7 "Are you not as the sons of Ethiopia to Me, O sons of Israel ?" declares the Lord . "Have I not brought up Israel from the land of Egypt , And the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir ? 8 "Behold , the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom , And I will destroy it from the face of the earth ; Nevertheless e , I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob ," Declares the Lord . 9 "For behold , I am commanding , And I will shake the house of Israel among all nations As grain is shaken in a sieve , But not a kernel will fall to the ground . 10 "All the sinners of My people will die by the sword , Those who say , ' The calamity will not overtake or confront us.'
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Amos 9:7-10
Commentary on Amos 9:1-10
(Read Amos 9:1-10)
The prophet, in vision, saw the Lord standing upon the idolatrous altar at Bethel. Wherever sinners flee from God's justice, it will overtake them. Those whom God brings to heaven by his grace, shall never be cast down; but those who seek to climb thither by vain confidence in themselves, will be cast down and filled with shame. That which makes escape impossible and ruin sure, is, that God will set his eyes upon them for evil, not for good. Wretched must those be on whom the Lord looks for evil, and not for good. The Lord would scatter the Jews, and visit them with calamities, as the corn is shaken in a sieve; but he would save some from among them. The astonishing preservation of the Jews as a distinct people, seems here foretold. If professors make themselves like the world, God will level them with the world. The sinners who thus flatter themselves, shall find that their profession will not protect them.