Amos 9:11
I will restore David’s fallen shelter—
I will repair its broken walls
and restore its ruins—
and will rebuild it as it used to be. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Amos 9:11-15 and Acts 15:12-21
We are looking today at the very last few verses of the book of Amos. Our focus today are verses 11-12:
“‘In that day I will restore the fallen house of David.
I will repair its damaged walls.
From the ruins I will rebuild it
and restore its former glory.
And Israel will possess what is left of Edom
and all the nations I have called to be mine.’
The Lord has spoken,
and he will do these things” (Amos 9:11-12, NLT).
I prefer the NLT version of this scripture because of the phrase “all the nations I have called to be mine.” This is clearly a prophecy concerning the house of David which refers to the kingdom of Israel. Furthermore, the kingdom of Israel is symbolic of God’s kingdom. Israel is God’s chosen people and whoever sits on the throne of David is not only king of Israel but God’s chosen king.
So God will restore the house of David to its former glory and all the nations He has called to be His will possess it along with Israel. We can employ the help of James, the brother of Jesus, to help us interpret this prophecy:
“When they had finished, James stood and said, ‘Brothers, listen to me. Peter has told you about the time God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for himself. And this conversion of Gentiles is exactly what the prophets predicted. As it is written: …’” (Acts 15:13-15, NLT).
James then quoted Amos 9:11-12 as his proof that the Gentiles would be given kingdom along with the Jews. If we back up a bit in Acts, the apostles were debating whether or not a Gentile believer had to be circumcised in order to be saved. In other words, they were debating whether or not a Gentile had to convert to Judaism and follow all of the laws of Moses in order to be saved.
All the apostles got in a room together to try and figure this out. There was a “long discussion” about it and finally Peter spoke up to make the final decision. His case was simple. God sent him to preach to the Gentiles and when they believed his message and accepted Jesus as their Savior they instantly received the Holy Spirit. He saw it with his own eyes.
So it was that simple. God saved Jews and Gentiles in the same way – through faith:
“God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith. So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 15:8-11, NLT).
So back to our prophecy in Amos. The Kingdom of God would be possessed by both Jews and Gentiles and Jesus brought it to earth when he was here the first time. He said so:
“From then on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near’” (Matt 4:17, NLT).
“But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you” (Matt 12:28, NLT).
The Kingdom of God is here now. It’s been here for over two thousand years. Jesus brought it with him and gave all the nations access to it. Anyone who believes in the name of Jesus will receive the Holy Spirit and be given entrance into it. If you are a follower of Jesus, you are in the Kingdom of God today.
There will come a time when Jesus returns. But he’s not coming back to establish his kingdom. He’s already done that. He’s coming back to clean it up. Jesus told a parable about a farmer planting wheat among the weeds where he clearly explained the purpose of each of his two trips to earth.
You can read the parable in Matt 13:24-30 and Jesus’s explanation in Matt 13:36-43. But to summarize, Jesus said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field.” Jesus is the farmer, the field is the world we live in, and the good wheat seed are the believers. He came the first time to plant these good seeds on earth. Jesus calls his believers “people of the Kingdom” because if you believe in him you are already in his Kingdom.
But then the enemy planted weeds among the good seeds. Jesus said, “The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one.” The weeds grew among the good seeds until the field was full of weeds. But then the harvest came. The weeds and wheat were separated. The wheat was put in the barn and the weeds were burned. Jesus explained:
“The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels. Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil” (Matt 13:39-41, NLT).
When Jesus comes again, he’s not bringing his kingdom because it’s already here. When he comes again, he’s going to simply remove evil and sin from his kingdom. How now shall we live since we reside in God’s kingdom?
“For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power” (1 Cor 4:20, NLT).
“For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 14:17, NLT).
Christ in the Old Testament 
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