Amos 9:11-15 Restored Israel
God has finished venting His anger. Not ALL of Israel will be destroyed. He speaks of a restored Israel. One filled with abundance.
The future of Israel is secure in God’s hands. I’m wondering though when in time His words apply to. God just finished telling how He was going to destroy Israel and send them into exile. We know when that happened. But we don’t know when this FULL restoration happened/happens.
There are a couple of reasons why I ask “when” this restoration will happen. The first is that God says that His people “shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them” (verse 15b). We know that a remnant of Israel returned to the land through Cyrus. These people were from the kingdom of Judah but were Israelites nonetheless. But the nation itself was uprooted again. They did not exist as a nation again until May 14, 1948 with the proclamation from the provisional government of a new state of Israel. The United States recognized that government and nation the very next day. So, the return of Israel after their exile in Babylon couldn’t have been the beginning of a continuous nation of Israel.
The second reason for wondering about the timeline of this restoration is the abundance recorded. At no time has Israel’s harvests been in such great abundance that the reapers couldn’t finish harvesting the crops before it was time to plant again. The same goes for the grape harvest. In this restored Israel, NO ONE would be hungry or go without. There would be so much food and wine that “the mountains shall drip sweet wind, and all the hills shall flow with it” (verse 13b). This abundance has not yet been received, even today Israel imports about 80% of its grain from other nations. (Yes, I googled it.)
The final reason why I question the timeline for this prophecy’s fulfillment is the conquest of all the nations around Israel. God promises to rebuild Israel to the point “that they may possess the remnants of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name” (verse 11b). Since Israel’s return from exile, she has NEVER become a world power; captured her neighbors. Even today, she struggles against ALL those around her for her very existence. This is a FAR cry from being master of those around her.
All of these reasons lead me to believe that this is a prophecy of Israel’s state after Jesus returns. I see NO WAY for this to be accomplished, short of Jesus bringing these changes about Himself. We have been told by MANY of God’s prophets of the glory that will be Israel’s when Jesus makes it His place in which to rule the earth.
One thing, however, I find interesting. Not once did God mention the people’s hearts towards Himself. He doesn’t say anything about them turning to Him with their whole hearts. He doesn’t even mention the Temple in this prophecy. We ALL know that God would not welcome an ungodly people into the place where He personally sits on the throne. In rejecting Jesus, Israel has rejected the Lord. We KNOW this to be true. AND we KNOW that God hasn’t given up on ANY of them, yet. There will be NO ONE who can deny it when Jesus steps down to rule here on earth. I would bet my last breath that those in Jerusalem during the time of Jesus’ rule, NONE will doubt Him or withhold anything He requests.
God can restore our lives, no matter how badly they have been ruined. His love and Jesus’ work on the cross can bring beauty for ashes! All you have to do is bring yourself as a gift to Him. He will begin the work from there. Someday your ‘fields will drip with wine’ and your ‘fields will have an abundant harvest’.
Father God, I KNOW You finish EVERY work You start. You also fulfil EVERY promise You have made and will make. I’m looking forward to the day You describe here. Israel is not my home country so it is not out of ‘national pride’. It is because You are doing a MARVELOUS work in this world. And I want to see Jesus face to face.
