Amos 9:11 “In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name,” declares the Lord who does this. “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,” says the Lord your God.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone [is] in Christ, [he is] a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Issaiah 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness [And] rivers in the desert
This is an abrupt change from the strong message of rebuke and judgment. Without this last passage and change of tone, the book of Amos would be incomplete. “It is now declared that the reason of the divine judgment is not revenge, but the only way in which it is possible to usher in the restored order on which the heart of God is set”. God promised to take what was ruined and to repair and rebuild it. Sometimes God works in a completely new way, letting the old die and doing a work of new creation. James, the brother of Jesus, quoted Amos 9:11-12 at the Council of Jerusalem. He used this passage to demonstrate that God promised to reach the Gentiles and to bring them into His kingdom under the Messiah, not under Israel.
Under God’s inspiration, the prophet Amos ends the book on a note of high hope, looking forward to a day of great prosperity and abundance in Israel. Under the reign of Jeroboam II, they had material abundance, but it was not in the LORD. God promised to restore them to prosperity from Him and in Him. When God releases blessing and restoration, fruit comes quickly. When God releases blessing and restoration, fruit comes from unexpected places. When God releases blessing and restoration, fruit comes with great quality.
When God releases blessing and restoration, the work is blessed – but it is still work. The plowman, the reaper, the treader of grapes, and him who sows seed still have their work to do. God doesn’t just do it all for them, but under God’s blessing and restoration the work is done with energy and joy. The plowman doesn’t just wait around; he gets busy even if he starts bumping into the reaper! “One sign of a true revival, and indeed an essential part of it is the increased activity of God’s laborers” (Spurgeon). However, even if it is not a time of remarkable blessing and restoration, the work of God still deserves our energy and effort.