Israel was about to come under terrible judgement, from which there would be no escape. No matter where they went they would not escape. Even if circumstances seem to have spared them, this would be proved to not be the case.
It is significant that God is pictured as standing by the altar, for the altars and temples had become places of false worship. God is reminding them that He cannot be mocked.
Then we are reminded that all creation belongs to God. He is Lord of all.
Israel had become presumptuous. She took pride in the fact that she had been brought out of Egypt. But other nations had come about by being transferred from one place to another. This was not the unique feature of Israel. The identifying feature of Israel was supposed to be her relationship with the Lord.
Judgement would come, but some would be spared. However, those who said disaster would never come would perish. So it is today. You can say there is no God, you can say there will be no judgement, but then do not complain when you find out you are wrong. Far better to listen to Jesus, far better to repent and believe.
Amos has been a book of almost unremitting judgement, but finally it closes on a more positive note. Some see this as evidence that the last few verses were not written by Amos. This is nonsense and is in fact only evidence of the short sightedness of such critics. First it fits in very well with the message, for Amos has just said that a remnant would be spared, so it makes perfect sense to say what will happen to the remnant. Secondly it is in keeping with the whole repeated message of the Bible. Sin is a very serious problem, sin leads to death, but there is a way out.
There will be complete restoration for the remnant. They would rebuild and restore. We should also pay attention to these verses when considering the place of Israel in history. She has and does suffer judgement from God, but even so, there will come a time when she is restored completely.
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