Amos 9:11-15
11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:
12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.
13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, 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 again the captivity of my people of 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.
15 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.
Amos's name means "burdensome." This was probably due to the nature of his prophesying to backslidden Israel. His life and ministry, although sent and commissioned by God, was not received as a blessing from God. It was burdensome to the people, burdensome to the other false priests of the nation [7:10], and burdensome to their leaders as well. Yet before the prophecy ends God takes us to the end of all this burdensome preaching, to a day when all these negative judgments will have rendered God's perfect outcome. What a reminder that mercy is the aim of judgment, and promise is the end of Chastisment.
What day is spoken of here? I believe we can see a partial fulfillment of this prophecy in the 1st coming of the Lord Jesus and the Gospel dispensation we are currently in. The tabernacle of David was raised up, his name was Jesus Christ, he closed up all the breaches of the house of David, of the sins of Israel, and the sins of the whole world! What a statement, "Close up the breaches thereof" and how fully does our Lord fulfill this! Every undone thing he has finished, he has fulfilled the law, fulfilled love, fulfilled you and me, there is nothing he left undone of the work that remained. He has closed up all the breaches. The ruins of sin had dragged not just Israel to the depths of sin but all mankind, down to the grave, down to hell, down as far as we could go, but Our Lord, Jesus Christ, came down to a stable, down to a carpenter shop, down in stature, down in reputation, down, down, down, to the grave and has raised up our ruins! He went down but he came up! He came up with you and me! Our judgments brought him down but his righteousness brought us up with him, surely he has "Raised up his ruins."
Then there is a building being built, "I will build it as the days of old." Who is it that is building this building? God himself. Is this not the church of the Lord Jesus Christ? Look who makes up its members, "The remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name." This is the church of this hour built upon the chief cornerstone, built together as a habitation of God through the Spirit! "Behold" there is more. In this day "The plowman will overtake the reaper, and the reaper of the grapes him that soweth." Look at the reversal of the curse we see in this promise. The ground was cursed in the fall of man and our labor would bring forth thorns and thistles, but in this day of promise, that sower won't be able to keep up with the gatherer, it seems there is a 100% yield rate, before harvest is done, there is more to be sown. How typical is this of the gospel seed that we sow, we have good seed, and if you get busy sowing it, you'll find that fruit is abundant, "The fields are white unto harvest."
Then from verse 14 it becomes increasingly difficult to interpret this as being fulfilled spiritually in our current dispensation. "I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel," "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." These are promises that Christ will fulfill at his second coming. The nation of Israel is still under the judgment of God, but it does seem that this prophecy could have been partially fulfilled in 1948 when the Nation of Israel that had been "Sifted among all nations" [Amos 9:9] was brought back into the land of promise. After 2,000 years of burdens, judgment, and sifting, God still hasn't forgotten this tiny nation. One day soon these promises of land and restoration to the earthly nation of Israel will have their fulfillment in Christ as well. The spiritual Kingdom will be united with the physical kingdom and Christ will rule and reign on this earth. Christ is the fulfillment of all things, things in heaven, things in earth and you and me, His Spiritual Kingdom is soon coming to unite with his Physical Kingdom and his will be done "on earth as it is in heaven" "And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you..." [Col 1:20-21a]. We may be in the days of Burdens, but soon the blessed "Day" is coming, "Saith the LORD thy God."
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