Amos 9
Today's Passage: Amos 9
Romans 8 solidifies the hope of those who place saving faith in Jesus Christ—"In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Paul uses extreme figures of speech to illustrate the magnitude of God’s unstoppable salvation. In our circumstances, in our struggles, in the fight of the Christian life, by the help of God’s Holy Spirit, nothing can stop the salvation purchased by the blood of Christ applied to those who repent and surrender to him by faith.
Amos 9 begins with the converse to Romans 8:37–39. Verse 1 declares the judgment that sin deserves, pictured as collapsing a roof on the enemies of God. Then, Amos begins the extreme figures to illustrate the magnitude of God’s inescapable wrath. Although it’s not a one-to-one with Romans 8, we do see some striking similarities:
Here’s the point, God’s wrath is coming upon the wicked, and there is nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. God will not be stopped.
As bad as this is, hope is not lost. Verse 9 illustrates that God will fulfill his promises to Israel (see Dt. 30). They will be shaken, but not lost. The prideful among God’s people who hold faith in anything less than Jesus Christ will meet the same fate as the wicked (10). However, God will fulfill His promise starting in verse 11.
God will not only fulfill his promises to Israel, but notice verse 12, “all the nations who are called by my name.” The great scandal of the New Testament is the inclusion of Gentiles into God’s salvation plan. Here we see that plan plain as day over 700 years before Christ was born.
Verse 13 vividly illustrates the abundance that God’s people will experience. Plowing usually began around October/November and harvesting ended the growing season around April/May. “The plowman shall overtake the reaper,” means that the harvest was so abundant that the reapers are still working when the next harvest season begins. Similarly, the wine-pressers will still be treading grapes when new seeds are sown. The grapes will be so big and so vast that the planted hill-sides and mountains will appear to be flowing in the same way that loose mud rushes down the hillside.
Which destiny do you want—inescapable destruction or overwhelming wealth and abundance? It’s hard to tell the exact time that the Lord will “restore the fortunes of my people Israel” (14), but it seems likely that this promise is still in the future. In either case, the hope we have in Christ is like this description or better.
For reflection:
Take some time to reflect on verses 11–15. Consider the abundance of verse 13 and ask God to show us the areas of your life where you’ve settled for less than God’s best by growing apathetic to your sin.
Written By: Tyler Short
Romans 8 solidifies the hope of those who place saving faith in Jesus Christ—"In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Paul uses extreme figures of speech to illustrate the magnitude of God’s unstoppable salvation. In our circumstances, in our struggles, in the fight of the Christian life, by the help of God’s Holy Spirit, nothing can stop the salvation purchased by the blood of Christ applied to those who repent and surrender to him by faith.
Amos 9 begins with the converse to Romans 8:37–39. Verse 1 declares the judgment that sin deserves, pictured as collapsing a roof on the enemies of God. Then, Amos begins the extreme figures to illustrate the magnitude of God’s inescapable wrath. Although it’s not a one-to-one with Romans 8, we do see some striking similarities:
Romans 8, “death nor life” Amos 9, “Sheol, heaven,”
Romans 8, “height nor depth” Amos 9, “top of Carmel, bottom of sea”
Romans 8, “rulers, powers” Amos 9, “go into captivity (for protection)”
Here’s the point, God’s wrath is coming upon the wicked, and there is nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. God will not be stopped.
As bad as this is, hope is not lost. Verse 9 illustrates that God will fulfill his promises to Israel (see Dt. 30). They will be shaken, but not lost. The prideful among God’s people who hold faith in anything less than Jesus Christ will meet the same fate as the wicked (10). However, God will fulfill His promise starting in verse 11.
God will not only fulfill his promises to Israel, but notice verse 12, “all the nations who are called by my name.” The great scandal of the New Testament is the inclusion of Gentiles into God’s salvation plan. Here we see that plan plain as day over 700 years before Christ was born.
Verse 13 vividly illustrates the abundance that God’s people will experience. Plowing usually began around October/November and harvesting ended the growing season around April/May. “The plowman shall overtake the reaper,” means that the harvest was so abundant that the reapers are still working when the next harvest season begins. Similarly, the wine-pressers will still be treading grapes when new seeds are sown. The grapes will be so big and so vast that the planted hill-sides and mountains will appear to be flowing in the same way that loose mud rushes down the hillside.
Which destiny do you want—inescapable destruction or overwhelming wealth and abundance? It’s hard to tell the exact time that the Lord will “restore the fortunes of my people Israel” (14), but it seems likely that this promise is still in the future. In either case, the hope we have in Christ is like this description or better.
For reflection:
Take some time to reflect on verses 11–15. Consider the abundance of verse 13 and ask God to show us the areas of your life where you’ve settled for less than God’s best by growing apathetic to your sin.
Written By: Tyler Short
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