Session 4 Amos 9:5-15
PREPARE: Write the following quotes on a board or large sheet of paper,
omitting the source of the quote:
“Hope springs eternal.”
“Where then is my hope?” ~
“Nothing can be done without hope”
“This hope will not disappoint us”
Read aloud each quote,
directing the group to listen and determine which come from the Bible and which do not,
using a thumbs up or a thumbs down signal as you read each.
Then share the source for each quote.
In our previous sessions,
Amos shared the hope that God would save a remnant from Israel,
but he was clear that any hope for that
had to be accompanied by the repentance of the Israelites.
EXPLORE
Utilizing Pack Item 2 (Poster: Outlines of Amos; Jonah; Hosea; Micah)
and Understand the Context (p. 37),
briefly overview the five visions in Amos 7-9.
Emphasize that God’s judgment is unfolding in each of the visions with certainty,
but Amos proclaimed a glimmer of hope for a remnant of Israel if they repent.
Amos presented a hymn about God who reigns supremely over His creation.
God is portrayed as having authority over both heaven and earth, and therefore cannot be escaped.
Amos presented a hymn about God who reigns supremely over His creation. God is portrayed as having authority over both heaven and earth; therefore, no one can escape His judgment.
Call for a volunteer to read aloud Amos 9:5-6,
guiding the group to listen for how God is portrayed.
5 The Lord, the GOD of Armies — he touches the earth;
it melts, and all who dwell in it mourn;
all of it rises like the Nile and subsides like the Nile of Egypt.6 He builds his upper chambers in the heavens
and lays the foundation of his vault on the earth.
He summons the water of the sea and pours it out over the surface of the earth.
The LORD is his name.
Read Isaiah 55:8-9.
Emphasize that God is not of this earth.
His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts.
Lead the group to consider how the Isaiah passage compares to how Amos portrayed God.
Amos announced the coming judgment on Israel,
comparing them to overthrown kings and kingdoms.
The prophet warned of a shaking that would take place of which the people of Israel would not be excused.
Read Amos 9:7-10
aloud as the group listens for excuses given for exemptions from God’s judgment.
7 Israelites, are you not like the Cushites to me?
This is the LORD’s declaration.
Didn’t I bring Israel from the land of Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor,
and the Arameans from Kir?8 Look, the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom,
and I will obliterate it from the face of the earth.
However, I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob —
this is the LORD’s declaration —
9 for I am about to give the command, and I will shake the house of Israel
among all the nations, as one shakes a sieve,
but not a pebble will fall to the ground.
10 All the sinners among my people who say,
“Disaster will never overtake or confront us,”
will die by the sword.
Direct the group to review comments about verse 7 (p.41)
for background on the comparison kingdoms pointed to by Amos.
Invite volunteers to propose
reasons a person might give for being exempt from God’s judgment.
Lead the group to compare this list to ways the people in Amos’s day felt exempt.
The message delivered by Amos appears to be pessimistic and full of gloom,
but thankfully it doesn’t end on that note. Even though the Northern Kingdom and Southern Kingdom would fall,
a new day was coming. A remnant would remain,
and the lineage of David would continue to provide the Messiah realized in the coming of Jesus Christ.
Instruct the group to read Amos 9:11-15,
guiding them to look for words of hope that follow God’s shaking.
11 In that day I will restore the fallen shelter of David:
I will repair its gaps, restore its ruins,
and rebuild it as in the days of old,
12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom
and all the nations that bear my name —
this is the declaration of the LORD;
he will do this.13 Look, the days are coming — this is the LORD’s declaration —
when the plowman will overtake the reaper
and the one who treads grapes, the sower of seed.
The mountains will drip with sweet wine, and all the hills will flow with it.
14 I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel.
They will rebuild and occupy ruined cities,
plant vineyards and drink their wine, make gardens and eat their produce.
15 I will plant them on their land,
and they will never again be uprooted from the land I have given them.
The LORD your God has spoken.
Write the prefix Re on the board or a large sheet of paper.
Call attention to the statement:
God would replant His people in their own land
with a fruitfulness that could never be taken away.
They would never again be thwarted or supplanted
from their place in God’s story of redemptive history,
as Messiah would usher in a period of spiritual peace and prosperity
that could never be equaled (p.43).
Solicit responses to the highlighted statement.
Amos’s prophecy ends in a promise of hope for the future.
We can be thankful that our hope
now rests in our relationship with Jesus Christ.
Read the summary statement:
God offers hope to those who return to Him in repentance.
Discuss examples that support this statement from each of the three session points:
The Introduction, The Shaking, The Restoration.
Distribute Pack Item 8 (Handout: Memory Verses Bookmark)
to anyone in the group who hasn’t received a copy.
Direct attention to the memory verse for the session, Amos 5:15.
Read it together as a summary of the expectations of God proclaimed by Amos.
Lead the group to share their response to the question set
under Apply the Text (p. 39):
Discuss the role your group plays in sharing the hope of salvation to all the nations. What actions should your group take to more effectively call all people to turn to God in repentance? Affirm ideas that point to praying for others. Direct the group to jot down any names that come to mind in the margin of their book.
Guide a time of silent prayer
for the specific people identified as in need of a Savior.
Pray that the group will support each other in sharing the hope
and forgiveness found in Christ with others.
Reinforce the study by praying specifically for opportunities to offer hope to others through your own faith in Christ. Tell the group about someone for whom you are praying and how you plan to share the gospel with him or her.
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AMOS 9:5-15
MEMORY VERSE: AMOS 5:15
The best hopes are not passive. A football team can hope to win, but those hopes must be accompanied by action. The team would be foolish to sit on the couch all week and somehow hope to win the game. A future college graduate cannot start studying the night before graduation. Four years of action must accompany those hopes. Amos earlier had expressed the hope that God would save a remnant from Israel (Amos 5:15), but that hope was to be accompanied by the repentance of Israelites.
(In PSG, p. 37)
As we conclude the book of Amos, we can make several observations. First, God sometimes uses unlikely people to do His work. Amos was a businessman involved with raising livestock and growing figs. He apparently had no formal theological training or support back home when God sent him from Judah to Israel as His prophet. Nevertheless, Amos was willing to obey God and deliver a difficult message to a difficult audience.
Second, every nation is under the authority of God and will answer to Him for their actions. This accountability to God includes the people of God.
Third, greater blessing brings greater responsibility. Israel had repeatedly experienced God’s covenant kindness through His salvation, protection, provision, and revelation. No other nation had experienced God’s kindness as Israel had, and no other nation was chosen to be God’s light to the nations as Israel was. As His children, God held Israel to a higher standard than He did the other nations.
Fourth, God expects His people’s worship to be an expression of sincere devotion to Him and His Word. Israel’s worship gatherings were more about them than about God. The people lacked integrity and fidelity as they proclaimed their devotion to Yahweh. Therefore, God rejected their selfish, pretentious religious activities.
Fifth, the day of the Lord will be a day of darkness and calamity for anyone who is ungodly—no matter who they are or what they claim to be.
Sixth, it is impossible to offer acceptable worship to God and at the same time to take advantage of others or neglect those in need. God is opposed to those who do such things.
Seventh, when people are unfaithful to God and lack concern for others, God’s judgment is imminent, and there will be severe consequences for such behavior.
Eighth, God’s message of judgment through His messengers is a demonstration of His mercy and grace. Throughout their history, the people of Israel had received plenty of warnings concerning their behavior, but God mercifully and graciously gave them one more opportunity to repent and return to Him.
Ninth, God would someday restore and bless His people through the person and work of the Messiah (Amos 9:11-15).
EXPLORE THE TEXT
Amos presented a hymn about God who reigns supremely over His creation. God is portrayed as having authority over both heaven and earth; therefore, no one can escape His judgment.
5 The Lord, the GOD of Armies — he touches the earth; it melts, and all who dwell in it mourn; all of it rises like the Nile and subsides like the Nile of Egypt.
The hymn in verses 5-6 is connected to verses 1-4. In Amos 9:1-4, Amos saw the final of five visions God had given him concerning His judgment on Israel. Amos saw the Lord standing by the altar, most likely the one at Bethel—the site of Israel’s most cherished place of worship, the sanctuary of the king, and a royal temple (3:14; 7:13). Bethel was the center of Israel’s false religion. What’s more, the altar had great significance in Israel. It represented God’s forgiveness, the place to appease the wrath of God and to enjoy peace with Him. It repre-sented fellowship with God and commitment to Him. The people believed it to be a place of sanctuary from having to pay for one’s offenses (Ex. 21:13-14; 1 Kings 1:50-51; 2:28-29). Ironically and scornfully, it is at the altar God commanded the total destruction of the shrine and the deaths of everyone involved in the false reli-gion (vv. 1-4). The emphasis of the vision is that though people would try, no one would be able to escape God’s judgment.
For a third time, Amos included a hymn after delivering a message of judgment to highlight God’s power to carry out His judgment (see Amos 4:13; 5:8-9). In verse 5, the phrase, the Lord, the GOD of Armies, points to the magnitude of God’s preeminence and omnipotence. God has authority over all things and the ability to carry out all that He says He will do. He has the host of heaven at His disposal, and no one can withstand Him or flee from His wrath. No place in all of creation is beyond His reach. The Lord merely touches the earth, and it melts, meaning to tremble and shake as in an earthquake. Those who experience it will mourn. The land will rise and fall like the flooding of the Nile when the earth quakes at the Lord’s touch (8:8). God will display such awesome power in judgment through this earthquake that it will come in like a flood, and its devastation will be overwhelming. Amos preached his message to Israel “two years before the earthquake” (1:1; see also Zech. 14:5).
6 He builds his upper chambers in the heavens and lays the foundation of his vault on the earth. He summons the water of the sea and pours it out over the surface of the earth. The LORD is his name.
The Lord’s dwelling place reaches to the heavens and its foundation is on the earth. His sovereign authority is transcendent over all of creation from top to bottom. Therefore, attempting to flee His judgment would be futile. Moreover, God not only sits in authority over all of creation but also directs it as He pleases. Amos used the example of how God draws the water from the sea to cause it to rain on the earth to demonstrate this truth.
The hymn of Amos 9:5-6 ends with the statement, the LORD is his name. LORD is Yahweh in Hebrew, God’s personal and covenant name to Israel. This was their personal God, whom they had ignored and rejected, who would do these things—the God who saved the Israelites and chose them to be His treasured possession (Ex. 19:4-6).
(In PSG, p. 40)
7 Israelites, are you not like the Cushites to me? This is the LORD’s declaration. Didn’t I bring Israel from the land of Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Arameans from Kir?
Besides Israel’s military superiority, economic prosperity, and fervent religious activity, there was one more reason the people doubted Amos’s words of judgment upon Israel: Israel was God’s chosen, covenant people, His treasured possession out of all the nations (Ex. 19:5). Because of this, it appears they believed they were exempt from the judgments God levied against the other nations. They behaved as if since their ancestors had made a covenant with the Lord, then the Lord was obligated to bless them no matter what. After all, is He not a loving, gracious God?
Verse 7 and the following verses set out to correct this faulty thinking by asking a rhetorical question concerning four foreign nations, all requiring an answer of “yes.” The first was the Cushites. Cush, or ancient Nubia, was located south of Egypt, below the second cataract/waterfall of the Nile River. It was an area that is today a part of Sudan. Cush probably seemed like remote and insignificant to Israel, yet the Lord had as much to do with establishing that nation as He did the nation of Israel. God cared about the Cushites as much as He did the Israelites.
Just as God brought the Israelites from the land of Egypt to the land of Canaan, God had brought the Philistines from Caphtor and established them in the area of Gaza, southeast of Israel. He brought the Arameans from Kir to establish Aram, northeast of Israel. Both were longtime enemies of Israel, nevertheless it was God who established them. Just as God promised to destroy Philistia and bring calamity to Aram for their wickedness, God would do the same to Israel (1:7-8; 1:4-5).
8 Look, the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, and I will obliterate it from the face of the earth. However, I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob — this is the LORD’s declaration — 9 for I am about to give the command, and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations, as one shakes a sieve, but not a pebble will fall to the ground. 10 All the sinners among my people who say, “Disaster will never overtake or confront us,” will die by the sword.
Echoing verse 4, Amos continued saying that the Lord’s eyes were on the sinful kingdom. Apparently, the sinful kingdom was Israel, and Amos’s message is clear: God would obliterate it from the face of the earth. The next statement appears to contradict this when the Lord declared, I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob. However, there is no contradiction. The Northern Kingdom would cease to exist as a socio-political structure, yet the Lord would preserve for Himself a remnant of people from the house of Jacob who remained faithful to Him. The Lord’s mercy and gracious covenant promises would prevail in spite of Israel’s sin as a nation.
God’s judgment on Israel would be a purifying act of removing waste. That which remained would be used for the glory of God. God would continue to use the remnant to be a light to the nations and ultimately an instrument of His salvation. God would give a command to shake Israel like grain in a sieve. A sieve allows the grain to escape while catching that which is undesirable, such as husks, pieces of stalks, pebbles, and dirt, so it can be discarded. The phrase not a pebble will fall to the ground means no person who rejected the Lord would escape His judgment. The purpose of God’s judgment was to remove those who rejected the Lord and to save those who had been faithful to Him.
Verse 10 reiterates what was said in verses 7-9. First, God would make a distinction between those who were sinners among my people and the remnant of believers who remained faithful. This implies that some would survive and remain in the land. Second Chronicles 30:1 indicates this when King Hezekiah of Judah invited those who remained in the north after the Assyrian conquest to come to Jerusalem to keep the Passover. Nevertheless, those who were sinners among God’s people and saying, Disaster will never overtake or confront us, continued to ignore God’s warnings through His prophet. They were self-deceived. As God’s chosen people they believed they were exempt from judgment and even tried to muzzle the prophets who spoke to the contrary (Amos 2:12; 7:16). Israel defied God and then claimed immunity from His judgment because they believed themselves to be the people of God. This has been a major theme throughout the book of Amos.
Second, sinners in verse 10 links these people to the sinful kingdom in verse 8. The Northern Kingdom of Israel as a politically organized government would experience judgment and annihilation just like the other wicked kingdoms Amos spoke of in his initial message (1:1–2:6). These sinners would die by the sword. This is the last of eight references to the sword. God would use an invading nation as His executioner. Amos was most likely preaching in the Northern Kingdom sometime between 760-755 BC. The Assyrians plundered and destroyed Israel’s capital, Samaria, in 722 BC (2 Kings 17:3-6; 18:11-12). With the earthquake that happened two years after Amos delivered his message, and with the nearly forty year time span between the time Amos warned Israel until the time the end came, God gave Israel plenty of time to repent and turn back to Him. But they would not (Amos 1:1; 9:4-5).
(In PSG, p. 42)
11 In that day I will restore the fallen shelter of David: I will repair its gaps, restore its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old, 12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name — this is the declaration of the LORD; he will do this.
God had made a covenant with David, stating that He would establish David's throne through his offspring forever (2 Sam. 7:12-13). God’s promise to David echoed His covenant with Abraham (Gen. 17:1-9). Just as God promised that Abraham and his descendants would be a blessing to the nations (Gen. 12:1-3; 18:17-19), so the Davidic king would be a blessing to the nations (Ps. 72). The Davidic king was to embody the blessings and missional purpose of the Lord for the nation of Israel in continuation with God’s covenant with Abraham.
Yet when Solomon died, the kingdom split in two, the south was ruled by the Davidic line, and the north was ruled by a number of wicked dynasties. The great kingdom of David was disintegrating. Nevertheless, God remembered His covenant with David, and Amos reaffirmed God’s promise. Instead of saying “house of David,” Amos said shelter. Shelter refers to a temporary shelter, such as a tent or a lean-to made of branches. Such structures were weak and susceptible to collapse, just as David’s kingdom had become. Nonetheless, Amos declared the day would come when the Lord would re-establish the throne of David and his kingdom in all its former glory. The New Testament writers recognized Jesus to be the fulfillment of this promised king from the line of David.
People from every nation who once stood in opposition to God, as represented by Edom, would one day become part of a renewed Israel under the authority of the coming Son of David who will rule over it. The nations that once rebelled against God would bear the name of the Lord. This denotes the Lord’s ownership of them and intimate relationship with them. Up to this point, only Israel could rightly say it was called by the name of the Lord (Deut. 28:9-10). Amos indicated that God would fulfill His purpose for Israel through this Davidic King in being a blessing to all of the nations. James recalled this in Acts 15:15-18, “And the words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written: ‘After these things I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. I will rebuild its ruins and set it up again, so that the rest of humanity may seek the Lord—even all the Gentiles who are called by my name—declares the Lord who makes these things known from long ago.’”
13 Look, the days are coming — this is the LORD’s declaration — when the plowman will overtake the reaper and the one who treads grapes, the sower of seed. The mountains will drip with sweet wine, and all the hills will flow with it. 14 I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel. They will rebuild and occupy ruined cities, plant vineyards and drink their wine, make gardens and eat their produce. 15 I will plant them on their land, and they will never again be uprooted from the land I have given them. The LORD your God has spoken.
Amos not only foresaw the imminent judgment of Israel but also the restoration of Israel accompanied with abundant blessing in four agricultural activities: plowing, reaping, treading, and planting. The land would be so fertile that the reaper would not be able to collect his harvest before it was time for the plowman to begin breaking ground for the next season. Normally, there existed approximately a six-month period between the time of reaping and plowing. Furthermore, those who tread the grapes with their bare feet would not be finished with their job before it would be time to sow more seed. Amos provided a word picture describing the mountains dripping with new wine and the hills flowing with it.
The prophet continued to describe how God would restore His people Israel and even bestow upon them greater blessing than what they had ever experienced as a nation. God declared that this restoration and blessing of Israel was based on His covenant faithfulness, calling them my people. They would rebuild and inhabit their homes and cities that had been devastated as a result of God’s judgment. They would be able to plant vineyards and drink the wine they produced. And they would be able to cultivate gardens and enjoy the fruit of their labors, in contrast to the judgment of deprivation they would experience in their immediate future (Amos 5:10-11).
In Amos 9:15, the prophet concluded his message by recalling God’s faithfulness to His promise to Abraham, “And to you and your future offspring I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as a permanent possession, and I will be their God” (Gen. 17:8). God would plant them on their land and they will never again be uprooted. The land was God’s promised gift to His chosen people and tangible proof to every Israelite that He was their God. Being planted in the promised land meant enjoying their inheritance from the Lord as His children. It meant blessing, security, and inclusion within God’s covenant people. The people could trust that all of this would come to pass because it was the Word of the Lord their God.
It is interesting to note that Amos concluded his message with two significant expressions in Amos 9:14-15. The Lord called them my people, and He called Himself the LORD your God. There is no greater blessing believers may experience than hearing the Lord say to us, “You are My people, and I am your God.”
(In PSG, p. 44)
Salvation (Regeneration)
Regeneration is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. (See Ezekiel 36:26; 2 Corinthians 5:17.)
Review cross reference verses to gain insight.
Review the following verses that recognize Jesus as the Son of David: Matthew 12:23; 15:22; 21:9,15; Mark 12:35-37; Revelation 5:5. What do these verses reveal about God’s fulfilling His purpose to restore Israel through the “booth of David” (v. 11)? In what ways did Jesus personify the idea of “booth” during His time here on earth?