Amos 9:12-15 - I will plant them on their land

9:12

Israel herself will be restored, rebuilt, but then this will spread globally. She will start to have an impact on other nations. We need to be careful when we read phrases like “possess the remnant of Edom”. We can read this as possess in a worldly, dominant sense. Rather it means the spread of Israel’s true purpose, which is that all nations on earth will be blessed through her (Gen 12:3).

“All the nations who are called by my name”. God’s plan has always been universal.

“Declares the Lord who does this”. It is God who works salvation. We are utterly dependent upon Him. That most definitely does not make us automatons or passive partners, but active participants on God’s plan.

9:13-15

The picture here is one of abundance. The harvest would be so great that the workers would bump into each other, there was so much to harvest. There would also be an abundance of wine.

God will restore the fortunes of His people Israel. So we see His covenant faithfulness. We need to see the two sides of the prophecy of Amos together, and must not set them as being in opposition. Likewise, in our attitude towards Israel we must hold both sides. Israel always has been a sinful nation, just as the whole of the human race is a sinful race. Yet God has declared His promises to Israel, and the books of the Bible make it clear that He intends to keep those promises. Israel will be blessed. Indeed, if God is not capable of somehow overcoming the problem of a sinful nation receiving the promises of God, then neither can you or I receive the promises of God. But in Christ we do receive the promises, and in Christ Israel will receive the promises. In fact, there is a wonderful symmetry here. We Gentiles have learnt much from Israel and God’s workings with her, as described in the Old Testament, one day Israel as a whole will learn how we have received God’s blessing through Christ, and so they will eventually receive God’s blessings through Christ.

Notice after declaring the blessing, God then says “and they shall ...”. God’s salvation never leaves us helpless, but makes us fruitful and active participants in His plans.

And this blessing will be permanent. There is no hint in Amos of how God will manage to square the circle, only a very clear declaration that He will. There is no denying the sin of Israel, but equally there is no denying the blessings that will come Israel’s way.