Perspective and Amos 9

Mr. Frank Ferter is a respected member of his congregation, confident in his understanding of twentieth-century American theology. He has served in various capacities at his church, offering his talents to God and demonstrating genuine love for God’s people. A respected community member, Frank communicates the gospel through both word and deed.

Frank has faced struggles but finds solace in his proactive attitude and strong work ethic. Like the Israelites in Amos’s day, Frank perceives himself as one of God’s people, believing the respect he receives in his community signifies his significance to God. He enjoys sermons that emphasize personal responsibility and aligning with God’s program. Frank understands that Christians are saved by grace through faith, and he is humbly confident that his faith meets God’s standard.

Conventional wisdom assures Frank that his piety holds value and that God is on his side. While he values humility over hubris, Frank believes this broken world needs his perspective. He sees control over culture and his environment as a path to significance in God’s eyes. As an upstanding citizen, Frank feels equipped to correct societal errors and lead others toward more honorable directions. He views the social dominance of his worldview as important to God, believing the culture should reflect his perspective more accurately. Compelled to influence others, Frank aims to share his understanding of God’s perspective, confident in his faithfulness. While he believes his sins are forgiven, he views the sins of others as open to interpretation, positioning himself to propagate social agendas that enhance his role as a decision-maker and elevate the perspectives of the less fortunate.

However, the wisdom of Amos paints a different picture that might shock Frank. Amos 9 reveals that Frank’s need lies in an accurate assessment of his own sinfulness, not from his perspective but from God’s. The prophet Amos spoke out against the elite of Israel’s northern ten tribes, who were confident in their status as God’s people. John Calvin describes their mindset: “They were inebriated by the thought they excelled others and were endued with singular privileges beyond all other nations—and by which God was in a manner bound to them.”[^1] Like Frank, the northern tribes believed God was obligated to them, viewing themselves as the elite among God’s people, superior to the surrounding “plebeians.” As Amos 9:1–10 illustrates, this perspective carries severe consequences.

God’s law, as presented in the Old Testament and Amos’s accusations, confronts both the northern tribes and Frank with the truth that trust in the Creator is not a superficial adornment but a dependence on the One who holds reality in sovereign benevolence. Amos addresses two primary sins: idolatry and social injustice. Israel’s root issue was spiritual; their religion was superficial.[^2] God’s covenant with Israel was initiated by Him, not a decision by the people to adopt God, as reflected in Jeremiah 31:33: “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”[^3] Amos confronts Frank with the reality that his righteousness is “like filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6), and only God is holy, just, and true. God alone makes all things plumb (Amos 7:8), not human pride. As Charles Spurgeon notes, Frank is more likely to “keep the chaff and burn the kernel” than maintain a right relationship with God through his own strength.[^4] Frank must recognize that he is a sinner, perhaps even a wretch.

God’s righteousness reveals that Frank, despite his confidence, needs redemption. The Apostle Paul echoes this in Romans 3:10, quoting the Psalms: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands.”[^5] Amos emphasizes God’s sovereignty: He “touches the earth and it melts” (Amos 9:5), builds the heavens (Amos 9:6), and calls the waters of the sea (Amos 9:6). Isaiah reinforces this: “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?” (Isa. 40:12).[^6] In comparison, who is Frank?

Yet, Amos 9 offers hope. The Lord declares, “Behold, the days are coming … when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed” (Amos 9:13). Despite Frank’s failures, God provides a path to restoration through Jesus Christ. Bob Fyall observes, “Right from the beginning Amos has emphasized the faithfulness of God and the hope that is available for all who turn to him.”[^7] This hope is symbolized in Amos’s image of God’s sieve (Amos 9:9). As Spurgeon explains, when wheat is sieved, the kernel endures the rough process while the chaff is removed, yet “not one grain will be lost” (Amos 9:9).[^8] Through Christ, God ensures that none of His people will be lost eternally. Christ’s sacrifice atones for Frank’s pride and corrects the disorder of creation, making all things right.

Frank may face a difficult refining process because God loves him enough to prune his pride. This purification, though painful, reflects God’s love, not His anger. Amos 9 reveals the extent of God’s cleansing work to redeem His people. There is no hope for sin, but there is ultimate hope for the sinner through Christ’s atoning work. God’s love drives the violent purification, ensuring that those who belong to Him are preserved for eternity.

Amos 9 confronts Frank with the darkness of his pride and idolatry, revealing God’s view of sin and the correction it requires. Like God’s response to Job and Habakkuk, Amos reminds Frank that he is not sovereign over death or evil—God is. Frank’s proper response is not to seek political or religious dominance but to kneel at the cross, accepting the place in God’s kingdom offered through Christ’s atonement and resurrection. Amos 9, if likened to a video, would carry a warning for its intense content. Yet it proclaims that no height, depth, or distance will deter the Lion of Zion from demonstrating His love and removing barriers between Himself and His people. And not one will be lost.

[^1]: John Calvin, Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets, vol. 2, trans. John Owen (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003), 387.

[^2]: Thomas E. McComiskey, The Minor Prophets: An Exegetical and Expository Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992), 326.

[^3]: The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013), 968.

[^4]: Charles H. Spurgeon, Sermon on Amos 9:9 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1868).

[^5]: The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013), 1418.

[^6]: The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013), 885.

[^7]: Bob Fyall, The Message of Amos (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2006), 143.

[^8]: Charles H. Spurgeon, Sermon on Amos 9:9 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1868).