Amos 9:9-12 David’s Tabernacle

“For surely I will command,

And will sift the house of Israel among all nations,

As grain is sifted in a sieve;

Yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground.

All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword,

Who say, ‘The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.’

“On that day I will raise up

The tabernacle of David, which has fallen down,

And repair its damages;

I will raise up its ruins,

And rebuild it as in the days of old;

That they may possess the remnant of Edom ,

And all the Gentiles who are called by My name,”

Says the LORD who does this thing.

“For surely I will command, and will sift the house of Israel among all nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve; Yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground.”

How terribly has this prophecy been fulfilled in human history! Since the day they cried, “Let His blood be upon us and on our children,” how the sword, the torch, and the plough of the Roman armies desolated the foundation of the beloved city, Jerusalem . Since that day in 70 A.D. until only 60 years ago, for almost two millennia, the suffering of the Jewish people has been unparalleled. From the siege of Jerusalem until the Holocaust, they have been persecuted, and their race has become a byword. Perhaps no two chapters in human history show more the work of the devil than do the Jews in Nazi Germany and before that, the history of the Jews in Spain . An industrious people, they have prospered wherever they have been planted, but their wealth has been extorted from them. Wherever they roam, they could never be sure of life and limb. Their torture has served as the amusement of monarchs and mobs.

In 1868, Charles Spurgeon preached these words: “Nation of God’s election, yet to be restored to joy, for whom a glorious future is certainly ordained – how has thou been trodden as the more in the street! … O God, how long? When wilt thou return and bid Judah ’s Lion-standard once more wave in triumph? When shall the throne be restored unto Jerusalem , and the kingdom of Judah ? When shall the long-expected Messiah set up the kingdom, which shall endure forever?”

Verses 11-15 of Amos’ prophecy mention several important things about a future Golden Age of Israel. While Bible scholars differ in their interpretations, if these verses are to be taken literally, which we should unless there is a prevailing reason to take them figuratively, then they refer to a future time of coming blessing upon a literal nation.

In 1865 Spurgeon spoke of such a time, “ Israel is now blotted out from the map of nations her sons are scattered far and wide; her daughters mourn beside all the rivers of the earth. Her sacred song is hushed; no king reigns in Jerusalem ; she bringeth forth no governors among her tribes. But she is to be restored; she is to be restored “as from the dead.” When her own sons have given up all hope of her, then is God to appear for her. She is to be reorganised; her scattered bones are to be brought together. … “I will place you in your own land,” is God’s promise to them. They shall again walk upon her mountains, shall once more sit under her vines and rejoice under her fig trees. And they are also to be reunited. There shall not be two, nor ten, nor twelve, but one Israel praising one God, serving one king, and that one king the Son of David, the descended Messiah.”

Can you think of a legitimate manner in which the prophecy of Amos 9:11 – the restoration of David’s fallen tabernacle – has already been fulfilled? Read Romans chapter 11; it contains Paul’s hopeful discourse as to how these promises will come to pass in Israel ’s future.

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Man’s Breath & God’s Breath – John 7

A new PDF document from Bread of Life Fellowship is now available on SermonAudio.com with the following details:

Title: Man’s Breath & God’s Breath
Subtitle: John 7
Speaker: Pastor Joseph LoSardo
Broadcaster: Bread of Life Fellowship
Event: Sunday Service
Date: 11/7/2004
Bible: John 7:11-18

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Amos 9:11-15 The End of a Long Night

Our journey through this long tunnel is accomplished, and we have emerged into glorious sunlight. So vivid is the contrast between Amos 9:11-15 and the rest of the prophecy, that some have felt that this final section could not have been the work of Amos himself, but rather some post-exilic writer who wanted the book to end on a positive note. But such criticism cannot stand up to examination.

Is this gloriously bright ending to this dark prophecy that unexpected though? None would deny that the book of Amos is full of judgment, yet right from the beginning God has also carefully woven into the prophecy an emphasis upon His faithfulness. The preaching of judgment has carried with it a call to repentance (4:12, 5:14-15, 24). We have found Amos to in the Moses-like role of a compassionate intercessor (7:2,5). We have seen the God whose terrifying roar was heard throughout the land was none other than Yahweh – the God who keeps His covenant and shows His mercy. Thus God remains faithful to the unconditional covenant He first made with Abraham (Gen. 15 and 17), as well as the conditional covenant with Moses affirmed by the Jewish people at Sinai (Exod.19 and 20). It is in the light of these covenant relationships that we understand both the severity of the judgment for violations, and the ultimate salvation of the faithful. So this vision section of the prophecy, which in chapter 7 began with judgment averted, now ends with an eternal promise of judgment finished forever. In these final 5 verses Amos gives us a glorious glimpse of the future salvation of those who have rested securely on the foundation of grace, and thus found themselves plumb with the law.

In this oracle of surpassing beauty, Amos reveals 5 aspects of that glorious day: 1) the revelation of the King, 2) the end of the separation of the nations, 3) the end of the curse upon the earth, 4) the end of the captivity of the people of God, and 5) the final inheritance of an eternal land.

This week compare and contrast this passage with other prophetic glimpses of the future: Isaiah 11-12; 24; 32:1-2; 35; Ezekiel 40-48; Zephaniah 3:14-20, Zechariah 14.

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Amos 9:7-10 The Sifting

There is a line from a popular contemporary Christmas song that goes: “And man shall live forever more because of Christmas day.” Is this a true statement? Does a mere date on a calendar guarantee eternal life to anybody, let alone everybody, as the song suggests? Surely the Universalist can sing these words and believe them, but not the Christian. The Christian realizes that Christ’s wondrous birth in a stable, by itself secures nothing – man does not live forever more because of a day, but because the Word made flesh finished the work resulting in the ongoing course of action, namely, saving His people from their sins.

Yet man often thinks of his own salvation as an event that has taken place in his own history. One large ministry advocates that one should write down their ‘spiritual birthday,’ that is the date they came to Christ, in order to gain assurance of one’s salvation. Many professing Christians point to a day they, ‘prayed the prayer with Billy Graham on television,’ or walked an aisle of a church or signed a decision card. But can we really say that we live forever more because of the day we confessed belief in Christ?

In verse 7 of Amos chapter 9, God reveals that He does not look with favor upon the nation of Israel because of any particular privileged historical day in their past. Lest they get an overinflated notion of a relationship with God based upon the flesh, God reminds Israel that their exodus from Egypt was no different than that of Philistia or Syria. In verse 8 God calls Israel a sinful kingdom, as He is not interested in their ability to call upon their spiritual past, but is more concerned with their moral present. Even so, the purpose of God in judgment of the nation was not complete annihilation, but salvage (verse 9). So God shakes up the pretending people in order to shake out the fakes and to purify a people marked by holiness. While sifting out the chaff, He safeguards every kernel of wheat so that not one falls to the ground.

In the same manner, many in what constitutes the church of today are relying upon a once-said faith, or in the act of baptism, or church membership, as the evidence of their salvation. But God is not interested in your spiritual past; He is interested in where you were last night, your business dealings this week, your mindset in worship right now. In order to make your calling and election sure, you must not dangle before God what you did on some past day, but rather the true mark of your election is your present life and your present and continuing faith – a persevering faith that is tried and purged in the sieve of affliction.

Jesus told Peter that although Satan would sift him like wheat, he assures Peter, “I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail” (Lk 22:32). We can be thankful to God that despite the war on pretence which He wages in the church, with all the power of divine omnipotence, that not one hair of the head of the elect will be hurt as He purifies a holy people called by His name.

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