Tyndale Open Study NotesAmos 9

This section contains five visions. It is helpful to compare how these visions develop with the judgments listed earlier in Amos 4:6–11.

The judgments listed there include:

• famine,

• drought,

• destruction of crops,

• plagues, and

• widespread destruction.

• I saw the Lord (see Amos 7:1): God stopped explaining how or why he would punish Israel; he was ready to act.

• beside the altar: Judgment must start at the center of worship (compare 1 Peter 4:17). This altar likely refers to the Bethel shrine, but it could also mean the temple in Jerusalem.

God is everywhere (compare Psalm 139:7–12). When people trust, believe, and obey God, his presence is a great blessing. However, because Israel rejected God's message, his presence would bring judgment instead of comfort.

to Sheol: In the Old Testament, Sheol is a place under the earth where the dead live.

• Mount Carmel is not the tallest mountain in the area, but it often symbolizes the land's beauty and richness.

• the serpent: In the ancient Near East, people saw the sea as a symbol of chaos, often opposing the national god (compare Psalms 74:14; 89:10; 104:26). The biblical text does not treat the sea monster as a god. Leviathan, also called Rahab, is shown as a creature under the Lord’s authority (Psalm 89:9–10). God commands and judges this creature, showing his power over it (Isaiah 27:1).

  In this passage, Amos shows that God has power over everything. Even the sea serpent must obey him and serve his purposes.

Amos uses a third hymn fragment (also Amos 4:13; 5:8–9) to remind Israel that God rules over everything.

• the Cushites: Cush (see Genesis 10:6–7) was south of the Second Cataract of the Nile (compare Isaiah 18:1) and was often linked with Egypt, its neighbor to the north.

• Israel's exodus from Egypt is compared to two other ancient migrations: the Philistines from Crete (see also Jeremiah 47:4) and the Arameans from Kir (compare Amos 1:5; 2 Kings 16:9).

God would punish Israel by uprooting and scattering them, but he would never destroy them completely. A small group would always remain.

Even the Lord’s most severe judgment is just. God destroys only those who persist in sin. He does not lose a single faithful person. The Lord saves the righteous, who remain faithful to him.

Amos describes true worship of God as centered on the Jerusalem temple. A descendant of David rules over a united kingdom, including both Israel and Judah (compare Isaiah 9:6–7; 11:1–5).

Like many prophets, Amos ends his list of judgments with a message of hope and renewal. Even though Jerusalem and its temple would be destroyed, David's line of kings would be cut off (Psalm 89:38–51), and the people would be taken captive, God would restore a small group of Israelites (see also Isaiah 2:2–4; 4:2; 11:1–5).

• Edom (see Amos 1:11) symbolizes the enemies of God and Israel (see Isaiah 34:5–6, 11; 63:1). During the time of restoration, God's enemies will be subject to his people and to God himself.

• the nations that bear my name: God promised Abraham that he would be a blessing to all the people of the earth (Genesis 12:2–3). God's kingdom will welcome the outcasts and foreigners who were previously excluded (Isaiah 56; see Acts 8:27–39).

The future will restore the natural harmony lost in Eden (Genesis 3) and will bring a new era of prosperity.

The mountains will drip with sweet wine: Amos poetically describes a future when people live in harmony with God's creation.

God promised not to destroy his people entirely (Amos 9:8). He promised to bring the surviving few back to the land (see Hosea 2:23).