Amos 9:13-14

RESULTS OF JUDGMENT PROPHESIEDFRUITFULNESS AND PROSPERITY RESTORED

TEXT: Amos 9:13-14

13

Behold the days come, saith Jehovah, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.

14

And I will bring back the captivity of my people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.

QUERIES

a.

What is the meaning of the plowman shall overtake the reaper?

b.

When did God bring back the captivity of. Israel?

PARAPHRASE

Lo: The days are coming, says the Lord, when there shall be one unceasing inpouring of spiritual harvest in the resurrected dynasty of David. It will be as if a plowman followed right on top of the reaper to prepare the field immediately for another crop! Or, it will be as if those who tread the grapes would have such a large harvest they would be treading the grapes right into the time normally set aside for reseeding the vineyards! Such shall be the abundance and super-abundance in this spiritual harvest of blessings, that it shall be as though the hills of Palestine are dissolving themselves in the rich streams of mercy and grace which they pour down. I will restore the fortunes of my covenant people. I will sustain them materially that they may serve Me to accomplish the restoration of David's throne and the super-abundance of spiritual blessings.

SUMMARY

Jehovah, through Amos, continues speaking of the great purpose a purged and chastened people are to servethe restoration of David's throne and fulfillment of the covenant in spiritual blessings.

COMMENT

Amos 9:13. THE PLOWMAN SHALL OVERTAKE THE REAPER. The prophet takes a phrase from the Law (Leviticus 26:5) to describe a super-abundant harvest which is so wholly beyond the natural as to be supernatural. He is, therefore, speaking of the consequences of the restoration of the throne of David, i.e. the reigning of Jesus Christ upon that throne and the establishment of the church. Pusey says, All this is beyond nature, and so, the more in harmony with what went before, the establishment of a kingdom of grace, in which the heathen should have the name of God called upon them. There shall be one unceasing inpouring of riches; no break in the heavenly husbandry; labor shall at once yield fruit; the harvest shall but encourage fresh labor. The end shall come swiftly on the beginning; the end shall not close the past only, but issue forth anew. Such is the character of the toils of the Gospel. Compare the words of Jesus in John 4:35-38! This restored dynasty of David has a glorious future filled with fruitfulness and prosperity! Just as the raising up of the tabernacle of David refers to the Gospel age, so this, in the same context, is explained by Paul in Ephesians 1:3, Blessed be the God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places of Christ. It should be very evident that the prophet is not speaking literally when we are told that the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. Pusey, again, Such shall be the abundance and super-abundance of blessing, that it shall be as though the hills dissolved themselves in the rich streams which they poured down. Everything, heretofore barren and unfruitful, should overflow with spiritual blessing. The mountains and hills of Judea, with their terraced sides clad with the vine were a natural symbol of fruitfulness to the Jews, but they themselves could not think that natural fruitfulness was meant under this imagery. It would have been a hyperbole as to things of nature; but what, in natural things, is a hyperbole, is but a faint shadow of the joys and rich delights and glad fruitfulness of grace.

Amos 9:14 AND I WILL BRING BACK THE CAPTIVITY OF MY PEOPLE ISRAEL. The Revised Standard Version translates this phrase, I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel. K & D says this, That this phrase is not used here to denote the return of the people from captivity, but the turning of misfortune and misery into prosperity and salvation, is evident from the context; for Israel cannot be brought back out of captivity after it has already taken possession of the Gentiles. (Amos 9:12) K & D interpret Amos 9:14 thus: As. the territory of the re-erected kingdom of David. will receive the blessing of the greatest fertility, so will the citizens of this kingdom, be no more visited with calamity and judgment, but enjoy the rich beneficent fruits of their labor in blessed and unbroken peace. It is possible, though the context (as K & D say) does not seem to favor it, that Amos is using what Milton terms shortened perspective (see our introductory study of principles and interpretation) here. In other words, it may be that Amos is speaking of what God is going to do historically in restoring the Jews to Palestine in the time of Cyrus (536 B.C.) but that out of that shall come the future blessings in the Son of David, the Messiah. It could be that Amos-' perspective is so shortened that the beginning of God's work in the restoration from the captivity is blended right into the eschatological fulfillment of it in the last days (the end of the Jewish age and the beginning of the Christian age). We must remind ourselves again and again that the prophets spoke primarily for their contemporaries. Whatever they would wish to convey of God's ultimate blessings in fulfilling His covenant the prophets would have to couch in contemporary historical developments and contemporary modes of expression. So God promises here to restore, bless and sustain where He had formerly disrupted, dispersed and judged.

QUIZ

1.

How is Amos 9:13 to be interpretedliterally or figuratively? Explain your reasons.

2.

What is the RSV translation of the first phrase of Amos 9:14?

3.

What reasoning does K & D give to agree with the RSV translation?

4.

What do we mean by shortened perspective?

5.

Why is it necessary to remember that the prophets spoke for their contemporaries?