Amos 9:1-6

In the fifth and final vision in Amos 7-9 we are presented with the God Who will judge His people and the whole world.  What Amos sees is of interest: God is standing by an altar.  It is doubtful He stood at the idolatrous altar of Bethel.  It may be that He is standing by the altar in Jerusalem, the one place where He sanctioned a temple and where He would have His dwelling.  Thus Amos is saying that the God you rejected here in the North, the God whose temple is in Judah, He will judge you.  Others see Him as standing by the altar in heaven.  

The bottom line is that this is Amos’ vision of God!  This is the One Israel is dealing with, or rather ignoring and rejecting.  He will slay the last of them and none will get away (v1).  Because He is the omniscient God they will not be able to hide from Him, not in hell (sheol, the grave; death will not keep them from His judgment), and not in great hiding places such as Mt. Carmel with all it’s caves and dense forest (as Feinberg describes it).  God will take vengeance.  Unlike us, He has the ability to repay (omnipotence, omniscience) and can do it perfectly because He is infinitely just and holy.  Furthermore He is slow to anger so even His judgment will be characterized by patience; but He will not always hold His anger (Psalm 103:8-10).  

Perhaps you noted the likeness of Amos 9:2-4, God’s omniscience as Judge, and Psalm 139:7-10, God’s omniscience as Comforter.  He is perfect in all His attributes and they are all in use in both situations.  This is the God who judges Israel, who is the Judge of all men.  The LORD (YAHWEH/Jehovah) is His name!  May we bow before Him alone, in worship, in obedience, today!