Amos 9:1-15
"God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Galatians 6:7). The preceding chapters have shown us what Israel had sown, so that the dreadful harvest ought not to surprise us. Amos’s last vision is by far the most terrible. He sees the Lord Himself standing upon the altar, giving orders for the final massacre. None shall escape. The desperate flight of the guilty people calls to mind Psalms 139:1-24 (cf. v. 2 and Psalms 139:8). But that Psalm in essence relates the experience of a believer fleeing from the light. Here, on the contrary, it is a matter of sinners being pursued with judgment in view. However, the book does not end on a note of judgment. From v. 8 onwards grace appears. By the sifting through which the nation has passed all the chaff has been removed, but none of the grain has been lost (v. 9). At the right moment, God will show that He has preserved His elect. Vv. 11-15 describe the restoration and final blessing. Then all things will be brought into subjection to Christ.
Redeemed of the Lord, we shall not meet Him as the Judge standing upon the altar, as in Amos’s vision. We shall see Him crowned with glory and honour, seated at the right hand of God (Hebrews 2:8-9). Even now, by faith, we see Him thus.