Amos 9
The fifth vision (vs. 1-10)
displays the Lord standing by the altar and commanding
the destruction of the temple (v. 1). No one shall escape this judgment, flee whither
he will (vs. 2-4); for GOD IS
ALMIGHTY (vs. 5, 6). Their election shall not save
the guilty Israelites; still they shall not be utterly destroyed (vs. 7-10).
1 “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.” I saw the Lord. It is now no longer a mere
emblem that the
prophet sees, but actual destruction. He beholds the majesty of God,
as Isaiah 6:1; Ezekiel 10:1. Upon (or, by) the
altar; i.e. the altar of
burnt offering at
Israelites and Judaeans, are
assembled for worship. It is natural, at first
sight, to suppose that the sanctuary of the northern
kingdom is the scene of
this vision, as the destruction of idolatry is here emblemized; but more
probably
(ch. 3:14), and one cannot
imagine the Lord standing by the symbol
of the calf worship. Smite. The command is mysteriously addressed
to the
destroying angel (compare Exodus 12:13; II Samuel 24:15-17; II Kings 19:35).
The lintel of the
door; τὸ ἱλαστήριον - to ilastaerion - (Septuagint);
cardinem (Vulgate); better, the
chapiter (Zephaniah 2:14); i.e. the
capital of the columns. The word kaphtor
is used in Exodus 25:31, etc.,
for the knop or ornament on the
golden candlesticks; here the idea is that
the temple receives a blow on the top of the pillars which
support it
sufficient to cause its overthrow. The Septuagint rendering arises from a
confusion of two Hebrew words somewhat similar. The posts; the
thresholds; i.e. the
base. The knop and the threshold imply the total
destruction from summit to base. Cut them in the head, all of them;
rather, break them [the capital and the
thresholds] to pieces upon the
head of all. Let the falling building cover them with its ruins. The
Vulgate
renders, avaritia enim in capite omnium, confounding two words. Jerome
had the same Hebrew reading, as he translates, quaetus eorum, avaritia, as
if giving the reason for the punishment. The overthrown
temple presents a
forcible picture of the destruction of the theocracy. The last of them
(ch.4:2); the remnant; any who escape the fall of
the temple. He
that fleeth, etc. All hope of escape shall be cut off.
We have here a vivid picture of a dreadful subject. The
prophet makes a
new departure in his mode of figuration. In other visions
we saw the
judgments of Heaven painted in terror-moving forms; the
mighty forces of
nature let loose and working destruction on sinners of men. Here we see,
not judgments merely, but
THE JUDGE HIMSELF, active for destruction,
fulminating His thunders, brandishing His two-edged sword,
and spreading
devastation where His anger rests. It is true all natural
forces are His
instruments, and their results His work. But they do not so
reveal
themselves to our sense. It is Scripture that shows us an
omnipotent God in
the forces of nature, and in every disaster they work a
judgment from His hand.
2 “Though
they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them;
though they climb up to heaven, thence will
I bring them down:”
The thought of v. 1 is further expanded, the notion of
flight being, as Jerome says,
dissected. For dig,
the Septuagint reads, “be hidden;”
but the expression implies
a breaking through (Ezekiel 8:8). Hell (Sheol)
is supposed to be in the inmost
part of the earth (compare Psalm 139:7-8; Obadiah 1:4). Take them. To receive
punishment.
3 “And
though they hide themselves in the top of
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 top of
There are no caves on the summit of
top of it was a place to hide in; nor has it changed its character
in this respect ... I
would not have been prompted to place ‘the top of
series of hiding places, yet I can fully appreciate the
comparison from my
own experience. Ascending from the south, we followed a
wild, narrow
wady overhung by trees, bushes, and tangled creepers, through
which my
guide thought we could get up to the top; but it became
absolutely
impracticable, and we were obliged to find our way back
again. And even
after we reached the summit, it was so rough and broken in
some places,
and the thorn bushes so thickset and sharp, that our
clothes were torn and
our hands and faces severely lacerated; nor could I see my
guide at times
ten steps ahead of me. From such biblical intimations, we
may believe that
Book,’
occurrence of caves and deep valleys in the
of the sea. Both this and heaven (v. 2) are impracticable
hiding places,
and are used poetically to show the absolute impossibility of escape.
Serpent (nachash, elsewhere
called leviathan and tannin, Isaiah 27:1),
some kind of sea monster supposed to be venomous. Dr. Pusey mentions
that certain poisonous hydrophidae
are found in the Indian and Pacific
Oceans. and may probably infest the Red Sea and the
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.”
Captivity itself, in which state
men generally, at any rate, are secure of their lives, shall not save
them from the
sword (Leviticus
26:33; Deuteronomy 28:65-67 – the murder of captives
was not unusual). The prophet looks forward to
the Assyrian deportation.
For evil. The people are indeed subject to
God’s special attention, but only in
order to punish them (Psalm 34:15-16; Jeremiah 44:11).
A Quest Which None May
Elude (vs. 1-4)
We have here a vivid picture of a dreadful subject. The
prophet makes a
new departure in his mode of figuration. In other visions
we saw the
judgments of Heaven painted in terror-moving forms; the
mighty forces of
nature let loose and working destruction on sinners of men.
Here we see,
not judgments
merely, BUT
THE JUDGE HIMSELF, active for destruction,
fulminating His
thunders, brandishing His two-edged sword, and spreading
devastation where
His anger rests. It is true all
natural forces are His
instruments, and their results His work. But they do not so reveal
themselves to our
sense. It is Scripture that shows us
an omnipotent God in
the forces of nature, and in every disaster they work a
judgment from His
hand.
·
THE GOD OF
altar of God at
probably here referred to. God’s standing on the idol altar is not for
purposes of fellowship. That would be a moral
impossibility. “What
concord hath
Christ with Belial? And what agreement hath the temple of
God with idols?” (II Corinthians
6:15-16) Not light and darkness are less
compatible, not fire and water
more inherently antagonistic, than the great
God, who “is all in all,” and the idol which
is “nothing
in the world.” Neither
is it in token of tolerance. Between the two can be
no peace, no truce,
no parley. “God is a jealous God,” and can have no rival. His sovereignty
and supreme greatness make Him necessarily intolerant here. There can
be
no Dagons
on any terms where the ark rests. It is for
purposes of destruction
only. “There, where, in counterfeit of the sacrifices which God
had appointed,
they offered would-be-atoning sacrifices and sinned in them, God appeared
standing, to behold, to judge,
to condemn” (Pusey). When God approaches
sin, it is only to destroy it.
Sometimes He destroys it in saving the sinner;
sometimes the sin and the sinner, hopelessly wedded, are
destroyed
together.
·
IDOLATERS’ JUDGMENT BEGINNING AT THEIR IDOL
SHRINE. “Smite
the lintel,” etc. This is the natural course. The lightnings
of judgment strike the head of
the highest sin, and strike it in the provision
made for its commission. And
there is a fitness in this Divine order.
1. It stops the worship. With
the appliances destroyed, the observances could
not go on. The interruption of sin is an intelligible and appropriate object of
Divine judgment. The
most effectual punishment of criminal indulgence is a
visitation that stops it
inevitably. . If not cured, at least the
evil is stayed.
2. It reveals the Divine hand. Two plagues had passed on
very deep impression having been
made. But when Moses smote the dust,
and it became lice on man and
beast, the magicians said unto Pharaoh,
“This is the
finger of God.” The miracle stopped at
once the entire
ceremonial of their national worship
by making
all the priests unclean. The
idols were confounded, and
Jehovah’s power revealed. When a man finds
his sufferings in the seat of his sins, he has materials for
identifying them as
the visitation of God.
·
THIS JUDGMENT FOLLOWS THEM INTO ALL THEIR
RETREATS. (vs. 2-3.)
Driven in terror from their idol shrines, men
seek escape in diverse ways,
according to their diverse characters and
surroundings. but it is a vain
quest. The
God who is omnipresent to
infallible saving effect in the case of his saints (Psalm 139:8-12) is so
also to the
inevitable destruction of the ungodly. One
climbs the heaven of
proud defiance, to be brought
ignominiously down (Jeremiah 49:16;
Obadiah 1:4). Another “breaks
through into the hell” of abject fear and
self-abasement, to be
dragged forth into the intolerable light.
The
of philosophic nescience
(ignorance) presents no cave or grove impenetrable
by the hounds of righteous
judgment. Even the sea of deeper sinful indulgence
has a serpent of avenging
providence in its depths, from whose bite there is no
escape.
·
THIS JUDGMENT REACHES THEM THROUGH THE
INSTRUMENTALITY OF ALL NATURAL CAUSES. The “sword,” as
representing human agency, and
the “serpent,”
as representing the agency
of natural causes, are both set in
motion by God’s command. The causes of
nature are to God as the bodily
organs to the brain, viz. servants to do His
bidding. He “acts Himself into
them.” Human wills are accessible to the will
of the Supreme, and move with it
as the tides with the circling moon. The
Assyrian warring against
of his anger in the band of
to many events that seem purely natural. The drunkard’s bloated body, the
sensualist’s shattered health,
the spendthrift’s ruined fortunes, are results of
natural laws, it is true, but of
these directed and combined by supernatural
power, and accomplishing Divine
moral ends. The evil that comes through
nature comes from its God.
Inevitable
Judgment (vs. 1-4)
The thought of the
Divine omniscience is a welcome thought to the friend,
the child of God. But to the
impenitent transgressor no thought is so
distasteful, so distressing. If he cannot persuade himself that there is no
God, he at all events hopes that the Divine eye does not
rest upon him, that
he is overlooked and forgotten. This vain refuge of sinners is discovered
and destroyed by the revelation of this prophecy. The
idolatrous temple
shall be dismantled, the idolatrous altar shall be
overthrown, when the Lord
enters into controversy with unfaithful
deluded worshippers and priests shall be scattered. Whether
slain or carried
into captivity, none shall escape the eye or elude the
chastening hand of the
God who has been defied or forgotten. Every individual shall be dealt with
upon the principles of eternal justice.
·
THE FOOLISH AND VAIN ENDEAVOURS OF SINNERS TO
AVOID THE RECOMPENSE OF THEIR INIQUITY. The language of
the prophet is vigorous and
poetical. He pictures the smitten and scattered
Israelites as delving into the
abyss, as soaring to the heights of heaven, as
hiding in the caves of
ocean; and ALL IN VAIN! This figurative language represents the
sophistry and the self-deception and the useless wiles
and artifices by
which the discovered sinner seeks to persuade himself that
his crimes
shall be unpunished.
·
THE OMNIPRESENCE OF THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE. We are
reminded of that ancient
acknowledgment, “Thou God seest me!”
(Genesis 16:13) as we read this
declaration, “I will set mine eyes upon them.”
The psalmist, in Psalm 139, has given us the most wonderfully
impressive description which is
to be found even in sacred literature of the
omnipresence and
the omniscience of God. Next to that
description, for
vigor and effectiveness, comes
perhaps this passage of the prophecies of
Amos. At every point and at
every moment the universal and all-
comprehending
Spirit is in closest contact with
every created intelligence;
and that presence which may be
discerned in operation wherever any work
of God in the realm of nature
is studied, is
equally recognizable in the
intellectual, the
spiritual kingdom. Every conscience is
a witness to the
ever-present, all-observing Deity.
·
THE CONSEQUENT CERTAINTY OF THE CARRYING OUT OF
ALL THE REGAL AND JUDICIAL DECISIONS OF THE DIVINE
RULER. The
circumstances of
principle to the case of the sinful
and rebellious. It was a painful duty which
the prophet had to perform, but
as a servant of God he felt that there was
no choice left him. It was his
office, and it is the office of every preacher
of righteousness, to say unto the wicked,
“Thou
shall surely die.”
(Genesis 2:17)
Great Sins, Great Calamities, Great
Efforts (vs. 1-4)
“I saw the Lord standing upon the altar,” etc. “This chapter commences
with an account of the fifth and last vision of the
prophet, in which the final
ruin of the
and irreparable;
and no quarter to which the inhabitants might flee for
refuge would afford
them any shelter from the wrath of the Omnipresent
and Almighty
Jehovah.” The prophet in vision sees the
Almighty standing
upon the altar, and hears Him give the command to smite the
lintel of the
temple door that the posts may shake; in other words, to
destroy the
temple. The temple here is not, I think (though the
allusion is uncertain),
the temple at
idolatrous worship. The passage suggests three remarks.
·
THAT UNDER THE RIGHTEOUS GOVERNMENT OF GOD
GREAT SIN EXPOSES TO GREAT CALAMITY. How terrible the
calamities here referred to! The
Israelites, when threatened by the
Assyrians, would flock in crowds
to
the golden calf. But the very
place where they sought protection would
prove their ruin. Jehovah says, “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,” etc. The sin of these
Israelites in their idolatrous
worship was great. They were the
descendants of Abraham, the friend of
God. As a people, they were
chosen of God and blessed with a thousand
opportunities of knowing what
was right and true in doctrine and in
practice. Yet they gave
themselves up to idolatry. Hence these terrible
calamities. The greater the
sin, the greater the punishment. “Unto whom
much is given of
him shall be much required; He that knoweth his
Lord’s
will and doeth it
not, shall be beaten with many stripes” (Luke
12:48);
“It will be more tolerable
for the
day of judgment,
than for that city.,” (Matthew 10:15)
·
THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF APPROACHING CALAMITIES WILL
STIMULATE TO GREAT EFFORTS FOR ESCAPE. “Though they dig
into hell, thence
shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to
heaven, thence
will I bring them down.” There are
here supposed attempts
at escape. There is the supposed
attempt to get into hell — Sheol, the dark
realm of shadows, where they
could conceal themselves. There is an
attempt to climb
conceal themselves under the
shadows, intricacies, and the crowded forests
of oak, pines, laurels, etc.,
and also in the deep caves running down to the
sea. Men in view of great dangers always seek refuge. The sinner here,
when he finds death approaching,
what strenuous efforts does he employ in
order to escape the monster’s
touch! On the great day of retribution sinners
are represented as
crying to the rocks and mountains to fall on them.
(Revelation 6:15-17)
·
THE GREATEST EFFORTS TO ESCAPE MUST PROVE
UTTERLY FUTILE WHEN GOD HAS GIVEN THE SINNER UP.
“Though they dig
into hell, thence shall mine hand take them,” etc. There
are many similar passages to
these in the Bible, such as the following: “If I
ascend up into
heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold,
thou art there” (Psalm 139:8); “Though his excellency mount up to the
heavens, and his
head reach unto the clouds; yet he shall perish forever like
his own dung: they
which have seen him shall say, Where is he?” (Job 20:6-7);
“Though
should fortify the
height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come
unto her, saith the Lord” (Jeremiah
51:53); “Though thou exalt thyself
as the eagle, and
though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I
bring thee down, saith the Lord” (ibid. ch.
49:16). Whatever
the
efforts of the sinner in the prospect of approaching
danger, there
is no
escape for him. GOD IS EVEERYWHERE, AND EVERYWHERE
ALL-SEEING, ALL-JUST,
AND ALMIGHTY!
·
CONCLUSION. The only way to escape utter ruin is to renounce your
sin, and commit yourself
unto the safe keeping of Him who is the Redeemer
of mankind.
The Lidless
Eye (v. 4)
God is not an absentee. He sits at the helm of things. He
administers the
affairs of the world which He has made. All creatures He
takes cognizance
of, determines their destiny, controls their actions. HIS KINGDOM RULETH
OVER ALL! And this rule is moral. Under it condition
takes the color of
character. God is
pure to the pure, froward to the froward
(Psalm 18:26).
With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure;
and with the
froward thou wilt show thyself froward;
rather, thou wilt show thyself
adverse. The same root is not here used for the verb as for the adjective, as
is done in the three preceding clauses. The reason is well explained in the
‘Speaker’s Commentary:’ “In dealing with the good, God shows his
approval by manifesting attributes similar or identical in essence; in dealing
with the wicked, he exhibits attributes which are correlative — in just
proportion to their acts,” but not identical. God cannot “show himself
froward” — he can only show himself opposed, antagonistic, an adversary.
What the psalmist means to say is that, if men oppose and thwart God, he
in return will oppose and thwart them. But they will act in a perverse spirit,
he in
a spirit of justice and righteousness. This
transgressors know to their
bitter cost.
·
GOD’S EYE FOLLOWS THE WICKED. His “eyes
are
upon the
righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry.” (Psalm 34:15).
On the wicked they rest in a very different sense. The next verse says
“The face of the Lord is against them that
do evil, to cut off the
remembrance of them from the earth.” (ibid. v. 16
1. In heedfulness.
Divine omniscience is an uncomfortable
fact which the
wicked try not to realize. “They
seek deep to hide their counsel from the
Lord.” Their whole aim is”
a.
to get away from
Him;
b.
to be able to
think thoughts He shall not know,
c.
to cherish desires
He shall not sift,
d.
to do works He
shall not observe (John 3:20; Isaiah 40:27).
But the project is futile
(Jeremiah 23:24; Psalm 33:13; Proverbs 15:3).
God is everywhere, sees everything, fills heaven and
earth. No
dispensation of inadvertency
(the trait of forgetting or ignoring your
responsibilities) is possible. God will not ignore.
He cannot be inattentive.
Events of whatever kind, and
everywhere, are infallibly submitted to His
cognizance as the movements of
the clouds above are faithfully mirrored in
the glassy lake. He fills all
things, and all that happens happens in his
presence.
2. In perfect insight. “i the Lord do
search the heart.” Noticing things, God
sees them through and through,
discerns their character, and appraises their
moral value. The mind and heart of man are no mystery to Him.
No
slightest motion of either
eludes His perfect knowledge.
a.
The purpose before
it comes forth in action,
b.
the thought before
it has matured into a purpose,
c.
the fancy before
it has taken shape in evil desire, —
all these are
open to His
eye. Even to the heathen He was totus oculus,
a Being “all eye.” (I wonder if
the eye on the back of a U. S. dollar has
any connection? I looked it up and it is called “the eye
of
CY - 2022) He knows all things eternally, immeasurably,
immutably, and by a single act;
and men and their works and words and
wishes are
continually in his sight.
3. In
uncompromising displeasure. God is passible (capable of feeling or
suffering; susceptible to
sensation or emotion. "only the humanity of Jesus
is regarded as passible"
the actions of His creatures.
His possession of genuine character ensures His
genuine feeling. The moral
perfection of that character ensures His feeling
appropriately. “There must be so
much or such kind of passibility in Him
that He will feel toward
everything as it is, and will be diversely affected by
diverse things according to
their quality” (Bushnell). Therefore “He
is angry
with the wicked
every day.” (Psalm 7:11) Sin is to Him as smoke to the eyes
and vinegar to the teeth. (Proverbs 10:26) It pains Him inevitably, and leads
to that
infinitely pure recoil of His nature from
evil, and antagonism to it,
in which His wrath
consists.
·
GOD’S INFLUENCES FOLLOW HIS EYE. “I set mine eye upon
them for evil,” etc. God’s look
brings evil consequences where it falls on
evil things.
1. To feel is with God to act. Much human feeling comes to nothing. No
action is taken
on it. Its very existence may remain unspoken. Not so with
God. It is a result of His perfection that His mental or
moral attitude toward
any object is His active attitude toward it also. Disposition associates itself
inevitably with suitable action.
Feeling against sin, He must also act against
it. His very feeling is
equivalent to action, for His volition is power, and to
will a thing is to bring it to
pass.
2. God’s action
exactly answers to His feeling. If He regard sin as evil, He
will not treat it as good. His
attitude towards it must be one all round, and
therefore rigorous all round.
And so it is. Whatever mystery may be about
certain cases, there is no mystery about the connection between all
suffering and sin. In sickness, in sorrow, in anxiety, in doubt, in all forms
and degrees of pain, God’s eye
and hand are on sinners for evil. Until sin
becomes congenial to his nature,
it cannot become satisfactory to the
sinner.
·
GOD’S MERCY WARNS THE SINNER OF BOTH.
He makes
no
secret of His attitude and way in reference to sin. Both are made known
to those whom they most concern.
1. This course is merciful. It gives the sinner an advantage.
He sees the
moral quality of sin as hateful
in God’s sight, and its inevitable result as
provoking His hostile action. He can neither
sin ignorantly nor incur the
penalty unawares. Forewarned, it is his fault if he is
not forearmed.
2. It is moral. It tends to deter from
sin, and so to save from its penal
consequences. The
thought that it is under God’s eye ought to make sin
impossible, and does make it more difficult. The knowledge that it
ends
inevitably in ruin does much to
stay the transgressor’s hand.
3. It is judicial.
Sin done consciously under God’s eye, and deliberately in
defiance of His
wrath, IS SPECIALLY GUILTY! The
warning which being
heeded might have deterred from
sinning will greatly aggravate the guilt of
it if
disregarded. The truth will
be, as we treat it:
a.
a buoy lifting
us out of the sinful sea, or
b.
a millstone sinking us deeper in its
devouring waters.
God’s eyes follow the wicked. His “eyes
are upon the righteous” (Psalm 34:15-16)
but on the wicked they rest in a very different sense. Divine omniscience is an
uncomfortable
fact which the wicked try not to
realize. “They seek deep to hide
their counsel from
the Lord” (Isaiah 29:15). Their whole aim is to get away from
Him; to be able to think thoughts He shall not know, and cherish desires He shall
not
sift, and do works He shall not observe (John 3:20; Isaiah 40:27). But
the project is
futile (Jeremiah 23:24; Psalm 33:13-14; Proverbs 15:3). GOD IS EVERYWHERE,
SEES EVERYTHING AND FILLS HEAVEN AND EARTH! No dispensation
in inadvertency is possible. God will not ignore. He cannot
be inattentive. Events of
whatever kind, and everywhere, are infallibly submitted to
His cognizance as the
movements of the clouds above are faithfully mirrored in
the glassy lake. He fills
all things, and ALL THAT HAPPENS, HAPPENS IN HIS PRESENCE!
“Neither
is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all
things
are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have
to do.” (Hebrews 4:13)
God
is very merciful in warning the sinner. He makes no secret of His
attitude and
way in reference to sin. Both
are made known to those whom they most concern.
This course is merciful as
it gives the sinner an advantage. He sees the moral quality
of sin as hateful in God’s sight, and its inevitable result
as provoking
His hostile action.
He can neither sin ignorantly nor incur the penalty
unawares. Forewarned, it
is the sinner’s fault if he is not forearmed.
God’s warnings are
moral and
are designed to deter from sin, and so to save
sinners
from sin’s penal consequences. The thought that it is under
God’s eye ought to make
sin, more difficult if not impossible! The knowledge that it ends inevitably in ruin
should do much to stay the transgressor’s hand. God’s warnings are judicial!
Sin done consciously under God’s eye, and deliberately in defiance
of His wrath,
is ESPECIALLY
GUILTY! The warning which
being heeded might have deterred
from sinning will greatly aggravate the guilt of it if disregarded.
The truth will be, as we
treat it, a buoy lifting
us out of the sinful sea, or a millstone sinking us deeper
in its devouring waters.
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
God’s omnipotence, of which he gives instances. He who will do this is
THE LORD GOD OF
HOSTS! There is no copula in the Hebrew here.
(So ch. 4:13; 5:8.) This title, Jehovah
Elohim Zebaoth, 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. Shall
melt; σαλεύων -
saleuon - shake; tremor - (Septuagint);
compare Psalm 46:6; 97:5; Micah 1:4;
Nahum 1:5. The
expression denotes the destructive
effects of the judgments
of God.
Shall mourn. The last clauses of the verse are a repetition of ch. 8:8, with
some slight variation.
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.”
Stories; ἀνάβασιν - anabasin - rise up; ascending
- (Septuagint)
– margin
spheres; ascensionem (Vulgate); upper chambers,
or the stages by which is the ascent
to the highest heavens (compare Deuteronomy 10:14; I Kings
8:27; Psalm 104:3).
His troop (aguddah); vault.
The word is used for “the bonds” of
the yoke in
Isaiah 58:6; for “the
bunch” of hyssop in Exodus 12:22. So the
Vulgate here renders fasciculum
suum, with the notion that the stories or
chambers just mentioned are bound together to connect
heaven and earth.
But the clause means, God hath founded the vault or firmament
of heaven
upon (not in) the earth, where His throne is placed,
and whence He sends
the rain. The Septuagint renders, τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν
αὐτοῦ - taen
epaggelian autou - “His promise.” So the Syriac. The waters
of the sea.
The reference is to the Flood (ch.
5:8; Genesis 7:4, 11).
The Image of the Deity in Great
Nature’s Open Eye.
(vs.
5-6)
God’s wrath “is revealed from heaven against all
ungodliness.” And it is
terrible as it is great. Impotent anger is
ridiculous, but the wrath of
Omnipotence overwhelms. Whatever, therefore, illustrates the power of
God adds terror to His threat. And such is the effect of
this passage. The
stern purport of the previous commination
(the action of threatening divine
vengeanc) is emphasized by the moving picture it presents of the Divine majesty
and resistless might. Omnipotent resources will push forward to full
accomplishment the purposes of Omniscience against doomed
and abandoned
·
GOD’S NAME REVEALS HIS CHARACTER. This is the object of
a name. It distingnishes
the bearer from others, and this by expressing some
leading characteristic.
1. The Lord. This is the word invariably substituted by the Jews for
Jehovah in the
reading of the Hebrew Scriptures. It is a name of authority,
and means “the supreme
Lord.” The Lord is over all. He is Governor and
Judge in one. He does as it pleases Him. (“But our God is in the heavens:
He hath done
whatsoever He hath pleased.” Psalm 115:3 - This
is what
sovereignty means - CY -
2022) He disposes of all matters, and
settles all interests without
appeal. He reckons with none, and none can call
Him to account.
2. Jehovah. This is a verb, third person, signifying “He
is,” and another
form of the name “I
am,” by which God revealed Himself to Moses. Its root
idea is that of “underived existence;” then, as arising out of this,
“independent action;” and then,
as the corollary of both, “eternity and
unchangeableness.” It is thus the proper name of God to man;
self-existent Himself,
the Author of existence to all persons and things,
and manifesting His existence to those capable of knowing it. Jehovah is the
concrete and historical name of
God. As revealed by it, He exists by His
own energy, and makes to be all things that are. Absolute and
undetermined, He determines
absolutely all things outside Himself. Unseen
and invisible, He comes forth —
concretes Himself, as it were — in the
works which His hands have made.
3. Jehovah of hosts. This title appears first in 1 Samuel
1:3, and, as has
been remarked, “simultaneously
with the foundation of the Jewish
monarchy.” It may mean Lord of (
celestial beings (ibid. 148:2), or of the heavenly bodies (Isaiah
40:26),
or, more probably, of all three.
In this wide sense we “see in the
title a proclamation of the
universal sovereignty of Jehovah, needed within
the nation, lest that invisible
sovereignty should be forgotten in the visible
majesty of the king; and outside
the nation, lest Jehovah should be
supposed to be merely a national
deity” (Kirkpatrick, on 1 Samuel). This is
the God whose eye is for evil on
God in special relation to the
hosts of
heavenly bodies which they
worshipped, and to the angel hosts, the
ministers to do His will on
those whom He would visit in wrath.
·
GOD’S OPERATIONS REVEALS HIS WAY. What God does is a
criterion of what He can do. His
all-pervading activity will include in its
sweep the accomplishment of the
destiny again and again announced.
1. He occupies the sky. “Who buildeth His stories,” etc. There were,
according to a rabbinical
theory, seven heavens, the seventh containing the
throne of the Eternal,
symbolized by Solomon’s throne of ivory and gold,
the six steps leading up to
which symbolized in turn the six celestial regions
below the highest heaven (1
Kings 10:18-20). In terms of this mystic
theory is the expression,
“stories of the heaven.” Heaven is conceived of as
a giddy height, approached by
aerial steps or stages, all of them the
handiwork of God. He stands on
the “cloud-capped towers.” He dwells in
the “airy palaces.” He walks on
the “fleece-like floors.” He makes the
different levels of the
firmament steps between His throne and the earth
below.
2. He metamorphoses the earth. (v. 5.) God’s word brought
order out of
chaos at first. “He spake, and it was done,” etc. By the same word,
turning
order into chaos again, shall
all things be dissolved (II Peter 3:10-11).
It is little for the word that
makes and unmakes, that created and will
dissolve the frame of nature, to
move in earthquake upheaval the solid
crust of earth till it mimicks the roll of the sea, or “
its rise and fall.
3. He distributes the waters of the sea. The sea is the most
stupendous
natural object. There is majesty
in all its moods, and awe in its very
presence. Hence in the mythology
a god was allocated to it, brother to
Zeus, the god of heaven and
earth, and second only to him in power. And
God’s “way is in the sea.” He rules its waves. He regulates its myriad
currents and restless tides. Its
great throbbing pulse beats but at His will. He
holds its waters in the hollow of His hand, and
concentrates or disperses
them as it pleases Him.
He is a God, then, “whose wrath is terrible.” Every
force of nature he not alone
controls, but wields an instrument of his will.
In ch.
5:8 the same fact is an inducement to seek His favor,
which here appears as a reason
to dread His wrath. As the same locomotive
will drive the train before it
or draw it after it at the engineer’s will, so the
fact of the omnipresent
energy of God is fitted alike to alarm and to attract,
but in either case to bring the sinner to his feet.
·
PHYSICAL CONVULSIONS ARE THE COUNTERPARTS OF MORAL
CONVULSION. Events in
the two worlds happen according to similar if
not identical laws. To a
discriminating eye, the one set rises up in the
likeness of the other, created
so by God. “He daily buildeth his stories in
the heavens when he raiseth up his saints from things below to heavenly
places, presiding over them,
ascending in them” (Pusey). “He toucheth
the
earth, and it melteth;” when he stretches out His hand in wrath on its
inhabitants, and men’s hearts
fail them for fear. “He calleth to the waters of
the sea, and poureth them out over the earth,” when He makes the wicked
the rod of His anger to overrun
and vex society (Psalm 93:3-4). Verily
the God wH
playthings, and men and angels His ministers, is a Being
in
whose favor is life and
whose power is terrible.
7 “Are ye
not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of
from Kir?”
unless their conduct corresponded with God’s choice. If
they obeyed not,
they were no better in His eyes than the heathen, their
delivery from
had no more significance than the migration of pagan
nations. Here is a
contrast to ch.6:1-2. The children of
than the children
of the Ethiopians (Cushites). The
Cushites are
introduced as being descendants of the wicked Ham, and
black in
complexion (as Jeremiah 13:23) - The Philipstines from
Caphtor; from
mistaken. The immigration spoken of took place before the
Exodus (see
Deuteronomy 2:23; Jeremiah 47:4); and Caphtor
is either
Dillman on Genesis 10:14) or the coast land of the Delta, which
was
occupied from an early period by Phoenician colonists, and
thus came to be
known to the Egyptians as Keft
Egyptian name of
The Syrians (Arum, Hebrew)
from Kir;
καὶ τοὺς Σύρους ἐκ βόθρου
–
Tous Surous ek
bothrou - “the
Syrians out .of the ditch” (Septuagint);
de Cyrene (Vulgate); see note on ch.1:5. “
Damascenes,
occupied by a powerful body of immigrants from
Acts done
because of a spiritual relation existing lose their meaning
when it is
broken off. “Have I not brought
that,
after bringing them out of
however unfilial and unfaithful. But had not the circumstances of their
idolatry and corruption altered the case? Theirs was not the only exodus.
He had brought “the Philistines out of Caphtor, and the Syrians out of Kir;”
yet
these nations were aliens, and to be destroyed (ch.1:5).
If
conformed itself to these in character and way, then
lose its significance, and be no more than events of a like
kind in their
distant past. What the father did for the son is no binding
precedent for the
case of the prodigal.
National Pride and
Presumption (v. 7)
It is usual for nations to boast of their history, their
position, their great
qualities, their good fortune, their invincibility. We know
this from our own
observation of the nations of modern times. And in this respect all ages
seem alike. There
were, no doubt, very peculiar grounds for self-confidence
and boastthlness on the part of
the Jews. Yet such dispositions
and habits were again and again censured and condemned by
the inspired
servants of Jehovah.
·
IT IS A BROAD GENERAL FACT THAT THE MOVEMENTS OF
NATIONS ARE UNDER THE GUIDANCE OR SUPERINTENDENCE
OF THE ALMIGHTY RULER.
Amos is directed to point out that what
was true of
Philistines, and the Syrians. In
the case of all these nations there had been
remarkable migrations and
settlements. The hand of God is
recognized in
one as much as in the other.
The Hebrews are sometimes charged with
narrowness and vanity in their
interpretations of Divine providence.
Doubtless many of them may be
justly so charged. But the language of
Amos is a proof that the
enlightened Jews took a far wider view. There is
no contradiction between general
and special providence. The nations of
men, because they are men, are subject to the control and direction
of God. Not one tribe is unworthy of His regard. In what manner,
and to
what extent, the great Ruler interposes in the political affairs of
peoples it is
not for our limited wisdom to decide. But the petty notion that one favored
nation enjoys the protection and guidance of Heaven,
whilst other nations
are neglected and uncared for, is utterly inconsistent
with the teaching of
the text.
·
THE GUIDANCE AND PROTECTION WHICH NATIONS HAVE
ENJOYED IN THE PAST IS NO GROUND OF
EXEMPTION FROM
THE OPERATION OF THE MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. There
were those in
theirs had been could possibly
be called
upon to experience defeat,
conquest,
captivity, disaster. But the fact is
that great
privileges simply
place men upon a
higher level of responsibility. To whom much is given, of
them will much be required. (Luke
12:48) Unfaithfulness is the one great
ground of
censure, condemnation, punishment.
1. in separating from
2. in setting up rival altars at Dan and
3. in introducing an alien religion, idolatrous
sacrifices and worship,
4. in giving way in times of prosperity to
luxury, pride, covetousness,
and ambition.
All the mercies accorded to
their forefathers could not release the Israelites
from the
obligation to maintain the pure religion of Jehovah, and to keep
His laws and
ordinances. Nor could they be a ground for
exemption from
the action of those
laws of Divine government which are
universal in
their operation, and
disciplinary and morally beneficial in their
tendency. The
Captivity and the
dispersion were conclusive proofs that
there is no
favoritism in the administration of God’s
rule; that His laws
are not to be defied
with impunity by the most privileged
of nations.
Presumption is irrational and foolish, and is the sure, swift
road
TO DESTRUCTION!
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.”
The sinful
kingdom. The kingdom of all
same as the house
of Jacob just below, though a different fate awaits this,
regarded as the covenant nation, whose are the promises. Destroy it, etc.,
as was threatened (Deuteronomy 6:15). Saving that. In spite of the
destruction of the wicked people, God’s promises hold good,
and there is
still a remnant who shall be saved (Jeremiah 30:11).
9 “For,
lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of
all nations, like as corn is sifted in a
sieve, yet shall not the least
grain fall upon the earth.” For, lo! He explains how and why the whole
nation is not
destroyed. I will sift.
tried and winnowed among them by affliction and persecution, that the
evil may
fall to the ground and perish, and the good be preserved. The
word rendered
“sift” implies “to shake to and fro;” and this shaking
shall show who are the
true Israelites
and who are the false, who retain their
faith and cleave to the
Lord under all difficulties, and who lose their hold of
true religion and
assimilate themselves to the heathen among whom they dwell.
These last
shall not return from captivity. The least grain; Hebrew, tseror,
“pebble;”
so the Vulgate, lapillus; Septuagint, σύντριμμα – suntrimma - fragment.
It is used in II Samuel 17:13 of small stones in a
building; here as hard grain in
distinction from loose chaff . The solid grain, the good
wheat, are the
righteous, who, when the chaff and dust are cast away, are
stored in the
heavenly garner, prove themselves of the election, and
inherit the promises
(compare Isaiah 6:13; Ezekiel 20:38; Matthew 3:12). Fall upon
the earth; i.e. perish, be lost (I Samuel 26:20).
Sifting and Salvation
(v. 9)
If any prediction could convince the reader of the Old
Testament that the
prophets spoke and wrote under a supernatural inspiration,
surely this
prediction must possess this virtue. The history of
immediately following upon those of Amos, but throughout the centuries
which have since elapsed, is just a fulfilment
of this language. How
picturesquely and forcibly is the truth presented under
this similitude, so
natural as employed by one familiar with all the processes
connected with
husbandry!
·
THE PROVIDENTIAL SIFTING APPOINTED FOR THE HOUSE OF
1. It has been determined by the Divine Ruler and Lord. “I
will command,”
says Jehovah. Men may trace the
history of the Jews with the design of
showing that all the events
which have occurred to that people are
explicable upon ordinary
principles, that
marshaled by the enlightened
philosopher of history. But beneath all such
theory there is an explanation
which satisfies the intelligence of the
thoughtful and devout student of
God’s Word: THE LORD HAS
ORDERED IT!
2. It has taken place in different lands, and throughout
lengthened periods.
“Among all the
nations,” was the expression of the
inspired prophet.
a.
The successive
invasions of
b.
the conquest of
c.
the captivity into
the East, the settlements in Assyria and in
d.
the partial
restoration to the land of promise,
e.
the subjection of
subjugation by the Romans,
f. the dispersion among the Gentiles,
g. the scattering of the sons of
the East and the West,
these are but some of the more importantpoints in a history the most
remarkable, the most romantic,
and yet the most painful, in the
annals of mankind.
3. It has been ordained for a purpose of a moral and
beneficial character.
Sifting is for the purpose of
separating the chaff and refuse from the pure
grain. A process of sifting,
winnowing, tribulation (in
the literal meaning of
that word), has been going on
throughout the ages. Even yet the
purposes
of God are very partially
accomplished, for the process is continued; nor is
there any sign of its immediate
termination. (the signs seem to point the
other way to the end of time or the consummation of the age! CY - 2022)
·
THE DIVINE PRESERVATION OF THOSE SUBJECTED TO THIS
TRIAL. Not a grain shall
drop out of sight and perish. It is a
wonderful
paradox: * sifting
and salvation,
* trial
and protection,
* scattering
and gathering,
alike experienced. Yet the
marvelous story of the chosen people
supports to the letter this
ancient representation. It is the simple, actual,
literal truth.
1. This protection is apparent in the preservation of the
Israelites daring the
Oriental captivity. This was even made to minister to the religious purity
and enlightenment of a nation previously inclined to fall into idolatrous
worship.
2. We recognize it equally in the preservation and the
national or tribal
distinctness of the Jews in the
ages which have elapsed since the
destruction of
been lost. “Whom He scattereth He shall
gather.”
3. There is a fulfillment of this inspired declaration in the individual
conversions to God which have from time to time taken
place among those
who have been trained among the unbelieving and rebellious. As a nation
community, individual sons and daughters of Jacob, have
again and again
been seen to turn unto the Lord whom their fathers
grieved by their
ingratitude and
insensibility. Precious grains have thus been preserved and
gathered into the
garner and saved.
4. Such cases are a down payment of a more complete fulfillment of the
prediction. So — such is the assurance of the Christian apostle — “all
The Winnowing of God (v.
9)
“For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of
nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not
the least grain fall upon
the earth.” Introduction:
The free use made by Amos of all the scenes in
nature. We may learn from the text three lessons.
·
THAT AMONG THOSE CALLED BY A RELIGIOUS NAME
THERE EXISTS A GREAT DIVERSITY OF CHARACTER. “I will
sift… as corn is
sifted.” If corn were gathered as
manna was — pure,
unmixed with deleterious or
useless elements — no sifting would be
needed. But it grows with other
growth, thistles, poppies, darnel, etc., and
it seems impossible to keep the
field perfectly clear. In the physical, as in
the moral, world the false grows
beside the true, and the evil beside the
good; and God’s own law is, “Let
both grow together until the harvest.”
(Matthew 13:30) Indeed, during their growth it is difficult
to distinguish these.
You may mistake tares for wheat,
fool’s parsley for the garden herb, poisonous
fungi for edible mushrooms, and
so forth, and only discover your error by serious
or even fatal consequences. The
mystery of the coexistence of good and
evil, then, runs through nature.
It is seen in character. “All are not
who are of
now exemplify this from a
comparison of the times of Amos with our own.
1. Idolaters
were among the prophet’s hearers. They had deliberately
turned from Jehovah. They held
that it was a wise policy on the part of
convinced that the calves at
therefore, from motives
political and worldly, many of them said, “These be
thy gods, O
the laws and ceremonies of the
Mosaic institutes, they sinned against the
light. Yet they still called
themselves “
out by external sign from the
true people of God. No brand was on their
foreheads, no curse fell on
their homes, no fire of judgment overwhelmed
them with destruction; but they
were amongst the sleek, successful men of
be found those who have forsaken
God and made unto themselves other
gods. Sometimes, for example, a
man deifies wealth. His thoughts are
concentrated on it, and his full
energies are directed to its attainment. To
claims made on his generosity he
turns a deaf ear; over scruples about the
forsaking of righteousness and
mercy he rides roughshod. If at last he
succeeds he says, “It is my
power, and the might of my hand, that has
wrought this.” Yet prayerless, godless, as such men are, they still call
themselves by the Christian
name.
2. Amos spoke to
others who were simply indifferent to religion. They
considered that the questions
debated between the true and false prophets
were professional questions,
with which they had no personal concern.
Worshipping neither the calves
nor Jehovah, their wish was to glide quietly
through life, winning for themselves such enjoyment as
was possible.
Describe the attitude of many
towards religion in our day — occasionally
attending worship, knowing nothing of the meaning of it, and
taking their
chance as to the unseen future. They are known, not to us, but to God.
3. Some in the
days of Amos had the character as well as the name of
“
were instructed in the
Scriptures. They thought of the old days when
Jehovah was universally acknowledged as the Lord, and, like Jacob,
they
prayed in an agony of
supplication, “I will not leg thee go, except thou
bless me.” (Genesis
32:26) These belonged not only to the
“kingdom” but to
the “house” of
effect, distinguishing between
the “kingdom” and the “house,” in v. 8.) Such are
still to be found. In business,
because of their integrity and charity, their
name is as ointment poured
forth. In the homes, as instructors of their
children, they are
preparing blessings for the world. In the
sanctuary their
praises wing their way to
heaven, and in prayer they are princes “having
power with God.” (Genesis
32:28) Now, these differing characters
were and
are mingled, as are the
tares and wheat. They are even united, as are the chaff
And the corn, and therefore the
day of sifting and separation must come. It has
not come yet. When corn is
ripening and flowers are blossoming it is useless to
send in the weeders.
When the reapers are busy their scythes must cut
down all growths alike. There is no time then for
separation, but it comes
at last. You see
a heap of winnowed corn in the granary the weeds have
been burned, the straw is gone,
and all the chaff is scattered. So
to be scattered by persecution,
war, and captivity; but not one grain of
God’s wheat should fall
upon the ground. (Text.)
·
THAT THERE ARE TESTING TIMES IN WHICH SUCH
DIVERSITY ASSERTS ITSELF. The earth is here represented as a great
sieve, in which
lost and the good saved. The
process is still carried on. There are testing
times here, and there will be a testing time
hereafter.
1. Preaching, for example, sometimes so disturbs conscience, that on self-
examination the man sees what
is true and
false in his character. Many a
hearer has thus been led to ask,
“Am I as the chaff which the wind driveth
away?”
2. Affliction is
a sieve for testing character. Job was an example of this. His
distresses revealed him to
himself and to his friends; and not a grain of
wheat (of that which was worth
preserving) was lost. Show how this is still
true of the afflicted. Illness,
bereavement, losses, etc., lead to serious
thought, and while they
sometimes destroy unfounded hopes, they give
more confidence in that “hope
which is the true anchor of the soul, sure
and steadfast.” (Hebrews
6:19)
3. Temptation is a revealer of character. Compare the text with our Lord’s
words, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath
desired to have you, that he
may sift you as
wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.”
(Luke 22:31) What a revelation
to Peter of his weakness and presumption was
his denial I Illustrate by the
story of the two houses, built, the one on the rock,
the other on the sand (Matthew
7:24 27). Thus we may test ourselves. If
the opportunity offers itself to
gratify some passion secretly, without the
least risk of detection, is the
reply,
“How can I do this great wickedness,
and sin against
God?” (Genesis 39:9) or
is the opportunity gladly seized to
enjoy “the pleasures of sin for a
season”? (Hebrews 11:25)
4. Persecution tests
character. It is easy to deceive ourselves
when all our
associations are religious. But
let these be changed for worldly, skeptical,
or immoral surroundings, and the
reality of our religious life is proved.
Then, either we say, “We
must obey God rather than man” (Acts 5:29),
and our character is ennobled by
the struggle, or the prayer is omitted,
the old Bible neglected, and the
old influences blotted out of memory. All such
tests as we have mentioned are sent in mercy, to lead to
self-examination,
and, if need be, to repentance; but Christ draws the veil of the future, and
tells us further of a day when
the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed,
and:
5. When the
judgment of God, according to equity, will be
declared. You
may escape all other trials, but
you will not escape that. Affliction may
leave you untouched. Amidst
persecution and temptation your reputation
may be unscathed. But death will scatter all delusions, and from it, and
from that judgment
to which it leads, there is no escape (see v. 3, “And
though they hide
themselves in the top of
shall be “the
manifestation of the sons of God;” the
secret life will be
commended, and the quiet service
recompensed. With others the vain show
will be over, the veil of
outward respectability rent asunder, and the words
will be heard, “Depart
from me, ye that work iniquity!” (Matthew 7:23)
Then there will come the
separation, as between the sheep and the goats,
the tares and the wheat, the
corn and the chaff. Men may have met in the
same church, heard the same
gospel, lived in the same home, yet above the
portal of heaven is this
inexorable law, “And there shall in no wise enter
into it anything
that defileth,… but they that are written in the
Lamb’s
book of life.” (Revelation
21:27) Still the words hold good, “Whosoever
believeth on Him
shall not parish, but have everlasting life;” (John 3:16)
“How shall we
escape if we neglect so great salvation?” (Hebrews
2:3)
“Among thy saints may I be
found,” etc.!
·
THAT OVER THE TESTING PROCESS GOD WATCHES AND
RULES SO THAT NOTHING TRUE AND NOTHING GOOD MAY BE
LOST. “For,
lo, I will command… yet shall not the least grain fall upon the
earth” (compare Malachi 3:3). Our text is true in a much broader
sense
than that in which we have
attempted to deal with it.
1. In changes
amongst the nations, where there seems little but confusion
and unrest, God rules. He is testing and purifying His own people. Not
a
grain of His purpose will fall
to the earth. “Heaven and earth shall pass
away, but my Word
shall not pass away.” (Mark
13:31)
2. Movements take place in ecclesiastical life. One system makes room
for
another. The Old Testament
economy with its ceremonies, the apostolic
Church with its simplicity, the
mediaeval Church with its superstitions, etc.,
all were changed, yet of all the praises and prayers offered through past
ages not a grain
fell to the earth.
3. In dogmatic theology changes are still going on. Formularies and
phrases die out, but the truth
in them is not lost. CHRIST LIVES AND
REIGNS STILL and “of His dominion there shall be no end.”
That which is saved by God is “the grain,” that which has life in it;
and planted in the earth, it
shall be
developed in new forms of strength
and beauty.
·
CONCLUSION. Therefore, amidst the wreck and the fall of much that
seems precious, let your hearts as Christian men be quiet
from fear of evil.
Have trust in God, who
commands and controls, and believe that amidst all
His cares you are not
forgotten, amidst all these perils you will be safe.
Because good is stronger
than evil, and Christ
is mightier than our
adversary, the words of His
promise are true to all believers, “They shall
never perish,
neither shall any pluck them out of my hand.” (John 10:20)
“Ye are of God,
little children, and have overcome them:
because greater
is He that
is in you, than he that is in the world.”
(I John 4:4)
10 “All
the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The
evil shall not overtake nor prevent
us.” If
any are to be saved, it will not be
the sinners; they need not flatter themselves that their willful
blindness shall secure
them. The evil shall not overtake. They lulled themselves into a false security,
and shut their ears against the warnings of the prophets; but that would
avail them nothing. Prevent; come upon suddenly, surprise.
Sin may be forgiven, BUT
IMPENITENCE NEVER!
God
as the Administrator of Justice (vs. 5-10)
“And the Lord God of hosts is He that toucheth
the land, and it shall melt,
and all that dwell therein shall mourn,” etc. These words present God to us
as the Administrator of justice.
·
T
·
HE DOES IT WITH THE GREATEST EASE. The administrators of
justice in connection with human
government have often to contend with
difficulties that baffle and
confound them. But the Almighty has no
difficulty. “He toucheth
the land, and it shall melt.” By a mere touch He can
punish a whole nation, nay,
destroy the world. Whence come earthquakes
and volcanoes? Here is their
cause: “He toucheth the hills, and they
smoke.” (Psalm 104:32) Never can there be any miscarriage of justice with
God. He bears it
right home in every case. He has no difficulty about it. He
toucheth the clouds, and they drown the world; He kindles the
atmosphere
and burns cities, etc.
·
HE DOES IT WITH ALL THE POWERS OF NATURE AT HIS
COMMAND. “It is he
that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath
founded his troop in the earth.”
His throne is on high, above all the forms
and forces of the universe, and
all are at his call. From those heights which
he has built, those upper
chambers of the universe, he can pour floods to
drown a world, or rain fires
which will consume the universe. Every force
in nature he can make with ease
an officer to execute his justice.
·
HE DOES IT DISREGARDFUL OF MERE RELIGIOUS
PROFESSION. “Have
not I brought up
and the
Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?” Jehovah here
repels the idea which the
Israelites were so prone to entertain, that because
He had brought them out of
were peculiarly the objects of His
concern, and could never be subdued or
destroyed. He now regarded and
would treat them as the Cushites, or
Ethiopians, who had been
transplanted from their primal location in
into the midst of the barbarous
nations of
administering justice, is not
influenced by the plea of profession. A corrupt
Israelite to Him was as bad as an Ethiopian, though he calls
Abraham his
father. “Think not to say…that ye have
Abraham to your father.”
Conventional Christians are in
the eyes of God as bad as infidels or
heathen. He judgeth
not as man judgeth, by the outward appearance; He
looketh at the heart.
·
HE DOES IT WITH A THOROUGH DISCRIMINATION OF
CHARACTER. “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.” There
were
some good people amongst the
Israelites, men of genuine goodness; the
great Judge would not destroy
them. “I will not utterly destroy the house
of Jacob .... I
will sift the house of
sifted in a
sieve,” etc. He would burn up the
chaff, but save the wheat.
Evermore will the Almighty Judge recognize and tenderly
guard the
virtuous and the good, however humble their position in
life. He will not
destroy the righteous.
The Exalted
brought Low (vs. 7-10)
“Think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our
father.” (Matthew
3:9) And yet the blind and infatuate
view of every imminent catastrophe. They said it in
abbreviation of all argument.
They said it in lieu of fit and seasonable action. They made it an
amulet to
hang around their
neck when they rushed purblind into rebellious action.
They ran into it as into an intellectual joss-house, where
any absurdity was
raised to the dignity of a god. This last support of their
false security the
prophet in this passage knocks away. They had acted
altogether out of
character, and now:
·
APOSTATE
HEATHEN IN GOD’S ESTIMATION. National election was, no doubt, a
pledge of national preservation,
but only
in connection with national
faithfulness; for:
1. A spiritual
relation with the unspiritual is impossible. “What fellowship
hath righteousness
with unrighteousness?” It is a moral
impossibility. They
are moral opposites and
incompatible in the nature of things. Becoming
assimilated to the heathen,
covenant, and became “afar
off,” even as they.
2. A relation, when it is repudiated on either side,
virtually terminates.
relation of favor on the one
side and fealty on the other could not survive
the step. God must cease to be
their God when they ceased to be His
people. “God chose
them that they might choose Him. By casting Him off as
their Lord and God, they cast themselves off and out of His
protection. By
estranging themselves from God,
they became as strangers in His sight”
(Pusey).
3. Acts done because of a spiritual relation existing
lose their meaning
when it is broken off. “Have I not brought Israel,” etc.? They might think
that, after bringing them out of
however unfilial
and unfaithful. But had not the circumstances of their
idolatry and corruption altered the ease? Theirs was not the only exodus.
He had brought “the
Philistines out of Caphtor, and the Syrians out of Kir;”
yet these nations were aliens,
and to be destroyed (ch. 1:5). If
conformed itself to these in
character and way, then
lose its significance, and be no
more than events of a like kind in their
distant past. What the father
did for the son is no binding precedent for the
case of the prodigal.
·
ACCORDINGLY,
WHO FORGET GOD. Grouping
attitude must be the same to
both. They shall be treated:
1. As the objects
of God’s displeasure.
He
is angry with the wicked every
day. He is angrier with those of them who sin against light and
privilege.
He is angriest with the
spiritual renegades whose disaffection is guilty in
proportion to the strength of
the ties it sets aside.
2. As the victims
of His destroying judgments. (v. 8.) “And I will destroy
it off the face of
the earth.” Strange words from a God
visibly in covenant.
But the covenant was broken. The
theoretically “holy nation” was actually
a “sinful
kingdom.”
covenant promises referred.
Heathenish in corruption, what but the bolts
forged for their pagan kin could
fall upon their heads?
3. This in the
character of defiant transgressors. (v.
10.) “Not because
they sinned aforetime, but
because they persevered in sin until
death”
(Jerome, in Pusey).
Sin
may be forgiven, but impenitence never. The
unpardonable sin is unforsaken sin.
·
THE JUDGMENT THAT SHALL DESTROY THE WICKED
MASS SHALL LEAVE A. RIGHTEOUS REMNANT. (v. 8.) “Except
that I shall not
utterly destroy the house of Jacob.” God
ordains no
indiscriminate destruction. His
bolts strike His enemies. Of His friends:
1. Not one shall
perish. “Not even a little grain falls to the ground.” The
Divine nature, of which the righteous are partakers, is
indestructible. The
life of the saint is a living
Christ within him (Galatians 2:20). Christ “is
alive forevermore”
(Revelation 1:18), and says to all in
whom He is as
their life, “Because I live, ye shall live
also.” In a mixed community the
righteous sometimes die for the
fault of the wicked; but their death is
precious in God’s sight (Psalm
116:15), and “not an hair of their head
shall perish.”
2. They shall be
sifted out of the mass. (v. 9.) In
these graphic words the
righteous minority are corn, and
the corrupt masses the chaff. The nations
are the sieve, and the Divine
judgments the shaking of it. The result is not
destruction of the grain, but
separation between it and the chaff. “In every
quarter of the world, and in
well nigh every nation in every quarter, Jews
have been found. The whole earth
is, as it were, one vast sieve in the hands
of God, in which
and dust would be blown away by
the air;… but no solid corn, not one
grain, should fall to the earth”
(Pusey). So in other cases. God’s judgments
winnow men, discerning clearly
between clean and unclean. When the
storm is over, the seaworthy
vessels are easy of identification, for they
alone survive.
3. Their own
sinfulness shall be sifted out of them. “What is here said of
all
God doth daily in each of the
elect. For they are the wheat of God, which,
in order to be laid up in the
heavenly garner, must be pure from chaff and
dust. To this end He sifts them
by afflictions and troubles” (Pusey).
Suffering is not purifying per
se. But the suffering of the righteous is
(Hebrews 12:11; 1I Corinthians
4:17). It subdues the flesh, deepens
our sense of dependence on God,
spiritualizes our thoughts, and tests, and
by testing
strengthens, faith (1 Peter 1:7). In
the night of suffering come
out the stars, guiding,
consoling, irradiating the soul.
“Then fear
not in a world like this,
And thou shalt know ere long —
Know how
sublime a thing it is
To suffer
and be strong.”
God’s people
shall be sifted out of the mass. In these graphic words the
righteous minority are corn, and the corrupt masses the chaff.
The nations
are the sieve, and the Divine judgments the shaking of it.
The result is not
destruction of the grain, but separation between it and the
chaff. In every
quarter of the world, and in well nigh every nation in
every quarter, Jews
have been found. The whole earth is, as it were, one vast
sieve in the hands
of God, in which
and dust would be blown away by the air;… but no solid
corn, NOT
ONE GRAIN should
fall to the earth. So in other cases. GOD’S
JUDGMENTS WINNOW MEN
discerning clearly between clean and unclean.
(Malachi 3:17-18).
When the storm is over, the seaworthy vessels are easy of
identification, for they alone survive.
The Folly of Self-Confidence (v. 10)
The conduct of these Israelites, and their fate, may well
stand as a beacon
of warning to all who have heard the Word of God with
indifference and
unbelief.
- THE REASONS WHICH SHOULD PROMPT THE SINNER TO
CONCERN.
Ø
The voice of his own conscience
assures him of guilt and ill desert.
Ø
The warnings of
Scripture should not be lost upon him, and revelation
abounds with such warnings
uttered upon the highest authority.
Ø
The examples of the
impenitent who have been overtaken by judgment
and destruction enforce the
faithful admonitions of Holy Writ.
- THE EXPLANATIONS OF THE SINNER’S
SELF-CONFIDENCE
AND PRESUMPTION. It
is unquestionable that there are many who say,
“The evil shall
not reach nor overtake us.” How can
this be accounted for?
Ø
The voice of
conscience may be silenced or unheeded.
Ø
The warnings of
Scripture may be utterly disregarded.
Ø
The sinner may think
rather of those instances in which judgment has
been delayed than of those in
which it has been hastened and fulfilled.
- THE WISDOM AND DUTY OF IMMEDIATE
REPENTANCE.
Ø
God’s Word will
certainly be verified.
Ø
No human power can
save the impenitent.
Ø
THE TIME OF
PROBATION IS SHORT and may nearly
HAVE EXPIRED! (The theme of this web site is:
THE TIME IS SHORT – CY – 2013)
Vs. 11-15 contain the epilogue which tells of the
establishment of the NEW
KINGDOM and THE REIGN OF THE MESSIAH. The kingdom
shall embrace all nations (vs. 11-12), and they shall be enriched with
superabundant
spiritual blessins (vs. 13-14), and SHALL ENDURE
FOR EVER! (V. 15).
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:” In that day. When the judgment has fallen.
The passage is
quoted by James (Acts 15:16), mostly from the
Greek, in
confirmation of the doctrine that the
Jew or Gentile. The
tabernacle (sukkah): hut, or tent
(as Jonah 4:5);
no palace now, but fallen to low esthete, a “little house” (ch.6:11).
The prophet refers probably to the fall of the
wrought by the Chaldeans.
Interpreted spiritually, the passage shadows
forth the universal
notes that in the Talmud Christ is called “the Son of the
fallen.” The
breaches. The house of David had sustained breaches under the hands
of
Jeroboam and Joash, and in the
severance of the ten tribes at the hands of
Assyrians and Chaldees;
- these should be
repaired.
- unity should be
restored,
- the captives
should return, and
- another kingdom should be established
under another David,
THE MESSIAH!
totally inadequate fulfillment of the prophecy. Prophecies
of the temporal and
spiritual are, as usual, blended together and run up into
each other. His
ruins. The destroyed places
of David! will build it; Hebrew, her. The
whole Jewish Church (compare Jeremiah 31:4; 33:7). As in the days of
old. The days of David and Solomon, the most flourishing times
of the
kingdom (II Samuel 7:11-12,16). In the expression, “of
old,” Hebrew,
“of eternity,” may lurk an idea of the length of time that
must elapse before
the fulfillment of the promi Ἀνοικοδομήσω αὐτὴν καθὼς αἱ ἡμέραι
τοῦ αἰῶνος se. Septuagint,
Ἀνοικοδομήσω αὐτὴν
καθὼς αἱ
ἡμέραι τοῦ αἰῶνος – Anoikodomaeso autaen kathos
hai haemerai tou aionos
- “I will build it up as are the days of
eternity.”
This seems to signify that the
building is TO LAST FOR EVER!
The Reconstruction of the Tabernacle
of David (v. 11)
The reference is probably not to that tabernacle which was
replaced and
superseded by the
booth or hut may well serve as an emblem of the depressed
state of the
Jewish monarchy and people, not simply as they were in the
time of Amos,
but as the prophet
foretold that they should be in days about to come. The
language is very expressive, and depicts a restoration very
complete.
Breaches shall be
closed, ruins shall be repaired, the structure shall be
rebuilt. The fortunes of the
people of David must indeed be dark for a
season, but a brighter day shall surely dawn.
·
THE MOST GLORIOUS FULFILMENT
OF THIS PROPHECY WAS
IN THE ADVENT OF
THE DIVINE SON OF DAVID. Jesus was
recognized by the people as the
descendant and successor of their national
hero. They shouted, “Hosanna
to the Son of David!” (Matthew 21:9, 15)
He Himself made the claim, only
that He asserted that He was not only
David’s Son, but also David’s
Lord.
1.
Like David, He was “after
God’s heart;”
2.
like David, He sang
praises unto God in the midst of the Church;
3.
like David, He
overcame the enemies of Jehovah and of His people;
4.
like David, He reigned
over the nation of
But unlike David:
1.
He was Divine in
His nature and faultless in His character;
2.
He was rather a spiritual than a worldly Conqueror;
3.
He was King, not over
one people, but over all mankind.
In Christ the true
“according to the
flesh” (Romans 8:5) lost in David’s
removal.
(I find most interesting II
Samuel 23:1-5, the last words of David.
I become teary eyed when I read
it because David knows that he has
fallen short, especially with
the great sin with Bathsheba. I do not
know of anything he did
noteworthy after that. I hope I am
wrong!
Below is an excerpt from the
Pulpit Commentary on II Samuel 23:5
v. 5
- David could not but feel that his house was
too stained with sin upon sin for
him to be
able to lay claim to have been in
fact that
which the theocratic king was in
theory -
and what he ought to have been as the
representative of Christ and, he the
anointed
of God.
God’s Word
stands sure and there is such a thing as “the
sure mercies of David”
Isaiah 55:3; Acts 13:34 - CY - 2022)
·
THE MAIN PROOF OF THIS FULFILMENT OF PROPHECY IS
TO BE FOUND IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MESSIAH’S
language which was impossible
beforehand. How truly the house of David
has been more than rebuilt, the
is apparent to every observer of
what has occurred in the Christian
centuries. The kingdom of the Redeemer is:
1. Spiritual. In which respect it is more admirable and more glorious
than
that of David, which was founded
upon the sword, and whose sway was
over, not the heart, but the
outward life.
2. Universal. For whilst David reigned over a strip of Syrian territory,
Christ’s empire is vast, and is
widening year by year. “The kingdoms of this
world shall become
the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He
shall reign for
ever and ever!” (Revelation 11:15)
3. Everlasting. The few brief glorious years of David’s reign were
prophetic of that sway which
shall endure forever. Of Christ’s kingdom
“there shall be no end.”
12 “That they may possess the remnant of
heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth
this.” That they (the true children of
remnant of
hostile of all men. David had subdued the Edomites (II Samuel 8:14;
I Kings 11:16), and Amaziah had
inflicted a great slaughter upon them
(II Kings 14:7); but later they recovered their
independence (II Kings 16:6,
where “Edomites” should be read for “Syrians;” II Chronicles 28:17),
and were actively hostile against the Jews. It was on this
account that they were
emphatically denounced by Obadiah. “The remnant” is mentioned because,
according to the threat in ch.1:11-12, they would be punished so that only a
few would escape. The Septuagint gives Ὅπως ἐκζητήσωσιν
οἱ κατάλοιποι
τὼν ἀνθρώπων,
[τὸν κύριον, – Alexandrian] – Hopos ekzaetaesosin
hoikataloipoi
ton anthropon [ton kurion] Alexandrian], “That
the remnant of men may earnestly
seek the Lord,”regarding
the text to make the sense more generally intelligible, This version, which reads
“Adam,” men, instead of “
called by my Name;
“over
whom my Name hath been called”
(Septuagint). This is closer to the Hebrew; but the meaning
is much the
same, viz. all those who are dedicated to God and belong to
Him being by
faith incorporated into the true
12:28; Isaiah 4:1; and to illustrate the idea, refer to
Deuteronomy 28:10;
Isaiah 44:5; Psalm 87:5-6.) The
Messianic kingdom shall be
established in order that SALVATION
MAY BE EXTENDED
TO ALL NATIONS WHO EMBRACE IT. Saith the Lord; is the
saying of Jehovah. This
is added to show the immutability of the promise.
The Covenant-God Himself hath predicted it.
The Rebuilding of the Waste Places (vs.
11-12)
“God hath not cast away His people, which He foreknew” (Romans 11:2),
as the cumulative series of woes announced might seem to
indicate. As a people
they conspire, rebel, and cast Him off, and as a people
they are scattered,
decimated, and disowned. In their
corporate character they cannot longer
survive, but there were
individuals among them who had either remained
loyal or come back to their allegiance, and these stood
in a different
position. Not
only would they be spared, but made the nucleus of A NEW
PEOPLE and their
existence the occasion of a new dispensation. Such is the
burden of these verses. The
sinners are destroyed, and a new prosperity
blooms for the faithful remnant that survives. The waifs of the national
wreck are drawn in safety from the waves, and the desolated
land is
renovated for their home.
David’s house here is not merely the dynasty of David, but
the
and this as a type of the
accomplished only in the establishment of THE MESSIANIC KINGDOM
WHICH IT SYMBOLIZED.
The raising
up of the fallen hut of David commenced
with THE COMING OF
CHRIST and the founding of the Christian
Church
by the apostles.
This house has degenerated into a fallen hut before its
true dignity is
reached.
by a carpenter’s wife, and the Jewish Church is a little
flock with many a
black sheep, ere the set time to favor
human greatness, that the royal line was not to be
employed in the salvation
of the world until it was fallen. The royal palace had to become the hut of
kingdom were not of this world.
This
restoration will be a work of Divine power. “In the days of these
kingdoms shall
the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be
destroyed” (Daniel
2:44). The Church, composed of Spirit-quickened
men, is the creature of God as no political kingdom can be. Redeemed by
Jesus Christ, quickened by the Holy Ghost, made one in the white heat of
heavenly grace, it is altogether a Divine thing. Every energy it
has is God
given; every grace is Spirit-wrought. In this is the
special glory of the
monarchy, there rises, radiant in the beauties of holiness,
the kingdom of
our God, then indeed the bricks are changed to hewn stones,
and the
sycamores to cedars, and the
In the restored kingdom there will be Gentiles as well as Jews. (v.12.)
James, in his speech at the council of
fulfillment of this prophecy in the
calling of the Gentiles.
most hostile to the Jews and furthest from David’s house,
is put by a natural figure
for the whole Gentile world. The “remnant of
are the few called in each case out of the many (ch.1:12;
Matthew 20:16).
“All the
heathen (nations),” etc., is a fuller and more literal statement of
the
ingathering of “the fulness of
the Gentiles,” when God brings His sons from
afar, and His daughters from the ends of the earth. The
gospel kingdom is
to be the universal kingdom, “FILLING
THE WHOLE EARTH” covering
it with the knowledge of God, and making it, as the home of
righteousness, a
transfigured place.
“saith the Lord doeth this” – The Divine Word pledges the exercise of this
DIVINE ENERGY!
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His
name shall be
called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The
everlasting
Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the
increase of his government and peace
THERE SHALL BE NO END upon the throne of David, and upon his
kingdom,
to order it, and to
establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth
even for ever. THE ZEAL OF
THE LORD OF HOSTS WILL PERFORM
THIS.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)
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.”
The prophet expatiates upon the rich blessings which shall
follow the establishment of the kingdom. Under the figure of a supernatural
fertility are represented the victories of grace (compare
Isaiah 11:6; Ezekiel 34:25-31).
The blessing is founded on the Mosaic promise (Leviticus
26:3-6). The ploughman
shall overtake the
reaper. Ploughing and
harvest shall be continuous, without
sensible interval. The treader
of grapes him that soweth seed.
The vintage
should be so abundant
that it should last till sowing time. The mountains shall
drop sweet wine. This is from Joel 3:18. And all the hills shall melt.
As Joel says, “shall flow with milk,” in this promised
land “flowing
with milk
and honey.” Septuagint, πάντες οἱ βουνοὶ σύμφυτοι
ἔσονται –
pantes hoi bounoi sumphutoi esontai - “all the hills shall be planted” with
vines and olives.
The hyperbolical expressions in the text are not to be taken
literally; they depict in bright colors the blessings of the
Material and temporal blessings are
generally represented as closely
connected with
spiritual, and as figurative of them.
14 “And I will
bring again the captivity of my people of
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.” I will bring again the captivity;
i.e. I will repair the
misery which they have suffered. Shall build the waste cities
(Isaiah 54:3). All these promised blessings are in marked
contrast to the punishments
threatened (Deuteronomy 28:30, 33, 39; compare similar promises in
Isaiah 65:21-22).
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.” The blessing shall last forever. They shall no
more be
pulled up. This was not true of the literal
seed, planted in God’s land, the
of hell shall not prevail. (Matthew 16:18) “Lo,” says Christ, “I am with you
alway, even unto the end of the world” (Ibid. ch.28:20)
The conversion of
(Hosea 3:4-5; Romans 12:12,15,23; II Corinthians 3:16).
National restoration,
(
Six Days War in 1967 - Luke 21:24 – Isaiah 66:8-10 implies
that there will
be a national conversion in one day – How long does it take
to be saved?
All it takes is a look!
– “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends
of the earth: FOR I AM GOD , AND
THERE IS NONE ELSE.” –
Isaiah 45:22 – “When these things
begin to come to pass, then look up,
and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth night”- Luke
21:28
- CY – 2013). When the long wandering return, when the
hearts cold
and embittered for ages glow with heavenly love, when the
veil drops that hung
on mind and sense, when the broken-off branches are set
again in the good old
olive tree (Romans 11:23-24), a spiritual fulfillment will
have come of Amos’s
words, more glorious than any literal or local one, as the
glory of the second
temple exceeds the glory of the first. (I will say again that in the 1950’s at
Revelation quite a bit, and I remember Odell Merrick saying
that the
Jews already had the stone (
the temple. Recently
– 2012 – I googled and found that
500 train car loads of
The Restoration of the True Moral Theocracy
(vs. 11-15)
“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,”
etc. In the previous verses we have had to notice the
destruction of the sinful kingdom; in this paragraph we
have the
establishment of the true kingdom — the true moral
theocracy. “In that
day,” i.e. when the judgment has fallen upon the sinful kingdom, and
all the
sinners of the people of
and prominent exhibition of the restoration of the Jews
from their repressed
condition during their anticipated captivity in
James, at the first ecclesiastical council at
(Acts 15:16-17) — not, however, in its identical
phraseology, but in its
general meaning — and applies it to the establishment of Christ’s kingdom
in the world by the
admission of the Gentiles into it. The
old Hebrew world
was for ages governed by a theocracy. God was their King.
He had under
Him and by His appointment human rulers and other
functionaries; but they
were simply His instruments, and HE WAS THEIR
KING! That form of
government has passed away; but it was symbolical: it was the
emblem of a
higher theocracy
that is to be established, not over the Jews merely, but
over the Gentiles and OVER THE WHOLE WORLD! IT IS TO STAND
FOR EVER! We shall use these words as an illustration of this
theocratic
government. Four thoughts are suggested concerning it.
·
IT ROSE FROM THE HUMBLEST CONDITION. “In that day will I
raise up the
tabernacle of David that is fallen.”
“The fallen hut of David”
(Delitzsch).
Not the magnificent
for himself on
prophesying in
but to the royal house of David,
and to
Strange comment on human
greatness, that the royal line was not to be
employed in the salvation of the
world until it was fallen. The royal palace
had to become the hut of
born, whoso glory and
kingdom were not of this world,… who came to
take from us
nothing but our nature that He might sanctify it, our misery
that He might bear it for us” (Pusey). Ay, this true moral theocracy had in
truth a humble origin! Its
Founder, who was He? The Son of a poor Jewish
peasant, who commenced His life
in a stable. Its first apostles, who were
they? They were amongst the
poorest of the poor. In its origin, indeed, its
symbols are:
Ø
the little stone,
Ø
the grain of mustard
seed, and
Ø
the few particles of
leaven.
·
HEATHENS ARE SUBJECT TO ITS AUTHORITY. “That they may
possess the
remnant of
my Name, saith the Lord that doeth this.” The old theocracy was confined
to the Jews; this one, this
moral theocracy, is to extend to the heathen.
Even
may be regarded as the
representative of the whole heathen world — is to
be subjected to it. It shall “inherit
the Gentiles.” It is to have the heathen
for its inheritance, and the
uttermost parts of the earth for its possession.
The Bible assures us, in language most explicit and of
frequent occurrence,
that the time will come when from the rising of the sun to
the going down
of the same His Name — that is, the Name of this great moral King, Christ
— shall be great among
the Gentiles. Or, in the language of
Daniel, “When
the kingdom and
dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the
whole heaven,
shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High,
whose kingdom is
an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve
and obey Him” (Daniel 7:27 - v.
22 says “Until the Ancient of days came
and judgment was
given to the saints of the most High, and the time came
that the saints
possessed the kingdom.” CY =
2022).
·
ABUNDANT MATERIAL PROVISIONS WILL ATTEND IT.
“Behold, the days
come, saith the Lord, that the ploughman 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.” “The
metaphorical language here
employed is at once in the highest degree bold
and pleasing. The Hebrews were
accustomed to construct terraces on the
sides of the mountains and other
elevations, on which they planted vines.
Of this fact the prophet avails
himself, and represents the immense
abundance of the produce to be
such that the eminences themselves would
appear to be converted into the
juice of the grape.” Just as this moral
theocracy extends, pauperism will vanish. With the
righteousness all necessary
material good comes. “Godliness is profitable
unto all things,
having the promise of the life that now is, and of the life
to come..” (I
Timothy 4:8) Let this theocracy, which means the reign in
human hearts of Christliness, extend, and the earth “shall yield her increase,
and God, even our
own God, shall bless us.” (Psalm 67:6)
·
LOST PRIVILEGES ARE RESTORED AS IT ADVANCES. “I will
bring again the
captivity of my people of
waste cities, and
inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the
wine thereof; they
shall also make gardens, and cat the fruit of them.”
Three blessings, which man has
lost through depravity, are here indicated.
1. Freedom. “I will bring again the captivity,”
or rather, “I will reverse the
captivity,” give them liberty. Man in a state
of depravity IS A SLAVE — a
slave to lust, worldliness, etc.
This moral theocracy ensures freedom to all
its subjects. “Ye
shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”
(John 8:32).
2. Prosperity. “Shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they
shall
plant vineyards,
and drink the wine thereof.” One of
the sad evils
connected with man’s fallen
depravity is that he does not reap the reward
of his labors. He builds cities
and plants vineyards and makes gardens for
others. Through the reign of social injustice he is prevented from enjoying
the produce of his honest labors. (Social justice is a biggie in our culture
and does
it ever verify this statement! CY - 2022)
Under this theocracy it
will not be so. What a man
produces he will hold and enjoy as his own.
3. Settledness. “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.” Unregenerate man has ever been restless, homeless,
unsettled. He
stands not on a rock, but rather
on planks floating on surging waters;
HE IS NEVER AT REST!
All the subjects of the true
theocracy are established.
“GOD IS THEIR REFUGE AND STRENGTH!”
·
CONCLUSION. Let us have faith in this predicted future of the world.
Thus faith can alone sustain us
in our arduous work; this faith has ever been
the nerve of all the great men
who have toiled for the world’s good.
“Poet and
seer that question caught
Above the
din of life’s fears and frets;
It marched
with letters, it toiled with thought,
Through
schools and creeds which the earth forgets.
And
statesmen trifle and priests deceive,
And
traders barter our world away;
Yet hearts
to the golden promise cleave,
And still
at times, ‘Is it come?’ they say.
“The days
of the nations bear no trace
Of all the
sunshine so far foretold;
The cannon
speaks in the teacher’s place,
The age is
weary with work and gold
And high
hopes wither, and memories wane,
On hearths
and altars the fires are dead:
But that
brave faith hath not lived in vain,
And this
is all that our watcher said.”
(Frances
Brown.)
The
Golden Age (vs. 13-15)
Nothing short of inspiration can account for such a close
to such a book.
Throughout his prophecies Amos has been exposing national
sinfulness,
threatening Divine chastisement, picturing the degradation,
the desolation,
the captivity of the kingdoms of
is able to transcend this distressing representation? to
look beyond these
gloomy clouds? to discern, whether far or near, the vision of a smiling
earth, a happy people, a splendid prosperity, an eternal
joy? It is not the
force of human reasoning; it is not the impulse of delusive
hope. No; IT IS
THE PRESENCE OF THE DIVINE SPIRIT that has purged the prophet’s
spiritual vision, so that he sees the glory yet to be; it
is this that touches the
prophet’s tongue, so that the wail of sorrow and distress
is changed into
the shout of triumph and the song of joy.
“The
world’s great age begins anew,
The golden years return;
The
earth doth, like a snake, renew
Her winter weeds outworn;
Heaven
smiles, and faiths and empires gleam
Like wrecks of a dissolving dream.”
- THE PICTURE
OF PROSPERITY. We notice as depicted:
Ø
The fruitfulness
of the soil. The crops of corn, the
summer
vintage, follow each other
in quick succession. From the laden
vineyards and adown the
sunny slopes flow rivers of delicious
wine. The boughs of the
trees are weighed down with fruit. For
the tillers of the soil and
the dwellers in the cities there is “enough
and to spare.” (Luke 15:17)
Ø
The peopling of
the towns and villages. The banished
ones have
returned. The once-silent
streets resound with the noise of traffic,
with the voices of men,
with the songs of the happy.
Ø
Security and
perpetual possession. No longer do the
dwellers
in the fenced cities arm
themselves and man their walls against the
foe; no longer do the
husbandmen dread the incursions of marauders.
Quiet resting places and a
sure habitation are secured by THE
GOODNESS OF
into PRIMAEVAL
- THE REALITY WHICH THIS PICTURE
REPRESENTS.
Ø
By many interpreters
this vision of peace and happiness is deemed
predictive of national
prosperity still awaiting the scattered children of
of Jacob. A converted
to the
to the Messiah long
rejected, but
now and henceforth to be held
in honor and to
be served with devotion. Planted, and no more to
be plucked up, the chosen people
shall flourish like the green bay tree,
like the cedar in
Ø
Other interpreters
pass straight from this vision of prosperity and
gladness to the spiritual
prospect which it opens up to the eyes of the
believers in God’s Word, of
the disciples of Christ. There is peace
of which the seat is the
conscience, the heart, of man. There is plenty
for the satisfaction of
man’s deepest wants. There is a sure abiding
place for the faithful in
the care and love of the Eternal There is a
kingdom which is “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy
Ghost” (Romans
14:17). There
is a city of which every renewed
man becomes a denizen, nay,
an immortal citizen. There is
prosperity in which the
poor, the feeble, the despised may share.
And there are songs
of gladness and of thanksgiving in which
all the redeemed and saved shall join!
Out of the Shadow into
the Sun (vs. 13-15)
blown out. The clouds are scattered. The shadow of “the
great doom’s
image” has lifted. And now the sun comes out in the clear
shining after
rain. We look forth on a new land of promise, a land from which
the curse
of God and the
track of the destroyer have disappeared.
The ruins are
rebuilt. The waste places bloom. The fields throw teeming
crops, beyond
the harvester’s power to gather. The erewhile sinful and down-trodden
people are prosperous and
pure and free. It is a scene of
idyllic beauty and
peace — a happy finale to the dark storm times that
have gone before.
This time will be:
·
A TIME OF TEEMING PLENTY. Figures of unheard of fertility and
abundance are multiplied.
1. Seed time and harvest should
overlap. “The ploughman shall overtake
the reaper,” etc. With a certain difficulty of defining the exact idea
here, the
general purport of the language
is plain. The teeming crops could scarcely
be gathered till another seed
time had come, or else growth would be so
quick that the harvest would
begin as soon as the seed time was over. So
Shakespeare:
“Spring
come to you at the farthest
In the
very end of harvest.”
This rich promise was not now
recorded for the first time. Conditionally on
obedience, it had been made by the mouth of
Moses seven centuries before
(Leviticus 26:5). But,
absolutely made, it assumes a new value now.
And as the events in it are
altogether impossible in the natural world, it
must obviously be taken in a
spiritual sense. The plenty, like the previously
threatened famine (ch. 8:11), was not to be one of bread and water,
but “of hearing the words of the
Lord.” In the spiritual sphere the seed time
and the harvest may come
together. The man who goes forth with seed
may return with sheaves (Psalm
126:6). Indeed, the Samaritan fields
were “white unto harvest”
(John 4:35), when, as yet, the sowing had
only begun. In such a case
poetic figure becomes literal truth, and
soon as she travails, brings
forth (Isaiah 66:7-8).
2. The mountains should drop wine spontaneously. The vineyards of
were on the mountain slopes. Of
the plethora of over-rich grapes with
which they would be loaded many
would burst, and in the spontaneous
discharge of their juice the
mountains would literally “drip new wine.”
(Joel 3:18) This process, in its
spiritual analogue, is more wondrous and
delightful still. Spiritual plenty has its inevitable and enriching
overflow.
Freely have ye received, freely give. (Matthew 10:8) Spiritual character
is always imparting of itself in
spiritual influence. From the gracious lip there
drops continually the new wine
of “a
word in season.” (Proverbs
15:23) And
the religious
life, “lived not for ourselves,” is a tide of helpful action beating
perpetually on
the shore of others’ lives.
3. The hills should dissolve themselves in the products they
yield. This is
the force of the expression, “All
the hills shall melt.” The rich earth
throws
its own substance into the
teeming crops it bears. The richer it is the
larger
proportion of its substance is
expended in this process. Pure leaf mold
would, in this way, almost
totally disappear, transforming itself entirely into
grain or fruit. In the spiritual
sphere self-surrender for others is a law of
life. Christ gave Himself, and
Christians give themselves, for men. “I will
very gladly spend
and be spent for you” (II Corinthians
12:15) is the
philosophy, not alone of Paul’s,
but of all Christian living. The gracious
heart expends itself in helpful
action. The sum total of philanthropic effort
in the world is just the concreted
spiritual energy of the godly company.
·
A TIME OF NATIONAL RESTORATION. (v. 14.) Each term here
has a spiritual reference, and
the whole has an ultimate spiritual fulfillment.
This comes:
1. Generally, in the breaking of every yoke by Christ. Sin is bondage —
enthralment by the devil, the world, and the flesh. Ceremonialism was
bondage — subjection to “weak
and beggarly elements”
(Galatians 4:9)
in symbolic and wearisome
observance. From both Christ comes a Liberator.
He “makes an end
of sin” (Daniel 9:24) in every aspect; “destroying the
devil,” “delivering from this present
evil world” (Galatians 1:4), and
fulfilling His righteousness in
men “who
walk not alter the flesh,
but after the
Spirit.” (Romans 8:1)
a.
He abolishes type,
substituting for it the thing typified:
b.
for the shadow,
the substance; f
c.
or the Law, “grace and truth.”
2. For individuals, when the Son makes them free. Spiritual bondage
cannot survive believing union
with Christ. His blood dissolves the chains
of guilt. His Spirit breaks
the bonds of indwelling sin. Acceptance with
God is not conditioned on an
impossible obedience to the whole Law, “for
we are not under
the Law, but under grace” (Romans
7:6). The life of
self-surrender is not made
burdensome by a carnal nature, “for the law of
the Spirit of life
in Christ Jesus hath made us free from the law of sin and
death.” The conditions of the life of joyous fellowship are
presented in the
inwraught spirit of adoption, and the “Abba, Father” of the
free, on Spirit
opened lips (ibid. ch.
8:15, 21; John 4:18). They are free indeed,
whom, trebly loosing thus, the
Son makes free.
3. For the nation, when brought into the Church during the
millennial era.
Their conversion in
the latter days is distinctly and repeatedly foretold
(Hosea 3:4-5; Romans 12:12, 15,
23; II Corinthians 3:16).
National restoration this may
not strictly be, but it is more than equivalent
to it. When the long
wandering return, when the hearts cold and embittered
for ages glow with heavenly love, when
the veil drops that hung on mind
and sense, when the
broken-off branches are set again in the good old olive
tree, a spiritual fulfillment will have come of Amos’s words,
more glorious
than any literal or local one,
as the glory of the second temple exceeds the
glory of the first.
·
A TIME OF RESETTLEMENT IN THEIR OWN LAND. (v. 15.)
In three classes of events, come
or coming, we have as many steps in the
fulfillment of this promise.
1. The return from the Babylonish exile. The captivity was
God’s final,
because effective, disciplinary
measure.
with heathen gods and heathen ways. Osiris and Isis in
Ashtaroth in
which, in
bitterest prescription had succeeded, and soon the patient, cured abroad,
was ordered home. Amidst
tremendous difficulties,
the temple rebuilt, and the land
in a measure resettled, and so an
approximate fulfillment of
Amos’s glowing prophecy realized (Ezra 7:13, etc.).
2. The calling of
the Gentiles. They are the spiritual
children of Abraham (Galatians
3:7-9). They throw off the yoke of the
mystic
“inherit the
earth,” as their own land; repair the
ruins, and restore the
spiritual wastes left by sin;
and they revel in “the feast of wines on the
lees,” etc. “Throughout the world Churches of Christ have arisen
which,
for the firmness of faith, may
be called cities; for the gladness of hope,
vineyards; and for the sweetness of charity, gardens” (Pusey).
3. The future restoration of the Jews to
(Ezekiel 28:25; 36:28; 37:25). God
does the work (ibid. ch. 34:11-13)
through Gentile agency (Isaiah
49:22; 66:20). “They are to be
nationally restored to the favor
of God, and their acceptance publicly
sealed by their restoration to
their land” (David Brown, D.D.). Converted
Church (Isaiah 59:21; 66:19; Ezekiel
39:29; Micah 5:7). Held
again by the old people, her
cities rebuilt, her grandeur restored, her broad
acres reclaimed and fertile, and, above all,
JESUS CHRIST on the throne
of the nation’s heart,
(Ezekiel 20:6)
·
ALL THIS SECURED BY INFALLIBLE GUARANTEE. There is
no romancing with inspired men.
What they say is coming, as God is true.
The pledge of this is:
1. God’s character. “Saith Jehovah,”
i.e. “the One who is.”
a.
He is Reality as
against the seeming,
b.
Substance as against the typical,
c.
Veracity as against
the deceiving,
d.
Faithfulness as
against the changeful.
As being Benevolent He is true, human happiness depending
on
confidence in His character. As Independent he is true, being above
all possible temptation to
deceive. As
Unchangeable He is true, falsehood
being essentially a change of
character. As Omnipotent He is true, the
use
of moral agents in free and yet
infallible execution of His purposes
being
possible only as His
Word is a revelation of His thought.
2. His existing relation. “Thy God.” Not a God unknown. Not a God
apart. Not a God untried. In His present attitude, His covenant relation,
His past deeds, in all such
facts is “confirmation strong.” The God they
connect themselves with is A GOD TO TRUST! His perfections are the
strands, and His
relation their twining together, in the cord of confidence
not quickly broken, which binds the
soul to His eternal throne.
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