seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Amos 9:1 I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said:
“Strike the tops of the pillars
so that the thresholds shake.
Bring them down on the heads of all the people;
those who are left I will kill with the sword.
Not one will get away,
none will escape.
2 Though they dig down to the depths below,
from there my hand will take them.
Though they climb up to the heavens above,
from there I will bring them down.
3 Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,
there I will hunt them down and seize them.
Though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea,
there I will command the serpent to bite them.
4 Though they are driven into exile by their enemies,
there I will command the sword to slay them.
so that the thresholds shake.
Bring them down on the heads of all the people;
those who are left I will kill with the sword.
Not one will get away,
none will escape.
2 Though they dig down to the depths below,
from there my hand will take them.
Though they climb up to the heavens above,
from there I will bring them down.
3 Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,
there I will hunt them down and seize them.
Though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea,
there I will command the serpent to bite them.
4 Though they are driven into exile by their enemies,
there I will command the sword to slay them.
“I will keep my eye on them
for harm and not for good.”
for harm and not for good.”
5 The Lord, the Lord Almighty—
he touches the earth and it melts,
and all who live in it mourn;
the whole land rises like the Nile,
then sinks like the river of Egypt;
6 he builds his lofty palace[a] in the heavens
and sets its foundation[b] on the earth;
he calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out over the face of the land—
the Lord is his name.
he touches the earth and it melts,
and all who live in it mourn;
the whole land rises like the Nile,
then sinks like the river of Egypt;
6 he builds his lofty palace[a] in the heavens
and sets its foundation[b] on the earth;
he calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out over the face of the land—
the Lord is his name.
7 “Are not you Israelites
the same to me as the Cushites[c]?”
declares the Lord.
“Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt,
the Philistines from Caphtor[d]
and the Arameans from Kir?
the same to me as the Cushites[c]?”
declares the Lord.
“Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt,
the Philistines from Caphtor[d]
and the Arameans from Kir?
8 “Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord
are on the sinful kingdom.
I will destroy it
from the face of the earth.
Yet I will not totally destroy
the descendants of Jacob,”
declares the Lord.
9 “For I will give the command,
and I will shake the people of Israel
among all the nations
as grain is shaken in a sieve,
and not a pebble will reach the ground.
10 All the sinners among my people
will die by the sword,
all those who say,
‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’
are on the sinful kingdom.
I will destroy it
from the face of the earth.
Yet I will not totally destroy
the descendants of Jacob,”
declares the Lord.
9 “For I will give the command,
and I will shake the people of Israel
among all the nations
as grain is shaken in a sieve,
and not a pebble will reach the ground.
10 All the sinners among my people
will die by the sword,
all those who say,
‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’
11 “In that day
“I will restore David’s fallen shelter—
I will repair its broken walls
and restore its ruins—
and will rebuild it as it used to be,
12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom
and all the nations that bear my name,[e]”
declares the Lord, who will do these things.
I will repair its broken walls
and restore its ruins—
and will rebuild it as it used to be,
12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom
and all the nations that bear my name,[e]”
declares the Lord, who will do these things.
13 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman
and the planter by the one treading grapes.
New wine will drip from the mountains
and flow from all the hills,
14 and I will bring my people Israel back from exile.[f]
and the planter by the one treading grapes.
New wine will drip from the mountains
and flow from all the hills,
14 and I will bring my people Israel back from exile.[f]
“They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them.
They will plant vineyards and drink their wine;
they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 I will plant Israel in their own land,
never again to be uprooted
from the land I have given them,”
They will plant vineyards and drink their wine;
they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 I will plant Israel in their own land,
never again to be uprooted
from the land I have given them,”
says the Lord your God.
a. Amos 9:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
b. Amos 9:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
c. Amos 9:7 That is, people from the upper Nile region
d. Amos 9:7 That is, Crete
e. Amos 9:12 Hebrew; Septuagint so that the remnant of people / and all the nations that bear my name may seek me
f, Amos 9:14 Or will restore the fortunes of my people Israel
I read a few commentaries this morning.... but the easy English is easiest to read.
The Lord is ready to speak again. Amos shows us a picture of God standing by a temple. There were usually columns on a temple. They supported the building. But God is going to break these columns. Everything will shake. When this happens people will die. God wants to be sure that people will die. He will even chase them with a sword.
God controls everything everywhere. It is impossible to hide from him. Even the grave is not safe. God’s anger is like a fire. It will even burn the ‘grave below’ (Deuteronomy 32:22). Even if people escape to heaven God will bring them back.
Carmel was a high mountain. On it, there were forests with many trees. It was a good place to hide. The bottom of the sea was also a good place to hide. Jonah probably thought that he was safe in the fish (Jonah 2:6-7). People believed then that a large dangerous ‘snake’ lived in the sea. It lived at the very bottom. But God would search everywhere in the deep sea. He would find the people who were escaping from him. Then he would give his order to the snake to kill them.
Even exile would not be a protection. The people in exile must die too. God was going to watch them closely. This is usually a sign of God’s good plans for a person (Jeremiah 24:6). But now God wanted them to die. The Israelites deserved this because they had done so many wrong things.
Verses 5 and 6 are probably from a song. But Amos has used the song as part of God’s judgement. God has huge power. He can destroy the world if he wants to. Amos refers to the Nile again. He did this in 8:8. God has power over the rivers. He can shake the earth too. The people in Israel deserved all of God’s anger.
God now speaks again. Israel was not different from other nations. The Ethiopians, Egyptians, Philistines and Arameans were all special to God too. God led Israel out of Egypt. But he also led the Philistines from Crete to their country. And he led the Arameans from Kir to Syria. (We do not know where Kir was.)
There are sinful people in Israel. They think that they will live. But Amos does not want to give them any hope. They will certainly die.
In the final verses of Amos, there is hope. The ten tribes in the north had separated themselves from Judah. This was sad. King David had wanted unity for his country. Jerusalem was now going to fall. The Babylonians would take Jerusalem. Amos was interested in the future. He looked back to David’s time, but he was really thinking of the future. The word for ‘has fallen’ could also mean ‘ is going to fall’. Perhaps Amos was looking forward to the fall of Jerusalem. This happened in 539 B.C. Later, the Jews returned to Jerusalem and built the wall again. We read about this in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. But after Jesus’ time the Romans sent most Jews out of the land. They have only returned in large numbers since 1947.
David defeated the people who lived in Edom. But then Edom fought back against Solomon (1 Kings 11:14) and became free (2 Kings 8:20). Edom represents the enemies of Israel. Another leader would follow David. He would be the Christ. He would defeat Israel’s enemies. He would also rule the world.
Amos now gives us two pictures. In this future time, there would be a lot of food. As soon as a person had harvested a crop, someone else would sow the next crop! Grapes were an important crop in Israel. In the future, there would be a huge amount of wine. There would be more wine than the people could drink.
Again, Amos looks to the future. He looks beyond the exile. The Jews would be able to return to their land. They would be able to do normal things. They would be able to grow plenty of food for themselves. There would be enough to eat. There would be security.
This is from the blueletterbible.org site.He who flees from them shall not get away: This is God's way of saying, "You can run, but you can't hide." Even if you tried to dig into hell or climb up to heaven, you can't escape your responsibility before God. A high mountain (Carmel) or the bottom of the sea can't hide you from judgment.
The Lord GOD of hosts, He who touches the earth and it melts: This isn't just a flowery introduction. When Israel remembered who God is - understanding all His might and glory - then they acted in a way that brought Him glory. Constantly, Amos and the other prophets teach us what we should do based on understanding who God is.
Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom: It is striking - and terrible - to hear Israel called the sinful kingdom. God wants all His people to be deeply impressed that they cannot presume upon His mercy or their "chosenness."
Israel thought the Ethiopians were a remote and insignificant people, so God says, "Are you not like the people of Ethiopia to Me?" God also reminds Israel, "Yes, I brought you up out of Egypt, but I also brought the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir. Don't think you are so special that you become proud and presumptuous. You are a sinful kingdom."
I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land: So many of the warnings from the prophet Amos are about the threat of coming captivity and exile. God promises restoration, and looks forward to the day when Israel will never again be pulled up from the land.
Back when Amos was talking about the locusts.... and Al Jazeera was reporting on a locust infestation..... I found out that God has created a little bug that will only live on the lava. In my old age I have come to realize that every weird bug I have ever found.... had a purpose. The purpose of those bugs that will only live on lava.... procreation!!!! Those bugs attract birds.... birds eat and poop seeds.... pollen attaches to a birds feathers too..... and when those birds drop down to nibble on a bug living on lava..... they plant a seed or spread pollen. So the purpose of that little tiny bug is to attract life..... by dying... that little bug is starting a whole new crop...... God is so minute in His design.... right down to the tiny little bug.The commentaries don't quite know what to do with verse 5. It talks about the earth melting under God's touch. It talks about the earth rising like the Nile..... and in verse 6 he talks about the sea flooding the shore. Tsunami!
I'm just an old woman with an online Bible and some online commentaries. I have just enough information to make me dangerous. In verses 5 and 6 I see a meteorite, a quake, and a tsunami. Touching the earth to make it melt..... meteor...... lifting the land like the Nile rises..... quake..... pouring the sea onto the land..... tsunami.
Everyone.... everywhere.... globally.... will know when the time comes..... it'll be loud. If an earth ending quake were to happen right now.... where could everyone hide? I've read about quakes that are way up there on richter scale..... humans have a scale 0-10.... It amazes me that people seem to forget.... God's richter scale is planet shattering. Verse 11 though.... it says God will be judicious.... He could definitely destroy the planet.... but He won't.... He made a promise to David.... and in spite of our human behavior problems.... God does love us.
An earthquake so horrible that the rocks are going to scream in pain...... is going to happen..... I figure the only ones that will survive that quake would be the ones who realize the God is the Only Living God.... Creator of Heaven and Earth. There will be a few.... who will be protected because we believe. He'll take us up so when that meteor hits..... and dries up the aquifer..... and brings on volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunami's..... we won't be hurt.
Those lazy, self absorbed, over indulged, morons who "run the world" from their sofa..... they won't see it coming until it's too late..... and there won't be anywhere to hide. When God does His final Judgement..... "you can run.... but you can't hide".
