Vision of the Stricken Doorposts
Verse 1 – I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and He said: “Strike the doorposts, that the thresholds may shake, and break them on the heads of them all. I will slay the last of them with the sword. He who flees from them shall not get away, and he who escapes from them shall not be delivered.
The shrines, fortresses, and palaces will come down. Also the leaders are described as pillars that will be cut down.
Verse 2 – “Though they dig into hell, from there My hand shall take them; though they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down;
Though they go into the deepest of caverns, or climb to the highest of mountains, God will find them.
Verse 3 – And though they hide themselves on top of Carmel, from there I will search and take them; though they hide from My sight at the bottom of the sea, from there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them;
Verse 4 – Though they go into captivity before their enemies, from there I will command the sword, and it shall slay them. I will set My eyes on them for harm and not for good.”
Psalm 34:15, 16 – The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears open to their cry. (Verse 16) The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off remembrance of them from the earth. For those who would not repent judgment was coming, for those who followed after righteousness, He heard their cries.
Do you see the difference? Those who repent and receive Christ’s righteousness, God hears their prayers and cries. Until a person repents, His eyes on them are for harm, not good.
Verse 5 – The Lord God of hosts, He who touches the earth and it melts, and all who dwell there mourn; all of it shall swell like the River, and subside like the River of Egypt.
Verse 6 – He who builds His layers in the sky, and has founded His strata in the earth; who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the face of the earth – The Lord is His name.
Verse 7 – “Are you not like the people of Ethiopia to Me, O children of Israel?” says the Lord. “Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?
The point here is that God had moved many nations to their homelands, not just Israel. God would judge Israel no different that He would judge other nations.
Verse 8 – “Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth; yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” says the Lord.
The punishment would not be permanent to Israel. God wants to redeem, not punish. Like a loving Father He will discipline us when necessary.
Verse 9 – “For surely I will command, and will sift the house of Israel among the nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve; yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground.
Although Assyria would destroy Israel and take the people into exile, some would be preserved. God said He will save a remnant, and so He does.
Verse 10 – All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, who say, ‘The calamity shall not overtake us nor confront us.’
Verse 11 – “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;
Verse 12 – 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.
When the Assyrian’s attacked Israel and the Babylonians attacked Judah, the temple that Solomon built was destroyed. But God says the there would always be a descendant of David to sit on the throne. That promise will be fulfilled when the Messiah returns to rule and reign who will renew His kingdom forever.
Verse 13 – “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; the mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it.
There will be such a harvest of crops that the people won’t be able to keep up.
Verse 14 – I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; they shall also make gardens and eat fruit of them.
Verse 15 – I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them.” says the Lord your God.
This prophecy has yet to be fulfilled. This concludes the Book of Amos. Just as the other prophets we’ve read, taught us that destruction doesn’t have to come, if only the people would repent and turn back to our heavenly Father. He controls it all and loves us.
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