Amos 9 Devotional
Pastor Mark Hudson
The Bible is such an interesting book. All this book seems to be is a stinging rebuke to the nation of Israel. Yet there are messages of hope. Depending on who you interpret v. 12 of Amos 3, you might find hope there. See also Amos 5:4, 6, 14, 15, 24; 7:2, 3, 5, 6. But in this chapter we see the hope that was hinted at in these previous verses. God is always warning and always offering hope. His warnings in this chapter are dire. There is no escaping His ominous warning. One wonders how they, and we, can ignore such dreadful promises of wrath. Makes one wonder about the condition of anyone’s heart who can hear and ignore such calamitous threats.
If someone hides in the capitals, God will kill them. If they go down to Sheol, “from there shall my hand take them; if they climb up to heaven, form there I will bring them down. He will find them on top of Carmel and even the bottom of the sea. God will even follow them into captivity. He strengthens His promise of judgment, saying “I will fix my eyes upon them for evil and not for good. This word of wrath continues to verse 10
In this last chapter, the threats of judgment are more stringent, while at the same time, His promises of blessings are clear and certain. Amos speaks of a day in the future (“In that day” v. ll and “the days are coming” v. 13) when those who do repent and believe will experience what God has all along wanted to do for His people. God wants to bless us.
God’s desire to bless us is a stunning truth. God is constantly blessing His people or wanting to bless them. This blessing of people and His creation begins in Genesis 1:22 and concludes in Revelation 22: 1-5 (although the word is not used here), 7, and 14. In the call of Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3, bless is used 5 times. We find a similar emphasis on blessing in the Old Testament (Gen 17:1-8 [again the word is not used but the concept is]; Gen 30:43, Gen 48ff; Deut 28:1-14; II Sam 7:8-16; et al).
This weaving of warning and blessing is something we see in the ministry of our Lord, Paul, and other New Testament writers. These men are always warning; always speaking of God’s judgment. Yet they are always talking about joy, satisfaction, being free from sin. Christ speaks like this because in Him opposites meet. As Piper writes in Desiring Godp. 83, “. . . in him we meet infinite glory and lowest humility, infinite majesty and transcendent meekness, deepest reverence toward God and equality with God, inifite worthiness of good and greatest patience to suffer evil, supreme dominion and exceeding obedience, divine self-sufficiency and childlike trust. (see The Excellencies of Christ in The Works of Jonathan Edwards vol 1. pp. 680ff.)
So in reality these are not opposites but reside together in perfect harmony. If Christ is the great treasure in the universe so that He ought to be loved, adored, obeyed, and worshiped by every human being, does it not stand that there will be punishment for those who do not love Him? And does it not make sense that we should invite people into His eternal and endless joy and warn those who reject this fountain of living water for the stagnant cesspools of this age?
So Amos ends with a promise of blessings. These verses 9:11ff is the hope Amos offers. We will look at Acts 15 soon but notice the phrases “in that day” v. 11 and “the days are coming v. 13 that points to the future. We see this partially fulfilled with the exile and return but we know the apostles thought these verses were fulfilled in the inclusion of the Gentiles in the church. This is the fulfillment that Peter speaks about in Acts 15:7-11. Then James in v. 13ff quotes this section of Amos to help the early church leaders see that the Gentiles coming to faith was not a problem to be solved but rather the fulfillment of Amos’ prophecy. James, in Acts 15, quotes Amos 9:11ff.
It is easy to overlook what Gentiles being called meant to these Jewish Christians. Gentiles included as God’s people, called by Him, repenting and placing their faith in the Messiah, and being included in the church was a cause of great rejoicing yet great turmoil. Yet, Amos saw the fact that God would call Gentiles just as He called Abram out of Abram’s pagan background. Amos’ line of “all the nations who are called by my name, declares the LORD who does this” is in concert with what Peter, Paul, Barnabas, and James were telling the church in Acts 15.
God calls people out of sinful backgrounds. You and I are examples of that. Paul wrote in I Cor 6:9ff, “Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,3 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you.
This is God’s work; taking people like us, like those described in I Cor 6 and turning us into His children who love Him, serve Him, and live a life trying to bring honor to His Son.
Father, I know I deserve the judgment Amos wrote about in 9 ½ chapters in his book. But by Your grace, and only by Your grace, I have forgiveness, peace with you, and enjoy the benefits in this life of knowing You and the sure and certain hope of eternal life. Help me to live Coram Deo, always before Your face. Give me the power to resist sin. Thank you for including a Gentile like me into Your eternal kingdom. That is still so hard for me to fathom. For the glory and honor of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.