Amos 9:11-15

Amos chapter 9, verses 11 to 15 for our text and study this evening. In that day, will I raise up the tabernacle of David that has fallen and close up the breaches thereof, and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of all, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the heathen which are called by my name, saith the Lord that doeth this. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowmen shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth sea, and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and the hills shall melt. And I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them. And they shall plant vineyards, drink the wine thereof. And they shall also make gardens and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land. And they shall no more. more be pulled up out of their land, which I have given them, Seth the Lord God. Then, if you would, turn with me in the New Testament to the book of Acts chapter 15. Acts chapter 15 beginning with verse 12, then all the multitude kept silence and gave all of all of audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brother, parking unto me, Simon have declared how God, at the first did visit the Gentiles to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets. prophets as it is written. After this, I will return and build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down, and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up, that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. Known under the Lord are all his works. From the beginning of the world. God blessed to us the reading of His Sacred and Holy Word this evening. During Israel’s 40-year journey through the wilderness, they lived in tents, and they worshipped God in a tabernacle, which was a tent-like structure. And they move from place to place, and the tabernacle had to be taken down by the Levites and put back up again repeatedly. Upon entering the promised land, however, the tabernacle gave way to a more permanent building where God had Solomon, you recall, build the temple, which was a house of cedar and stone, a permanent place, enduring place of worship. I find it interesting. The interesting that Amos here refers to the nation of Israel as the tabernacle of David. No doubt with a reference to the Davidic covenant, God’s promise to put someone on the throne of the kingdom. There is an indication that national Israel was not a permanent structure. David’s son, the one that the one that, that’s greater than Solomon, came to build the true temple of God, the New Testament Church. That was, of course, Jesus Christ, who declared, I will build my church. And it’s interesting to find Paul calling the New Testament Church in the book of Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 21, the Holy Temple. In Jesus Christ, we have a spiritual church. We have a spiritual church. kingdom that far transcends the physical kingdom of the nation of Israel. The tent has been taken down and the Holy Temple of God has been erected in its flakes. Amos here provides a glimpse of hope in these last few verses of the chapter. Amos has given. you a very climactic picture of God’s judgment upon Israel throughout this book, and we particularly focused on the northern kingdom and what was going to happen in verses 1 to 10 of this chapter. For the faithful remnant among the corrupt nation, God promises hope. In verse 9, they would not pass through the sieve of God unnoticed. but he would capture them and keep them from being lost or destroyed. But God clearly indicates that carnal Israel, Israel after the flesh, is not his people. And yet in the midst of this awful catastrophe that awaits the nation, God here speaks about the rebuilding of what is going to be destroyed. The faithful remnant, are given hope here for the future. And the people of God will obtain a most glorious state in the future. Now let’s talk this morning or this evening about the restoration of David’s fallen tabernacle from a verses 11 and 12 here of the chapter before us in Amos, chapter 9. Here we have the name of the name of the chapter before us. of Israel is going to fall. Indeed, it is spoken of here as fallen. Amos is not changing his message. His sermon contains both bad news about destruction and good news about future restoration. Those who are at ease in Zion, as we read about, in chapters 6 are going to be destroyed. Captivity will be a reality. The Assyrians will come and conquer the land, as we’ve mentioned all along. David’s tent hardly looked like it was fallen at this point under Jeroboam II. They were enjoying prosperous times, even though they were divided from the southern kingdom. But Amos is a prophet, and he sees what God is going to do. The Lord has already shown him the sagging wall of Israel, already indicated the Israel is like a ripe fruit ready to be eaten by their enemies, and God is going to tear down the tent of David. There will be no king to rule over the nation for a very long period of time until Jesus, Jesus Christ comes in the New Testament. Now, the kingdom of David will be restored during the days of the Messiah. Notice it says, in that day. Jesus Christ is the son of David. He is the true seed of David that’s mentioned in the Davidic covenant. And in that day, when God visits the nation, By the Messiah, Jesus Christ will revive the kingdom of David. It will become, of course, the kingdom of God’s dear son, as the scripture very clearly indicates to us. And that is why when the angel announces Christ’s birth to Mary, he says this. If you’ll look with me in Luke chapter 1, Versus 30 to 33. Here’s what he says. Luke chapter 1, verse 30 to 33. And the angel said unto her, Fear not Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son and shall call his name Jesus. He shall be great. shall be called the son of the highest, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom. There shall be no end. Friends, the restoration of the tabernacle of David here has nothing to do with Israel becoming a state in 1948 after World War II. That is not what the scripture would have us see. The Bible gives you an inspired commentary on this passage as we read it in Acts 15 so that we can understand what is being spoken on. James, you recall, the Apostle, the fulfillment of Amos’ prophecy in his day. He tells us, and he speaks under the inspiration of God, and he tells us this, that Jesus Christ has already come as king to take over the throne of David. Peter mentions this in Acts chapter 2 and verses 30 to 36, but in Acts 324, Peter says this, yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. The days of the Messiah, the days where the apostles were living. And James indicates that there would be an inclusion of the Gentiles in the kingdom of God. This was no afterthought with God, but part of his plan from the very beginning, as Acts 1518 indicates to us. God is merely fulfilling the word that he spoke to the prophets, especially as we see to the prophet Amos, who is directly quoted there in Acts 15. The rebuilding of the tabling. of David, really the final fulfillment, if you would, of the Davidic covenant in Christ, is now taking place with God visiting the Gentiles to call out of them a people for his name’s sake. God is repairing what was broken down, replacing it with the glorious temple of the church of Christ. What James is saying here, and he’s indicating to us very clearly for those who would properly interpret Amos’ prophecy, is that he’s not talking about the physical nation. He is talking about a spiritual nation, the nation of Christ, the holy nation that the scripture talks about that Christ will establish over which he is the king. What is said of the Old Testament people of God is directly applied to the New Testament people of God. The spiritual Jews, those who have been circumcised in heart, those who are Jews inwardly and not merely outwardly as Romans 2 verses 28 and 29 indicate to us are the heirs of this promise given to Israel here. Amos refers to a holy nation, the very holy nation that Peter refers to in 1. Peter 2.9 in referring to the people of God of the New Testament. the elect from every kindred and tribe, what Paul calls in Galatians 616, the true Israel of God. Sons of Abraham, not by a physical descent, but as Galatians tells us, by faith in Jesus Christ, we are the sons of Abraham. Not a physical nation, but a spiritual nation is in view. in this passage of scripture. Now, to miss this point is to miss God’s inspired interpretation of the text. Jesus Christ has come to restore the Davidic kingdom. I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever is the promise in the Davidic covenant, and so it is fulfilled. in Jesus Christ as we read in Luke chapter 1. Now the kingdom of David will be enlarged beyond the borders of national Israel. We see it here in 912 of the book of Amos. We read these words, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the heathen which are called by my name, saith the Lord to doeth this. And in Acts chapter 15, we read in verse 17, these words, that the residue of men might seek after the Lord and all the Gentiles upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth these things. Now when we get to the Council of Jerusalem, the Council of Jerusalem is really dealing with the Gentiles coming into the church. How are they to be treated? Some of the professing Jewish Christians were saying, well, they should be accepted only as proselytes of Israel, of the Jews, and therefore they must be circumcised in order to be set. What we find here at Jerusalem, at this council that they dealt with this specific question, and James is pointing out here that God said in his word that the heathen would indeed be included in the church. Nationalistic Israel must not be considered the people of God. Peter learned this lesson with a direct revelation from God as well, as he mentions in verse 14. that incident when he saw the vision of the sheet and the various unclean animals in it and so forth in the book of Acts. What we find here then is that God’s kingdom, Christ’s kingdom, the setting up of the Davidic kingdom in fulfillment of the promise, is a universal kingdom, in that it takes in people from all different nations. Edom is singled out. When we think about, the remnant of Eden here. We’re talking about the elect among Edom. Edom is one of the most bitter enemies that the Jews ever had. But here in the book of Acts, it just says the residue of men. But the idea here is that even the most wicked nations on the face of the earth, the heathen nations will be saved by being brought to faith in Christ and bowing the knee the king Jesus. Christ has been given by the Father, the uttermost parts of the earth to be his possession. In all the Gentiles who were called by my name, saith the Lord, the residue of men who seek after the Lord. The promise of salvation through repentance and faith in Jesus’all. Christ is to all that are affront, even to such as the Lord our God shall cause. Peter mentions in Acts 2, verse 38. Christ died in order to gather together into one, the children of God which are scattered abroad. There is neither Jew or Gentile, as Galatians 326 indicates. Why pretend that there is a distinction now that remains when Christ indicates, and the New Testament certainly clearly indicates that they’re one. It’s going to be one fold and one shepherd, as Jesus says in John chapter 10. The middle wall of petition is broken down, as Ephesians 2 indicates. Why pretend that the Jews are a special nation? The new Davidic kingdom under Jesus Christ is universal in scope, and therefore it embraces all nations. It’s a different type of kingdom. It’s not of this world. It’s not a physical kingdom, but a spiritual one where Christ rules in the hearts of man and controls them and they submit to him. So the kingdom of David will be enlarged beyond the confines of national Israel. We see here the restoration of David’s fallen tabernacle. In verses, of 13 to 15, we see the glory here of the new covenant era. Amos is describing the happiness and the bliss that will accompany the reign of the Messiah when the Davidic kingdom is raised up. The prophets often told of a happy and prosperous future state for the people. of God, but we find that figurative language is being used here. The things portrayed here in a physical manner are in reality carrying a spiritual fulfillment. The abundance, the prosperity, the security of the people of God may be explained with reference to the nature of Christ’s kingdom. The apostles themselves make it plain that this passage in Amos is to be taken with reference to God’s spiritual kingdom. And therefore, the references here to the fruitfulness and the abundance and the protection and so forth, we must see that also from a spiritual perspective. As you know, what is recorded here never literally happened to the nation of Israel. the northern kingdom never returned to the land, like the remnant of the southern kingdom did under Ezra and Nehemiah. And subsequent history shows that Israel, when they did get back into land, were eventually uprooted and scattered everywhere in 70 AD when the Romans captured the whole state of Israel and destroyed it. So if we see this as being the case, we have to ask about verse 15 how that is fulfilled, that they’ll no more be pulled up out of the land after he brings them back. However, if we see this in a figurative sense, then it has a reference to the kingdom of God and it has a reference to you and I today and benefits us. in the kingdom of Messiah there shall be abundance now notice verse 13 with me and what the scripture says behold the days come saith the Lord that the plowman will overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him that sow a seed and the mountains shall drop sweet wine and all the hills shall melt now hold your place here back up just one book, the book of Joel chapter 3 verses 17 and 18. Let’s see what he says by way of expanding this thought. Joel 3 verses 17 and 18. So shall you know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. Then shall Jerusalem be holy. and there shall no strangers pass through her anymore. And it shall come to pass in that day that the mountain shall drop new wine and the hills shall flow with milk. And all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters. And a fountain shall come forth of the house of God and shall water the valley of Shidham. When Adam fell, we know a curse fell upon the Lord. land of, well, on the ground and all land was affected by that. Its increase would be reduced. It was by the sweat of a man’s brow now that food would be brought forth and, you know, thorns and briars and things would come up and make it more difficult for man to cultivate the ground. But here we have an idea of the spiritual beauty of the spiritual beauty of the kingdom of Christ here. He puts everything in a physical sense, but the idea here is it’s going to be abundantly fruitful. The earth will yield lavish and spontaneously a very abundant amount. So lavish, so abundant, that it will not suffice, neither. That it will not suffice, neither not suffice to gather either the corn crops or the vintage of the grapes. And the unlikely situation is before they get the harvesting all the last year’s crop, the plowers are going to catch up with them for this year. So that there’s just too much for them to even harvest. And then even that which is in the wild, in the uncultivated areas, up on the mountains and so forth, it is going to be very fruitful, so much so that the heat of the sun will burst the grapes and so forth, and it will flow down the mountain. The hills will melt and flow here. Joel says with milk of the abundance of the cattle grazing in the pastures. In each case, the sower of the sea, the next crop will run into the reaper of the last. The abundance will be so great that the mountains and hills will drip or ooze sweet wine and milk. And life-giving water will flow out of the house of God, we’re told here, and water. And water the valley. Now, I don’t have time tonight to look at it. all these passages of scripture. But those of you who are interested should look in Zechariah, chapter 14, in verse 6. It speaks about the living water that flows from the house of God. Read the book of Ezekiel, chapter 47, verses 1 to 12, where we read about the same idea, how the waters start out of the temple and get deeper and deeper until it’s a river and waters everything in the temple. where it waters life is given. Or we could read Zachariah chapter 13 in verse 1 where there is a fountain that’s mentioned for the washing and the cleansing of the house of David and for the taking away of the iniquity of people sins. Now the Bible is not describing a sort of purely materialistic golden age but we should see here that what is being spoken of is that which we find in Isaiah chapter 55 where he compares the rain that falls and the crop that is produced to the word of God as it goes forth to accomplish God’s purpose. And he promises for those who are, will seek the Lord, find a, you know, by bread without money and without price and so forth, that they would be included in the Davidic covenant. Read that whole chapter, verses 1 to 13. I don’t have the time to read it tonight. But in that chapter, we have the same ideas that we have here in our text. Great reconciliation has taken place. And for the people, God, the curse is removed. God’s people have been blessed with all. spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. You drink spiritually wine and milk, if you would, and are fed with the meat of the word. There is an abundance of spiritual blessings in heavenly places for us when we think about the fruit of the spirit and how abundant it will be, as Paul and Christ himself talked about for the people of God. So what have been a long time confined in the way to the vineyard of Israel, national Israel, is actually now going to encompass all lands here. We’re going to have people brought into the kingdom from all these different nations. Even the wild territory is the uncultivated area of the Gentiles. God is going to cause a great amount. of abundance with regard to spiritual fruit and with regard to salvation being granted. They’re going to be riched in all utterance, in all knowledge, in all manner of spiritual gifts, according to 1 Corinthians 1.5. It’s interesting when Paul speaks of the gospel work that he’s engaged and he talks about planting and reaping. Have you ever noticed that? Planting and reaping. similar to what we find here in our text. And fruit for his labors, getting fruit for the worker who labors for Christ. The mountains will drip with sweet wine, the hills will melt. So in the kingdom of the Messiah, there shall be abundance. In the kingdom of Messiah, there shall be freedom from captivity. Verse 14 says this to us. Back in the book of Amos, and I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them they shall plant vineyards and drink the wine thereof they shall also make gardens and eat the fruit of them. There’s some similarity between verses 13 and 14, but I think what the key element that’s different in verse 14 is this idea of restoration from captivity. The people of Israel we’ve read about, they’re going to lose their houses, their lands, their cities, their vineyards, because of their sinful ways. Throughout this book, we’ve talked about it. The restoration of David’s fallen tabernacle involve the forgiveness of sins, the removal of the effects of sin. Sins brings disappointment. It brings frustration. Amos sees a day when the power of sin is going to be broken, a day when sin will no longer hold captive, frustrate, and blight the people of God. Jesus came to this earth. He went to his hometown synagogue, the synagogue of Nazars. He opened the book of Isaiah, and he read out of that book, you’ll recall, in Luke 416, that he came as the Messiah to preach. deliverance to the captives. Christ came to deliver those in spiritual bondage to sin and to Satan and to free them from this captivity. Hebrews 2.14 and 15 says Christ came that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death that is the devil and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Those who were once in bondage, the Satan now become the spoils of the victorious Christ. In Matthew’s Gospel, you recall that the strong man is bound, and then Christ, the Messiah, plunders the spoils from his house. And that’s what we have in the bringing of the Gentiles into the kingdom of God. In the New Testament era, those cities and those countries wasted by sin, by unbelief, by superstition, are rebuilt by the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And thus we find that Rome and Corinth and Galatia and Eccasius and Philippi, which were all areas which once were waste cities, if you would, now the gospel thrives in them and the kingdom of God has been expanded through throughout the Roman Empire. Christian churches were formed and they enjoy the benefits and the bounty of Christ’s kingdom. Lastly, we see in the kingdom and the Messiah, there shall be security. Verse 15 here says this, and I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land, which I have given them. saith the Lord thy God. That God’s people, in the New Testament, cannot be robbed of their inheritance. In the Old Testament, those who were true Israelites also could not be robbed of their inheritance. The inheritance that was lost due to sin was a physical inheritance. But the inheritance that we are speaking of here tonight is inheritance that fadeth not away that’s reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God, according to 1st Peter chapter 1 and verses 4 and 5. The penalty of sin has been lifted for you and you will never again feel the condemning weight of that sin crushing you if you were a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. As the writer of Hebrew says, we have a kingdom which cannot be moved. Israel’s kingdom was shaken, but the true kingdom of God under Christ cannot be shaken. It cannot be moved. It cannot be taken from us. And God puts a stamp of approval, saith the Lord Jehovah, thy God. So God has committed himself anewew new, and surely, will accomplish what he has promised to do. You’ll forgive me for going through this so rapidly tonight, but there’s so much here that we could spend quite a number of weeks on, but to get the flow of the whole passage in connection with Acts 15, I thought it best to cover it at one time. Now let me close with some practical instruction here. And the first of this, care must be taken what interpreting scripture to evaluate and consider other passages that have bearing on any section of scripture that we are studying. It would be extremely easy to come to this passage in Amos 9, 11 to 15, and take it in a literal manner. We know the dispensationalists do so. They’ll talk about. about Israel being reformed as a nation in 1948. They look for some type of special millennial kingdom when Christ literally is reigning as a king on this earth. And there’ll be a super abundance, an abunder, a bumper crop, if you would, that the earth will produce during this so-called millennial kingdom. But if we look at the New Testament in Acts 15, when you see it points us in a spiritual direction, not in a physical direction. It gives us a figurative interpretation of the fruitfulness and the rebuilding of David’s tabernacle, and therefore we should take it in that light and not in the literal light. Secondly, the blessings, the fruitfulness that we read about of this kingdom can only be yours if you know the Lord Jesus Christ. My friends, we all come into this world as sinners. Fallen and Adam personally, we sin in every single day of our lives. If we want the blessing of God upon us, it can only come through the person and work of Christ by his sacrificial death on the cross and by his giving us his perfect righteousness. And that comes through faith. By believing in Christ, our sins are forgiven, by believing in Christ, His righteousness is imputed us, and therefore we are acceptable before God. And the work of the spirit in us will be such that we can have this abundant fruitfulness that’s spoken of here in this text of scripture. And I ask tonight if you have not evaluated where you stand, if you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ, that you would trust in Him. For those who do not trust in Him will perish. Just like National Israel fell off the face of the earth at this time. But there’s something special for those who bow the knee to Christ and accept Him as Lord and Savior. Thirdly, tonight. Whatever your complaints about your outward circumstances, don’t miss out of the spiritual blessings that God promises here to give you an abundance if you would seek these better things in the first place. If our focus is on the material things of this life, then we’re not focusing on the spiritual abundance that could be ours, and we’re not seeking it. Fourthly, notice that God can raise up what appears to be lying in complete ruin. When we look at the spiritual poverty of the outward church, we should not look at that as normal. We have not today, in our day at least, reach the potential of our text, of this overflowing fruitfulness that should be the people of gods. You look at the Reformation period, we look at some of the periods in history where there were great awakenings and things of this nature, and there seems to be. an abundance of fruitfulness during that period of time. But, friends, if we as the people of God fail to seek God’s face and plead for an outpouring of His spirit and this spiritual fruitfulness that comes with the spirit upon us, then we have not because we ask not. And shame on us that we wouldn’t seek the great spiritual abundance that’s spoken of here for the people of God. If the visible church today is going to see reformation, it’s certainly going to begin with a remnant, the remnant that will be faithful to the Lord. Keep in mind the abundance of fruitfulness of this passage is the work of the Spirit. If we grieve the Spirit on a regular basis in our life, how can we possibly think that we will get the blessing that is talked about here? Search of it. heart, repent of any sinful ways, and ask for the spiritual abundance you find here. God tells you about this potential blessing in order to make you diligently seek after it. He says, here it is. This is what is available to us in the kingdom of Christ. Let us not miss out on it as his people. Well, let us close with the word of prayer tonight. Thank you.