CHAPTER 9

(787 B.C.)

STRIKING THE LINTEL; GODS JUDGMENTS ARE INESCAPABLE

¹I 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 kill the last of them with the sword: he who flees of them shall not flee away, and he who escapes of them shall not be delivered. (The first phrase refers to Amos actually and literally seeing the Lord, as He stood upon the Brazen Altar in front of the Temple in Jerusalem. Even though the pronouncement of judgment is more pointedly against the Northern Kingdom, still, the whole of both kingdoms is meant, because the restoration of both kingdoms is referred to in Verses 11 through 15.

The phrase, And He said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake, refers to the destruction of the Temple, which would take place a little over 150 years from Amos time. The implication is: total destruction from summit to base.)

²Though they dig into Hell, thence shall My Hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down (the Holy Spirit, upon reading the minds of the people as they heard the words of Amos, proclaims to them the folly of their thoughts of escape. Men presently, and for all time, have dug into Hell, i.e., delved into witchcraft, but found that demon spirits could not protect them from the Hand of God. As well, they have climbed up to heaven, the exploration of near space; but, despite the Russian Cosmonauts declaring that they nowhere saw God, still, He brought them down, i.e., destroyed the Soviet Union):

³And 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 (the idea is: there will be no escaping this coming judgment!):

⁴And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them; and I will set My Eyes upon them for evil, and not for good. (For the Lord to do such a thing means that countless opportunities for Repentance have been spurned, with every plea by the Holy Spirit rejected.)

FINAL PROPHECY OF DISPERSION

⁵And the Lord GOD of Hosts is He Who touches the land, and it shall melt, and all who dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt. (The title, Lord GOD of Hosts, in the Hebrew is Jehovah Elohim Zebaoth, and represents God not only as ruler of the heavenly bodies, but as the Monarch of a multitude of Heavenly Spirits, who execute His Will, worship Him in His Abiding-place, and are attendants and witnesses of His Glory.

As the Nile River in Egypt floods at times and covers the land, likewise, the Judgment of God will cover Israel.)

⁶It is He Who builds His Stories in the Heaven, and has founded His Troop in the Earth; He Who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the face of the Earth: The LORD is His Name. (It is He Who builds His Stories in the Heaven, refers to Gods Headquarters on Planet Heaven. And has founded His Troop in the Earth, seems, in the original language, to have the idea of making the arch of the heavens above the Earth, that is, the immediate heaven surrounding the Earth, i.e., the expanse, clouds, atmosphere, etc.

The phrase, The LORD is His Name, refers to God as Creator of all things, and not mindless evolution.)

⁷Are you not as children of the Ethiopians unto Me, O Children of Israel? says the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? (The proud boast of the Israelites, namely, that they were Gods peculiar People and that their Redemption from Egypt demonstrated that they were His Favorites, was a fleshly boast, and is combatted by this Verse.

Spiritually, they were as Ethiopians [Jer. 13:23]; historically, they could only rank as the Philistines and the Syrians, whom God, in His Providence, had also delivered from captivity and probably had also brought out of Egypt originally. Consequently, as Israel of old, election by God cannot, and in fact does not, guarantee Salvation when the conduct does not correspond with Gods Word.)

⁸Behold, 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, says the LORD. (And I will destroy it from off the face of the Earth, refers to both Israel and ultimately Judah ceasing as independent nations. The Ten-Tribe Kingdom was destroyed by the Assyrians a few years after the time of Amos, never to rise again. About 133 years after their destruction, Judah also fell!

After the dispersion, elements of all the Tribes came back to the Promised Land, although as a vassal state to a foreign power until their destruction in A.D. 70. For nearly 2,000 years, they ceased to be a nation, but did remain as a people. Only since 1948 have they enjoyed Statehood, but they are to see some very difficult days not too far into the future.)

⁹For, 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. (In Verses 8 and 9, the Lord says, I will destroy, I will command, I will sift. God Himself promises to be the Principal. Even though it sounds extremely negative, still, this is all lovely and consoling to Faith. It secures the absolute Salvation of the Remnant. The smallest grain is as sure of eternal safety as the largest, hence the phrase, Yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.)

¹⁰All the sinners of My People shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us. (Even though the Lord calls them My People, still, He also calls them sinners; barring Repentance, these sinners will die by the sword. As well, they will lose their souls!)

RESTORATION OF DAVIDS KINGDOM UNDER THE MESSIAH

¹¹In 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 (In that day, refers to the future day of Restoration, which will follow the present night of desolation. As well, it is the Tabernacle of David which is to be raised up, and not of Jeroboam, nor of Jehu, etc. And I will build it as in the days of old, is also quoted in Acts 15:14-18. It refers to the fact that this will be fulfilled only after the Church Age, actually in the Kingdom Age):

¹²That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by My Name, says the LORD Who does this. (That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, actually refers to Adam, that is, all of mankind. The new-born Israel, after the Second Coming of the Lord, will take possession of all nations and bring them to Immanuel, thus, totally fulfilling the Commission of Mat. 28:19. As well, these nations will come willingly and gladly, realizing that Israel is the source of all blessings.)

¹³Behold, the days come, says the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. (Behold, the days come, says the LORD, pertains to the certitude of this action. As the day of Judgment was sure to come, likewise, the day of Blessing is sure to come, as well!

This speaks of the coming Kingdom Age, when Israel will truly be a Land flowing with milk and honey, which will bless the entirety of the Earth.)

¹⁴And 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. (Verses 13 through 15 concern the coming Restoration of Israel, which will take place immediately following the Second Coming. And I will bring again the captivity of My People of Israel, concerns a length of time that has now lasted for nearly 2,000 years; if we count the time they were a vassal state, it is some 2,500 years.

The tone and intent of the Verse also claim that the contesting of the Land of Israel will be forever ended. This signifies that Satans day is done!)

¹⁵And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, says the LORD your God. (Thus, Amos closes his great Book with the words, says the LORD your God, which seal the Predictions and Promises.)