Reason for Hope - Amos 7-9
Notes
Transcript
The LORD says
Hear this Word
This is what the LORD God Showed me
Four Visions
Four Visions
Devouring locusts (7:1-3)
Fire (7:4-6)
Plumb Line (7:7-9)
Story Time
Story Time
Summer Fruit and the End (8:1-14)
Amos is prophesying against the king Jeroboam (7:9) - There is an interruption in the visions in Amos 7:10-17. A story begins in verse 10. Things are getting too close to home so the priest, paid by the king, attacks Amos and tells him to flee and prophesy to Judah. He says, go home! Notice how the priest calls the Bethel shrine a temple of the kingdom, not of God.
Amos clarifies his call in Amos 7:14-16. he says he’d rather be working but because God called him there is nothing he can do about it. Then he repeats his message and amplifies it.
Fourth Vision
Fourth Vision
Summer Fruit and the End (8:1-14) - There is a wordplay going on here that we don’t see in English.
Summer Fruits - קַיִץ qayits
End - קֵץ qets
The word for summer fruits is קַיִץ (qayits)—the word for summer. The word for end is קֵץ (qets). What do you see? I see a קַיִץ (qayits). Well, that’s because it’s really a קֵץ (qets)—the same root, the same consonants being involved there.
He is speaking again of exploiting the poor. God responds in 8:7-14. He says the world order will be overturned. Verse 11 says there will be a famine of God’s Word.
There’s not going to be any more prophecy—no more prophetic words of hope or restoration. Israel is not going to receive any help now from their shrines, from Dan in the north to the south. Wherever their shrines are, God is going to be silent and not intercede on their behalf.
The Fifth Vision - Nowhere to Hide
The Fifth Vision - Nowhere to Hide
Amos 9:1-10 - Judgment is going to come to everyone. No one will escape. There will be nowhere to hide from God’s wrath. Remember this is about 750BC when he prophesies and the destruction came in 722BC.
Reason for Hope
Reason for Hope
Amos 9:11-15 - Verse 11 says on that day again referring to the Day of the Lord. We saw the Day of the Lord before as a day of judgment, but here it is a positive day of the Lord.
We are not sure what it is referring to when it says “I will raise up the booth of David” because David’s family is still on the throne, but it could be looking at two future stages:
The loss of the house of David
The restoration of the Davidic line
The purpose of this restoration is found in verse 12 - It is talking about bringing the foreign nations back under the control of God. It is going to be good and there will be blessing. This is prophesy again in 750 and looking ahead to Israel exile (722) and Judah exile (586) and now the prophesy is looking beyond this when they will be brought back. In verse 15, Amos says
I will plant them on their land,
and they shall never again be uprooted
out of the land that I have given them,”
says the Lord your God.
Israel and Judah will ultimately be reunited in the land.