Vision of the Altar: No Escape
Study note
In the fifth and final vision, Amos sees the Lord standing at the altar, commanding that it be struck so hard the whole building shakes. This vision pictures total destruction of Israel's corrupt worship system. No one will escape -- God declares that He will hunt down every last person. Whether they dig down to the grave or climb up to heaven, hide on the mountaintop or dive to the bottom of the sea, or even go into exile, God's judgment will find them.
1 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar. He commanded: "Strike the tops of the pillars hard enough to shake the whole doorframe. Bring the roof crashing down on everyone's head. Whoever is left, I will hunt down with the sword. Not a single one will get away. Not one will escape." I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.
2 "Even if they tunnel down to the grave, I will reach in and pull them out. Even if they climb all the way to heaven, I will drag them back down." Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:
3 "Even if they try to hide on top of Mount Carmel, I will track them down and grab them. Even if they dive to the bottom of the ocean to hide from me, I will order the sea serpent to bite them." And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:
4 "Even if their enemies haul them off as prisoners of war, I will command the sword to execute them there. My eyes are locked on them — and not for their benefit." And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.
The Power of the Almighty God
Study note
Amos describes the overwhelming power of God. When God touches the earth, it melts like wax. He builds His upper rooms in the heavens and sets the foundation of His sky over the earth. He calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the land. The LORD is His name. No one can resist or escape such a God.
5 The Lord GOD of Armies touches the earth and it dissolves. Everyone on it mourns. The whole land heaves up like the flooding Nile and sinks back down again. And the Lord GOD of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.
6 He builds his upper rooms high in the heavens and sets the dome of the sky over the earth. He scoops up the ocean water and pours it out as rain across the land. The LORD is his name. It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name.
God Judges but Preserves a Remnant
Study note
God reminds Israel that He is the God of all nations, not just Israel. He brought the Philistines from Caphtor and the Syrians from Kir, just as He brought Israel from Egypt. God will destroy the sinful kingdom, but He makes an important promise: He will not completely destroy the house of Jacob. He will sift Israel among the nations like grain through a sieve, but not one faithful person will be lost. However, every sinner who dismisses the warning will die.
7 "Israel, are you truly any different to me than the Ethiopians?" the LORD asks. "Sure, I brought Israel up from Egypt — but I also brought the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir." Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?
8 "The Lord GOD has his eyes locked on this sinful kingdom, and I will wipe it off the map. But I will not totally destroy every last one of Jacob's descendants," the LORD says. Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.
9 "I am giving the order to shake the house of Israel among the nations, the way grain is shaken in a sieve. But I will not let a single genuine kernel fall through and be lost." For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.
10 All the sinners among my people — the ones who smugly say, "Disaster will never catch us" — they will die by the sword. All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.
The Promise of Restoration
Study note
The book ends with one of the most beautiful restoration promises in all of Scripture. God will rebuild the fallen house of David and restore it to its former glory. The land will become incredibly fruitful -- the harvests will be so abundant that the plowman will catch up with the reaper. God will bring His people back from exile, and they will rebuild their ruined cities, plant vineyards, and enjoy their gardens. Most importantly, God promises to plant them in their own land, never to be uprooted again.
11 "On that day, I will rebuild the crumbling house of David. I will patch its holes, repair what is broken, and restore it to its former glory." In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:
12 "Then Israel will take back what is left of Edom. They will take every nation that belongs to me." The LORD says this. He will make it happen. That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.
13 "A day is coming," the LORD says, "when the harvest will be so enormous that the plowman preparing for the next crop will bump into the harvester still bringing in this one. The grape planter will run into the person still crushing last season's grapes. Sweet wine will drip from the mountains, and all the hillsides will flow with it." Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.
14 "I will bring back prosperity to my people Israel. They will rebuild the cities that were destroyed and move back into them. They will plant vineyards and drink the wine. They will grow gardens and enjoy the food." And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
15 "I will plant them firmly in their own soil, and they will never again be yanked out of the land I gave them," says the LORD your God. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.