“No one will get away” (v. 1).
No matter where they go they will not escape the judgment of God. They may try to hide in the depths but he will find them, or the heights but they will be destroyed there. Once God has decided to bring judgment, it cannot be stopped.
Then it says something shocking:
“I will fix my eyes upon them for evil and not for good” (v. 4).
Wait. Huh…? God is fixing his eyes on them for “evil”? Atheists are going to love that and take it out of context.
If you look at how the Hebrew word lə·rā·‘āh is used throughout the Bible, it is used for both evil and harm. Take for example Jeremiah 38:4:
4 Then the officials said to the king, “This man should be put to death. He is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin.”
When you see the contrasting words and within their context, it is clear that what the word hear means is “harm.” In fact, the newer NIV translation has just that:
“I will keep my eye on them for harm and not for good.”
So was God keeping his eye on them for harm? Yes. Because they were under his judgment. He had warned them. They refused over and over and over and over and over again. So when judgment came, it wasn’t fun for either side. Just like a parent takes no pleasure in discipline.
It’s interesting too that part of their judgment was just their sheer arrogance. They said,
“Disaster will not overtake or meet us” (v. 10).
It reminded me of a young kid a couple of years ago that I met briefly. He told me that the nation would never fall as our military was too strong and we had it together. I just shook my head in disbelief. It was that same notion as here in Scripture. It’s foolish pride.
But there is good news. The LORD says he will destroy Israel, but he will also restore them. Because of his covenant he would not destroy them forever, but once again they would experience fruitfulness, joy and life. They would rebuild.
And then he says another thing that causes a pause.
“I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,” (v. 15).
There was coming a day when Israel would be planted and would no more be uprooted. But we know that wasn’t the case after Israel returned from Babylonian captivity. Because in AD 70 they were violently uprooted when Rome conquered Jerusalem.
Not only that but they were uprooted for almost 2000 years! It wasn’t until 1948 when they became a nation again.
Perhaps this Scripture was looking towards the time when they were rooted in this time, and that never again will they be uprooted. I don’t know. It isn’t an easy one to understand. Except that I do know that Hebrew culture sees a much bigger picture than most Western cultures. We see things and want things fulfilled in the now and in the moment, but there is a bigger picture her.
But the big picture of Amos 9 is this. God was going to bring judgment. But he was going to restore Israel. And they would be a nation that would always be.
