Amos 9:1 Sermons: I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said, "Strike the tops of the pillars, that the thresholds may shake; and break them in pieces on the head of all of them; and I will kill the last of them with the sword: there shall not one of them flee away, and there shall not one of them escape.

◄ Amos 9:1 ►

I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said: "Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Topple them on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the rest with the sword. None of those who flee will get away; none of the fugitives will escape.

Sermons

Great Sins, Great Calamities, Great Efforts	Homilist	Amos 9:1
The Lord Arising to Judgment in His Church	W. W. Tyler.	Amos 9:1
Great Sins, Great Calamities, Great Efforts	D. Thomas	Amos 9:1-4
Inevitable Judgment	J.R. Thomson	Amos 9:1-4

Pulpit Commentary Homiletics

Inevitable Judgment

Amos 9:1-4

J.R. Thomson

The thought of the Divine omniscience is a welcome thought to the friend, the child of God. But to the impenitent transgressor no thought is so distasteful, so distressing. If he cannot persuade himself that there is no God, he at all events hopes that the Divine eye does not rest upon him, that he is overlooked and forgotten. This vain refuge of sinners is discovered and destroyed by the revelation of this prophecy. The idolatrous temple shall be dismantled, the idolatrous altar shall be overthrown, when the Lord enters into controversy with unfaithful Israel. And in that day the sinful and deluded worshippers and priests shall be scattered. Whether slain or carried into captivity, none shall escape the eye or elude the chastening hand of the God who has been defied or forgotten. Every individual shall be dealt with upon the principles of eternal justice.

I. THE FOOLISH AND VAIN ENDEAVOURS OF SINNERS TO AVOID THE RECOMPENSE OF THEIR INIQUITY. The language of the prophet is vigorous and poetical. He pictures the smitten and scattered Israelites as delving into the abyss, as soaring to the heights of heaven, as hiding in the caves of Carmel, as crouching beneath the waters of the ocean; and all in vain. This figurative language represents the sophistry and the self-deception and the useless wiles and artifices by which the discovered sinner seeks to persuade himself that his crimes shall be unpunished.

II. THE OMNIPRESENCE OF THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE. We are reminded of that ancient acknowledgment, "Thou God seest me!" as we read this declaration, "I will set mine eyes upon them." The psalmist, in the hundred and thirty-ninth psalm, has given us the most wonderfully impressive description which is to be found even in sacred literature of the omnipresence and the omniscience of God. Next to that description, for vigour and effectiveness, comes perhaps this passage of the prophecies of Amos. At every point and at every moment the universal and all-comprehending Spirit is in closest contact with every created intelligence; and that presence which may be discerned in operation wherever any work of God in the realm of nature is studied, is equally recognizable in the intellectual, the spiritual kingdom. Every conscience is a witness to the ever-present, all-observing Deity.

III. THE CONSEQUENT CERTAINTY OF THE CARRYING OUT OF ALL THE REGAL AND JUDICIAL DECISIONS OF THE DIVINE RULER. The circumstances of Israel led to the application of this great principle to the case of the sinful and rebellious. It was a painful duty which the prophet had to perform, but as a servant of God he felt that there was no choice left him. It was his office, and it is the office of every preacher of righteousness, to say unto the wicked, "Thou shall surely die." - T.

Biblical Illustrator

I saw the Lord standing upon the altar.

Amos 9:1

The Lord arising to judgment in His Church

W. W. Tyler.

God will no longer tolerate sin, nor allow sinners to trifle with His majesty.

I. DWELLING-PLACE OF THE MOST HIGH — HIS CHURCH.

1. No Church is His without Him (Revelation 3:2, 3, 9).

2. High privilege to have Him so nigh (Deuteronomy 4:7).

3. Continuous realisation of His presence by Israel (Exodus 11:38).

4. Peculiar abiding-place in Holy of Holies (Exodus 25:20-22).

5. And afterwards incarnate in the Holy One (John 1:14).

6. Future tabernacling (Revelation 21:3).But in text God is still in temple.

II. His PRESENCE IN THE CHURCH REALISED.

1. Always by a spiritual discernment (1 Corinthians 2:14).

2. Some times by outward signs (1 Kings 8:10, 11; 1 Kings 19:12). His Word, ordinances, blessings, visitations, etc.

3. But in text, "I saw the Lord.," Thus Moses (Exodus 33:18), Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1) (Acts 7:56; Acts 9:3, etc.).

III. THE LORD COME OUT OF HIS ABIDING-PLACE. No longer "dwelling between the cherubim" (Psalm 80:1), but " standing upon the altar " (unusual place), near the worshippers, ready to depart.

1. Because of spirit of infatuation. Israel often acted as if God were bound to remain while semblances only of religion existed (Numbers 16:3; Matthew 3:9; Matthew 5:20).

2. God's judgments often begin at house of God (1 Peter 4:17). Hence, early official act of Jesus Christ (John 2:15), repeated before His death (Mark 11:15).

3. Our expectancy and duty (Mark 13:33, etc.; Revelation 22:20).

IV. THE LORD UTTERING HIS JUDGMENTS AGAINST SIN.

1. Spared not His own Son, "made sin" (Zechariah 13:7).

2. Spared not the heathen (Amos 1., 2.), nor religious professors (Amos 6:1), not any, great or small (Amos 9:1; Hebrews, "capitals," and other parts).

3. Note remarkable parallelisms.

4. Observe the many "I wills" of judgment and power.

5. Yet "remembering His mercy." A remnant to be saved.Application.

1. Ministerial duty.

2. If the Lord be among us, is His presence honoured?

3. Our acknowledgments.

(W. W. Tyler.)

Great sins, great calamities, great efforts

Homilist.

"This chapter commences with an account of the fifth and last vision of the prophet, in which the final ruin of the kingdom of Israel is represented. This ruin was to be complete and irreparable; and no quarter to which "the inhabitants might flee for refuge would afford them any shelter from the wrath of the Omnipresent and Almighty Jehovah." The prophet in vision sees the Almighty standing upon the altar, and hears Him give the command to smite the lintel of the temple door, that the posts may shake; in other words, to destroy the temple.

I. That under the RIGHTEOUS GOVERNMENT OF GOD GREAT SIN EXPOSES TO GREAT CALAMITY. How terrible the calamities here referred to! The Israelites, when threatened by the Assyrians, would flock in crowds to Bethel and implore protection from the golden calf. But the very place where they sought protection would prove their ruin. Jehovah says, "Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword," etc. The sin of these Israelites in their idolatrous worship was great. They were the descendants of Abraham the friend of God. Yet they gave themselves up to idolatry. Hence these terrible calamities. The greater the sin the greater the punishment "Unto whom much is given, much will be required."

II. The CONSCIOUSNESS OF APPROACHING CALAMITIES WILL STIMULATE TO GREAT EFFORTS FOR ESCAPE. "Though they dig into hell, thence shall Mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down." There are here supposed attempts at escape. There is the supposed attempt to get into hell — Sheol, the dark realm of shadows, where they could conceal themselves. There is an attempt to climb Mount Carmel, 1200 feet in height, there to conceal themselves under the shadows, intricacies, and the crowded forests of oaks, pines, laurels, etc., and also in the deep caves running down to the sea. Men in view of great dangers always seek refuge. On the great day of retribution sinners are represented as crying to the rocks and mountains to fall on them.

III. The GREATEST EFFORTS TO ESCAPE MUST PROVE UTTERLY FUTILE WHEN GOD HAS GIVEN THE SINNER UP. "Though they dig into hell, thence shall Mine hand take them." Whatever the efforts of the sinner in the prospect of approaching danger, there is no escape for him. God is everywhere, and everywhere all-seeing, all just, and almighty. Conclusion. The only way to escape utter ruin is to renounce your sin and commit yourself unto the safe keeping of Him who is the Redeemer of mankind.

(Homilist.)

People

Amos, Aram, Assyrians, Cushites, David, Ethiopians, Jacob, Syrians

Places

Caphtor, Carmel, Edom, Egypt, Kir, Nile River

Topics

Altar, Beside, Break, Bring, Escape, Heads, Kill, None, Pieces, Pillars, Shake, Standing, Strike, Sword, Thresholds, Tops

Outline

1. The certainty of the desolation.
11. The restoring of the tabernacle of David.

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Amos 9:1-4

1310 God, as judge
5360 justice, God

Library

A Revival Sermon
But, my dear friends, while this promise will doubtless be carried out, and every word of it shall be verified, so that the hill-tops of that country shall again bear the vine, and the land shall flow with wine, yet, I take it, this is more fully a spiritual than a temporal promise; and I think that the beginning of its fulfilment is now to be discerned, and we shall see the Lord's good hand upon us, so that is ploughman shall overtake the reaper, the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all he hills …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 6: 1860

The Prophecy of Obadiah.
We need not enter into details regarding the question as to the time when the prophet wrote. By a thorough argumentation, Caspari has proved, that he occupies his right position in the Canon, and hence belongs to the earliest age of written prophecy, i.e., to the time of Jeroboam II. and Uzziah. As bearing conclusively against those who would assign to him a far later date, viz., the time of the exile, there is not only the indirect testimony borne by the place which this prophecy occupies in …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Letter ix. Meditation.
"Meditate upon these things."--1 TIM. 4:15. MY DEAR SISTER: The subject of this letter is intimately connected with that of the last; and in proportion to your faithfulness in the duty now under consideration, will be your interest in the word and worship of God. Religious meditation is a serious, devout and practical thinking of divine things; a duty enjoined in Scripture, both by precept and example; and concerning which, let us observe, 1. Its importance. That God has required it, ought to …
Harvey Newcomb—A Practical Directory for Young Christian Females

The Twelve Minor Prophets.
1. By the Jewish arrangement, which places together the twelve minor prophets in a single volume, the chronological order of the prophets as a whole is broken up. The three greater prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, stand in the true order of time. Daniel began to prophesy before Ezekiel, but continued, many years after him. The Jewish arrangement of the twelve minor prophets is in a sense chronological; that is, they put the earlier prophets at the beginning, and the later at the end of the …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

Interpretation of Prophecy.
1. The scriptural idea of prophecy is widely removed from that of human foresight and presentiment. It is that of a revelation made by the Holy Spirit respecting the future, always in the interest of God's kingdom. It is no part of the plan of prophecy to gratify vain curiosity respecting "the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power." Acts 1:7. "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God"--this is its key-note. In its form it is carefully adapted to this great end. …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

The Prophet Amos.
GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS. It will not be necessary to extend our preliminary remarks on the prophet Amos, since on the main point--viz., the circumstances under which he appeared as a prophet--the introduction to the prophecies of Hosea may be regarded as having been written for those of Amos also. For, according to the inscription, they belong to the same period at which Hosea's prophetic ministry began, viz., the latter part of the reign of Jeroboam II., and after Uzziah had ascended the …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Gospel Feast
"When Jesus then lifted up His eyes, and saw a great company come unto Him, He saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat?"--John vi. 5. After these words the Evangelist adds, "And this He said to prove him, for He Himself knew what He would do." Thus, you see, our Lord had secret meanings when He spoke, and did not bring forth openly all His divine sense at once. He knew what He was about to do from the first, but He wished to lead forward His disciples, and to arrest and …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

Redemption for Man Lost to be Sought in Christ.
1. The knowledge of God the Creator of no avail without faith in Christ the Redeemer. First reason. Second reason strengthened by the testimony of an Apostle. Conclusion. This doctrine entertained by the children of God in all ages from the beginning of the world. Error of throwing open heaven to the heathen, who know nothing of Christ. The pretexts for this refuted by passages of Scripture. 2. God never was propitious to the ancient Israelites without Christ the Mediator. First reason founded on …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

The Power of God
The next attribute is God's power. Job 9:19. If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong.' In this chapter is a magnificent description of God's power. Lo, he is strong.' The Hebrew word for strong signifies a conquering, prevailing strength. He is strong.' The superlative degree is intended here; viz., He is most strong. He is called El-shaddai, God almighty. Gen 17:7. His almightiness lies in this, that he can do whatever is feasible. Divines distinguish between authority and power. God has both. …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The Doctrine of the Last Things.
A. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. B. THE RESURRECTION. C. THE JUDGMENT. D. THE DESTINY OF THE WICKED. E. THE REWARD OF THE RIGHTEOUS. THE DOCTRINE OF THE LAST THINGS. Under this caption are treated such doctrines as the Second Coming of Christ, the Resurrection of both the righteous and wicked, the Judgments, Final Awards, and Eternal Destiny. A. THE SECOND COMING OF CHEIST. I. ITS IMPORTANCE. 1. PROMINENCE IN THE SCRIPTURES. 2. THE CHRISTIAN HOPE. 3. THE CHRISTIAN INCENTIVE. 4. THE CHRISTIAN COMFORT. …
Rev. William Evans—The Great Doctrines of the Bible

Baptism
Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them,' &c. Matt 28: 19. I. The way whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of redemptions, is, in the use of the sacraments. What are the sacraments in general? They are visible signs of invisible grace. Is not the word of God sufficient to salvation? What need then is there of sacraments? We must not be wise above what is written. It is God's will that his church …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

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