AMOS 9:11

The Bible says in Amos 9:11, “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:” The end times will have something very important to do with King David. Under King David Israel became the greatest nation of all the nations in the Middle East. Under King David Israel had spiritual leadership as well as a strong military. Under King David they were becoming what they were supposed to have become on this earth. But that greatness only lasted during the reign of David and his son Solomon. What the nation of Israel could have been, if only they had gone God’s way. It is similar to the lives of most human beings on this earth. What great potential when a child is born into the world. But they only come to realize that potential if they accept Christ as Savior and learn to follow Jesus wherever Jesus leads them.

After Solomon died the Israelites began their fall away from God. That path took them away from God and towards judgment. That is the story not only of Israel but almost the entire human race. But God is greater than man. The love of God is greater then the sinfulness of man, and the plans of God cannot be annulled by the failures of man. God has a plan for Israel. No one and nothing will be able to keep that plan from being fulfilled. God promised Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3, “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:[2] And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:[3] And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” God only needed to state this promise once, but He affirmed it many times. For example, God said to Isaac, Abraham’s son, in Genesis 26:3-5, “Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;[4] And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;[5] Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

Concerning David’s position in this plan of God for Israel, the first glimpse comes from Genesis 49:8-10 where God gives Joseph the words to describe what would happen to the tribes of Israel. It says, “Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.[9] Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?[10] The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” Of the twelve tribes of Israel, the ruler would come from Judah. And the Messiah would also come from Judah. Shiloh is a reference to Messiah. The word Shiloh means “Peacemaker.” Jesus is the Prince of Peace.

In talking about the Old Testament references to the Messiah, we must mention also that in the promises to Abraham, there was also a definite indication that these promises to Abraham were also about the Messiah. In the promises to Abraham, God said in Genesis 12:3, “in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” All families get blessed through Christ because He died for all and all have an opportunity to be saved through Him. When God said in Genesis 26:3, “for unto thee, and unto thy seed,” we are told in the New Testament that the word “seed” is singular and therefore refers to One: the Christ. It says in Galatians 3:14-16, “That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.[15] Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.[16] Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”

Getting back to our passage in Amos chapter 9 and its reference to David, we know that David was King of Israel and we know that David was of the tribe of Judah. There is at least one more important truth about David: a great promise was made to him that expands on the words uttered by Joseph concerning the scepter not departing from Judah. God said to David in First Chronicles 17:11-14, “And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom.[12] He shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne for ever.[13] I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee:[14] But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore.” This was an eternal promise and it will be fulfilled. The Jewish people knew that it would be fulfilled, and so they knew that the Messiah would come in the lineage of King David. That was clear and undisputable. Notice that one of the names given to Jesus was “son of David.” Many times in the gospels Jesus is called “son of David.” Matthew 12:22-23 shows us that Jesus was called “son of David” not only because Jesus was a descendent of David, but also because people realized that Jesus was the Messiah. It says about Jesus, “Then was brought unto him one that was possessed with the devil, blind, and dumb, and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, is not this the son of David?”

And so we see that God made a specific promise to Abraham about the future of the nation of Israel, and God made a specific promise to David about the future of the nation of Israel in respect to the future monarchy and its eternal existence. Both of these promises about the future of Israel are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. God always keeps His promises. While we are talking about promises made to Abraham and David, it is very important to always to be aware of two other promises. Paul referred to these two promises in Romans chapter four in a great write-up about the teaching on salvation and how we are justified by faith and faith alone. It says about Abraham in Genesis 15:6, “And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” How did Abraham obtain righteousness in the sight of God? Was it because of how good Abraham was? No: it was not because of his good deeds. It was because Abraham believed God’s promise. Believe in Jesus, and you will be justified. The blessedness of this justification by faith was revealed to David. David wrote in Psalm 32:1-2, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.[2] Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.” If He does not impute iniquity to me, even though I have committed iniquity, then what does He impute? He imputes righteousness to me. That is what it means to be forgiven. The Apostle Paul referred to Abraham and to David in Romans 4:1-8, “What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?[2] For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.[3] For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
[4] Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.[5] But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.[6] Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,[7] Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.[8] Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” How very effective was the death of Christ on the cross. This concept of justification by faith is at the core of eternal security. What a great salvation Jesus gives to those who believe in Him.

The Old Testament promises to Abraham and to David are tied to Jesus all through the New Testament. The New Testament begins even by making this connection. It says in the first verse and in the first book of the New Testament in Mathew 1:1, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

The Bible says in Amos 9:12-15, “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.” Verse 9 implies strongly what we already know: that we are talking about a situation where al the nations of the world are aligned against the one nation of Israel. Guess who is going to win that one in the final outcome: Israel. Israel is going to win not because of any man or because of what any human beings do: but because of what God will do. This future deliverance of Israel mirrors how salvation works. No one can save himself or herself. But Jesus can save. What Jesus does to work salvation for just one soul takes a miracle from God. How is it possible that a sinful human being, depraved from the holiness of God and overcome by the enemies of the world, the flesh, and the devil, can possible end up in heaven. That which man cannot do, Jesus can do. The name Jesus means “Savior.” Jesus saves to the uttermost. Jesus does what humans cannot do. Of course, that does not mean that humans have not tried to do something about their salvation. Some humans have gone to great efforts to justify themselves through their own work. That fails to save the soul. Many humans have accepted false teachings from false religions. That fails to save the soul. More and more human beings are becoming secular and are rejecting the concept of God and Jesus. Of course, they will not get to heaven that way. Man is simply a failure when it comes to his spiritual needs, but Jesus overcomes any of these failures. For the lost soul, there is no hope other than Jesus. When the nations of the earth all come against Israel, there will be no hope apart from Jesus. Jesus will come and save Israel, and will make Israel the greatest nation on earth. That is when the great promise in Amos 9:15 will be fulfilled, “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.” Paul spoke of this event in Romans 11:26-27, “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.”

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