As we come to the end of Amos, we need to ask the question, are we ready for “the day of the Lord”?
It’s been a repeated phrase throughout the book. Some people thought that the Day of the Lord would be a great day of deliverance. But they trusted in religion, politics, or just in themselves.
Their hopes turned out to be misplaced. For them, the Day of the Lord would be horrendous – a time of unexpected judgment and condemnation from God.
The Day we’re waiting for is clear: The day Jesus will return to the earth to make all things new.
Amos 9 will explain something of what that day will be like. And you must ask again: Are you ready for the Day of the Lord?
These notes accompany a sermon on YouTube delivered at Bromborough Evangelical Church in September 2026. For more sermons, see our sermon index.
Don’t trust in religion (1-6)
Amos 9 opens with the words, “I saw the Lord standing beside the altar,” followed by words of strong condemnation.
We’re looking at a time in Israel’s history when the nation was divided in two: Ten tribes in the north were known as Israel, and two tribes in the south were known as Judah.
Much earlier, God had given them all a system of worship.
- There was a temple in Jerusalem, where God’s glory dwelt in the “most holy place” behind a huge curtain.
- Even though people are sinful and unholy, you could bring a sacrifice to a priest and have your sins atoned for.
- This was God’s given system to allow sinful people to draw near to him – for someone like you to draw near to the glory of the God of all Creation!
That was in Jerusalem. When the kingdom split in two, a man called Jeroboam son of Nebat became king in the north.
He worried that he’d lose his people if they went to Jerusalem to worship (as the law said they should). So he set up golden calves at Bethel (south) and Dan (north). He instituted his own priesthood, own altars for sacrifices, and own liturgical calendar.
He called it worship of the God of Israel, the LORD. But to God, the whole thing was abhorrent, detestable, wicked.
Rebellion wrapped in religion
False worship of the true God is deeply offensive to him. It’s another form of rebellion, wrapped in religion.
So the altar God is standing by in Amos 9:1 is rebellious. So the language of Amos 9:2-4 is really strong – there will be nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, no hope of escape from the wrath of God’s judgments.
When God himself has given you a means whereby you can come to him, approach him, have fellowship with him – do you really think it’s appropriate to say, “No, I’d rather do it like this”?
Who God is
Remember who this God is: Read Amos 9:5-6. He’s not some pocket-god or Genie in a lamp for your amusement or benefit. He is astonishingly gracious not to wipe you out immediately but to give you a means to come to him!
“The LORD is his name”
- He is your creator, your God, supreme over all.
- His name is the LORD, Yahweh. He gave that name to speak of his eternal existence, and his saving power.
- The LORD saves his people in grace and brings judgment against his enemies in just wrath.
And today he has given the whole world a means where you can come to him: Jesus Christ, Son of God.
- He completely replaced that old system.
- Jesus became the sacrifice that atones for your sin.
- He is the only High Priest you need, representing you at the very throne of God.
- He is even the very place of atonement. You don’t go to Jerusalem or any other place: You go to Jesus.
As you turn from your rebellion and sin, and turn to God, praying to him, asking for his forgiveness, he will forgive.
And you’ll be drawn closer to the Creator than anyone could have imagined in ancient Israel: You become his child.
Going through the motions
The danger in Amos’s day was that some people were going through the religious motions thinking all was ok, when it wasn’t.
Might you be doing the same? Check yourself:
- Beware of religion without relationship. You’re called to know God, to be his child. If you’re more cosy with church than with Christ then you might be kidding yourself – but not God.
- Beware belief without trust. It’s not enough to believe this is true. The devils know that it’s true, but are still damned. You can know a chair will support you without sitting on it. Turn to God, trust him enough to pray to him.
- Beware resting on your own works instead of faith. No amount of good works or religious effort will atone for your sin or bring you to God. So don’t insult him by trying: He has come to you.
And for those who have come to faith, don’t get comfortable! Don’t lose sight of the awesome majesty of God!
Let that sense of awe drive you to serve him. And that’s obviously an every-day thing. Develop time with God. Time to read and meditate and pray. Know him better every day. You can find time for almost anything else, so carve out time to be with God.
And be sure that those in this pulpit will continue to emphasise the salvation that God has brought to you in Christ, not religion.
So then, together, we will be a living community nourished by Christ himself in us.
So, are you ready for the Day of the Lord? Whatever you do, don’t trust in religion. Also:
Don’t trust in yourself (7-10)
Part of the problem for ancient Israel was that they had an inflated view of themselves. They knew from Exodus 19 that they were God’s special possession, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. But they forgot that that was God’s choice, freely made in grace. In Deuteronomy 9:4-6 the message was brought home forcefully: “Understand that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people.”
God could have chosen other people, but he didn’t.
Read Amos 9:7-8a. What made Israel special was that God had chosen them. There was nothing special in them other than that. They were just another nation, another people group.
And here’s the point: God is sovereign over all peoples and nations.
There’s absolutely no room for racism or exclusivism when you remember that everyone is created in God’s image and that he is ruler over them just as much as over you.
Today, Jesus Christ is risen and ascended to heaven. All power and authority in heaven and earth belongs to him – his dominion is vast and unending. By all means, delight in the country of your birth (I’m Welsh, so that’s easy!). But avoid any hint of nationalism that shuts out the weak, the poor, the vulnerable, the desperate immigrant – they may even be children of God.
And, crucially, no nation is favoured over another.
He sees all people equally, and treats us all according to our actions.
Humanity in a sieve
And it is Jesus, risen and glorified, who separates people – not based on ethnicity, but on their faith and humility before him.
As a child, my parents were keen gardeners. We moved into a council house with good soil, but there were loads of stones. With each new patch of garden to be worked on, they’d use a “riddle” – a big garden sieve. You’d get a spadeful of soil into the riddle, and shake it. The good soil would fall through, and the larger stones wouldn’t. You could throw them onto the field.
Amos says that that’s what God will do with people. Read Amos 9:8b-10.
You’ll either be in the garden, or thrown out. No middle ground.
V10 sees you (read Amos 9:10 again).
You can fear God in terror of that Day, or fear him in awe. If you fear him in awe, you must turn to him for refuge. There’s no refuge from God, but there’s always refuge in him.
God will judge the world, and those who stand will be those saved by God himself because of their faith in Christ.
Don’t be proud of yourself; don’t think you’re stronger than you are. Flee sin and temptation every day, every hour.
Remember your weakness, so that you will draw on Christ who is your strength.
Don’t trust in religion, or even in yourself. But rather:
Trust only in Christ (11-15)
After all the words of judgment in Amos, there’s light at the end. Read Amos 9:11-12.
Now these verses are quoted by James at the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15. So we can be certain that Amos is writing about the time of Jesus in some way. We need to dig in a bit.
What’s “the fallen shelter of David”?
- David is King David, of course. In 2 Samuel 7 God promised King David that he’d have a successor to rule over God’s people forever. But by Amos’s time, that wasn’t looking especially likely. And by Jesus’ time, even less so.
- The word “shelter” is sometimes translated “booth” or “tabernacle” – and it’s most commonly associated with the Old Testament Feast of Tabernacles / Booths / Shelters.
- That was a joyous feast, often associated in the prophets with the times of the end of things (e.g. Zech 14).
So after all the news of judgment, here is a promise from God. He himself would raise up someone in David’s line who will lead God’s people in joyous worship of the living God. A ruler who will usher in the very end of history itself!
Now it might have been possible to think of this as someone to rule over ethnic Israel (as David did).
Good News for the whole world
But Amos’s vision is much, much bigger. Back in Amos 1:11-12, the neighbouring country of Edom was being prepared for judgment for their sin. They were just one of the countries listed in Amos 1 & 2. And, just as all nations will be judged by God, so all nations come under the grace of God too – as Christ is preached to all, to Jews, to Gentiles, to everyone.
That’s why these verses are quoted in Acts 15.
The young church in Jerusalem was coming to terms with the idea that the good news of Jesus wasn’t just for Jews (remember, the disciples and Jesus himself were Jews). James, leader of the council in Jerusalem, quoted Amos 9 to remind everyone that the good news of salvation was always, always meant to go to all the nations!
That realisation led the church to an exciting, expansionist, inclusive and deliberate vision for evangelism, for welcome, for unity.
So we say loud and clear here today that all ethnicities are welcome here.
Even more, we must say that all social groups, classes, taxonomies, etc are welcome here.
The worldwide gospel to all
This is the eternal grand plan of salvation of God to this community as much as to Peru, Romania, Mongolia, modern Israel, or New Zealand. For all who will come, this grand plan of hope in Christ to the world brings hope in pain, certainty in chaos, and a future that far exceeds anything you can imagine.
The language of Amos 9:13-15 is God’s language of covenant blessing. It’s a picture of Eden restored and perfections unimaginable. And it’s not vague or wishy-washy. This is an image of new earth. A tangible, physical reality in the presence of God himself.
And if you’re trusting in Christ today, you will see him and walk with him then.
Don’t trust in religion that will only let you down.
Don’t trust in yourself – you’re only a sinner at best.
Trust only in Christ, turn to him always, and he will keep you to the very end… and beyond to treasures of bliss in his presence that you can’t begin to imagine now.