Amos 9
9:1 a I saw ... the Lord (see 7:1 b): God ceased to reveal how or why he would punish Israel; he was now poised to act.• beside the altar: Judgment must begin with the center of worship (cp. 1 Pet 4:17 c). This altar probably refers to the Bethel shrine, although it could refer to the Temple in Jerusalem.
Summary for Amos 9:2-4: 9:2-4 d God is inescapable (cp. Ps 139:7-12 e). When people trust, believe, and obey God, his inescapability is a great blessing. But because Israel rejected God’s revelation, his presence would mean judgment, not comfort. 9:2 f to the place of the dead (literally to Sheol): In the Old Testament, Sheol is a place beneath the earth where the dead have their abode.
9:3 g Though Mount Carmel is not the highest mountain in the region, its lofty grandeur often represents the beauty and richness of the land.
• sea serpent: In the ancient Near East, the sea was a symbol of chaos, often pitted against the national god (cp. Pss 74:14 h; 89:10 i; 104:26 j). However, the biblical text does not grant divine status to the sea monster (“Leviathan,” also called “Rahab”; Ps 89:9-10 k) but sees it as subject to the Lord’s command and judgment (Isa 27:1 l). Here, Amos portrays God’s sovereign power to summon the sea serpent to his service.
Summary for Amos 9:5-6: 9:5-6 m Amos uses a third hymn fragment (also 4:13 n; 5:8-9 o) to remind Israel that God’s domain is universal.
9:7 p the Ethiopians (literally the Cushites): Cush (see Gen 10:6-7 q) was south of the Second Cataract of the Nile (cp. Isa 18:1 r) and was often linked with Egypt, its neighbor to the north.
• Israel’s exodus out of Egypt is compared to two other ancient migrations: the Philistines from Crete (see also Jer 47:4 s) and the Arameans out of Kir (cp. Amos 1:5 t; 2 Kgs 16:9 u).
9:8 v Although God would severely punish Israel by uprooting and scattering them, he would never completely destroy them. A remnant would always exist.
Summary for Amos 9:9-10: 9:9-10 w Even the Lord’s most severe judgment is just. Only the sinners are destroyed, but not one true kernel will be lost; God will save the righteous, who are faithful to him.
Summary for Amos 9:11-15: 9:11-15 x As the prophets often did, Amos closes his litany of judgments with a message of hope and restoration. Though Jerusalem and its Temple would be destroyed, David’s line of kings cut off (Ps 89:38-51 y), and its people taken into captivity, God would restore a remnant of Israel (see also Isa 2:2-4 z; 4:2 aa; 11:1-5 ab).
Summary for Amos 9:11-12: 9:11-12 ac Amos portrays true worship of God as built around the Jerusalem Temple, with a descendant of David ruling over a united kingdom including both Israel and Judah (cp. Isa 9:6-7 ad; 11:1-5 ae).
9:12 af Edom (see 1:11 ag) represents the enemies of God and of Israel (see Isa 34:5-6 ah, 11 ai; 63:1 aj). In the time of restoration, God’s enemies are subject to his people and to God himself.
• the nations I have called: God promised Abraham that he would be a blessing to all the people of the earth (Gen 12:2-3 ak). God’s kingdom would embrace the outcasts and foreigners previously excluded (Isa 56 al; see Acts 8:27-39 am).
Summary for Amos 9:13-15: 9:13-15 an The coming age would restore the natural harmony lost in Eden (Gen 3 ao) and would bring a new era of prosperity. 9:13 ap the hills ... will drip with sweet wine: Amos points poetically to a future time when humans would once again live in harmony with God’s creation.
Summary for Amos 9:14-15: 9:14-15 aq God promised not to completely destroy his people (9:8 ar) but to bring the surviving remnant back to the land (see Hos 2:23 as).
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