directed the movements of many peoples on the earth (v. 7), and if Israel has any special status, it is a special accountability (vv. 8-10).
9:1 Capitals are the tops of the columns, and thresholds are the bases. The two together form a merism expressing the totality of the temple structure. Revelation 20:11-15 uses this image of no escape to describe the last judgment.
9:2-3 Two more merisms: Sheol (the underworld) vs. heaven; and Carmel (the mountaintop) vs. the bottom of the sea. In short, there is no place between these extremes to escape God.
9:4 for evil and not for good. This is a terrifying statement, showing that there is no escape anywhere in the entire creation, but it was what God had promised long before (Deut. 28:64-68) if the people were unfaithful. And yet even there, God offers forgiveness and restoration to those who repent (Deut. 30:1-10). As Ps. 103:9 puts it, "nor will he keep his anger forever."
9:6 Heavens, earth, and sea are all at the beck and call of the One whose name is the Lord.
9:7 Cushites (or Nubians) who lived south of Egypt, were considered to be living at the end of the world. All peoples are under God's providential care. Caphtor. Crete. For Kir, see 1:5.
9:9 no pebble shall fall. Israel will stand out among the nations, but in the sense that none of the Israelites will be able to hide among the nations. Isaiah 27:12-13 uses the sieve figure to say that none of the remnant will be lost among the nations.
9:11-15 The Booth of David Restored. In contrast to the mighty edifice of Israel that God would smash to the ground (v. 1), the fragile, torn tent of David (v. 11) would be repaired. The reminder that well-being depends on the line of David would come with special force to the northern audience of Amos, who had rejected the Davidic king. God has committed himself to bless his people, and eventually the world, through the family of David (2 Sam. 7:15-16; Ps. 72:17). In that context, Israel's fortunes (Amos 9:14) would be restored. The abundance described in vv. 13-15 stands in stark contrast to the ruin and destruction that fell on Israel after God repeatedly warned them, appealing to them to come to repentance (4:6-11). Again, the point is that God does not intend for judgment on Israel to be final, but to be a tool through which blessing may ultimately come.
9:11 In that day reminds the reader of the day of the Lord that the Israelites confidently expected. If it was to be a day of destruction instead of blessing (5:18-20; see note), that did not mean it was to be God's final word on the subject.
9:12 Just as the "booth" in v. 11 contrasted with the temple of v. 1, so here the "possession" of the nations . . . called by my name stands in connection with the nations described in vv. 7-8. Israel does have a special place among the nations, but it is a place of mission, not of privilege. In Acts 15:16-17, James cites Amos 9:11-12, understanding that passage to indicate that in the messianic reign inaugurated by Jesus' resurrection (when David's fallen tent is raised), "all the nations" (i.e., Gentiles) become included in God's blessings, as God had promised to Abraham (Gen. 12:3).
9:13 The abundant productivity of the restored land, under the blessing of God, will be so amazing that the land does not need to lie fallow for a moment, but as soon as the reaper has harvested one crop, the plowman comes right behind planting another one, and as soon as someone sows the seed, the grapes grow so rapidly that the treader of grapes comes to pick the ripe grapes and gather them for the winepress. This is a beautiful poetic image of a land like the garden of Eden--with productivity that is free from the curse (Gen. 3:17-19; cf. Amos 4:6-10) and with greater abundance than anything currently known. Some interpreters apply this passage, which in its immediate context describes the fruitfulness of a renewed land of Israel, to a wider renewal of the whole earth in a future age (cf. Rom. 8:19-21).
9:14 I will restore the fortunes. To build cities and enjoy food and prosperity, when these things are enjoyed in obedience to the Lord and with thanksgiving to him, is to enjoy God's blessing.
9:15 This final blessing of the people is predicated upon their recognition of their Davidic messiah, something that is yet to occur. See Rom. 11:25-27.
