Amos Chapter 9

“And I saw the Lord standing upon the altar, etc.] Either upon the altar of burnt offerings in the temple of Jerusalem, whither he had removed from the cherubim; signifying his being about to depart, and that he was displeased, and would not be appeased by sacrifice: so the Targum, “said Amos the prophet, I saw the glory of the Lord removing from the cherub, and it dwelt upon the altar;” and the vision may refer to the destruction of the Jews, their city and temple, either by the Chaldeans, or by the Romans: or rather, since the prophecy in general, and this vision in particular, seems to respect the ten tribes…”

“FIFTH AND LAST VISION. (Amo 9:1-15) None can escape the coming judgment in any hiding-place: for God is omnipresent and irresistible (Amo 9:1-6). As a kingdom, Israel shall perish as if it never was in covenant with Him: but as individuals the house of Jacob shall not utterly perish, nay, not one of the least of the righteous shall fall, but only all the sinners (Amo 9:7-10). Restoration of the Jews finally to their own land after the re-establishment of the fallen tabernacle of David; consequent conversion of all the heathen (Amo 9:11-15). Lord . . . upon the altar--namely, in the idolatrous temple at Beth-el;…”

“I saw the Lord - He saw God in vision; yet God no more, as before, asked him what he saw. God no longer shows him emblems of the destruction, but the destruction itself. Since Amos had just been speaking of the idolatry of Samaria, as the ground of its utter destruction, doubtless this vision of such utter destruction of the place of worship, with and upon the worshipers, relates to those same idolaters and idoltries . True, the condenmation of Israel would become the condemnation of Judah, when Judah’s sins, like Israel’s, should become complete. But directly, it can hardly relate to any other than those spoken…”

“The altar - Of burnt - offering before the temple at Jerusalem, this altar and temple Israel had forsaken, and set up others against it; and here God in his jealousy appears prepared to take vengeance. Possibly it may intimate his future departure from Judah too. There Ezekiel, Eze 9:2, saw the slaughter - men stand. The door - The door of the gate that led into the priests court. And cut them - Wound deep, the people who were visionally represented as standing in the court of the temple. Amos 9:2”

“9:1 I saw . . . the Lord (see 7:1): God ceased to reveal how or why he would punish Israel; he was now poised to act. • beside the altar: Judgment must begin with the center of worship (cp. 1 Pet 4:17). This altar probably refers to the Bethel shrine, although it could refer to the Temple in Jerusalem.”

“I saw: Ch2 18:18; Isa 6:1; Eze 1:28; Joh 1:18, Joh 1:32; Act 26:13; Rev 1:17 upon: Amo 3:14; Eze 9:2, Eze 10:4 Smite: Isa 6:3, Isa 6:4; Zac 11:1, Zac 11:2 lintel: or, chapiter, or knop cut them: or, wound them, in the head. Psa 68:21; Hab 3:13 shall not flee: Amo 2:14, Amo 2:15; Isa 24:17, Isa 24:18, Isa 30:16; Jer 48:44 Amos 9:2”

“"I saw the Lord standing by the altar; and He said, Smite the top, that the thresholds may tremble, and smash them upon the head of all of them; and I will slay their remnant with the sword: a fugitive of them shall not flee; and an escaped one of them shall not escape." The correct and full interpretation not only of this verse, but of the whole chapter, depends upon the answer to be given to the question, what altar we are to understand by hammizbēăch. Ewald, Hitzig, Hofmann, and Baur follow Cyril in thinking of the temple at Bethel, because, as Hitzig says, this vision attaches itself in an explanatory…”