Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Amos 9:9
For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as [corn] is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.
9. The nation must go into exile (Amo 4:2 f., Amo 5:27 &c.); it must even be shaken to and fro among the nations, as in a sieve: but no sound grain of corn will fall to the ground and be lost. The dispersion of Israel in all directions is compared by the prophet to the movement of a sieve, in which the solid grains, though violently shaken about, are retained and preserved, while chaff and dust fall through the meshes to the ground. The least grain is lit. a pebble, appar, fig. for a solid grain, though the word is not elsewhere so used. Preuschen ( Z.A.T.W [201] 1895, p. 24) supposes the reference to be to the pebbles left behind in the sieve ( kirbl), as still used in Syria for cleansing the winnowed corn.
[201] .A.T.W. Zeitschrift fr die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For lo! I will command! – Literally, lo! see, I am commanding. He draws their attention to it, as something which shall shortly be; and inculcates that He is the secret disposer of all which shall befall them. And I will sift the house of Israel among all nations. Amos enlarges the prophecy of Hosea, they shall be wanderers among the nations. He adds two thoughts; the violence with which they shall be shaken, and that this their unsettled life, to and fro, shall be not among the nations only, but in all nations. In every quarter of the world, and in well-nigh every nation in every quarter, Jews have been found. The whole earth is, as it were, one vast sieve in the Hands of God, in which Israel is shaken from one end to the other. There has been one ceaseless tossing to and fro, as the grain in the sieve is tossed from side to side, and rests nowhere, until all is sifted.
Each nation in whom they have been found has been an instrument of their being shaken, sifted, severed, the grain from the dirt and chaff; And yet in their whole compass, not the least grain, no solid grain, not one grain, should fall to the earth. The chaff and dust would be blown away by the air; the dirt which clave to it would fall through; but no one grain. God, in all these centuries, has had an eye on each soul of His people in their dispersion throughout all lands. The righteous too have been shaken up and down, through and through; yet not one soul has been lost, which, by the help of Gods Holy Spirit, willed truly and earnestly to be saved. Before Christ came, they who were His, believed in Him who should come; when He came, they who were His were converted to Him; as Paul saith, Hath God cast away His people? God forbid! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin – God hath not cast away His people which He foreknew – At this present time also there is a remnant, according to the election of grace Rom 11:1-2, Rom 11:5.
Rib.: What is here said of all, God doth daily in each of the elect. For they are the wheat of God, which, in order to be laid up in the heavenly garner, must be pure from chaff and dust. To this end He sifts them by afflictions and troubles, in youth, manhood, old age, wheresoever they are, in whatsoever occupied, and proves them again and again. At one time the elect enjoyeth tranquility of mind, is bedewed by heavenly refreshments, prayeth as he wills, loveth, gloweth, hath no taste for ought except God. Then again he is dry, experienceth the heaven to be as brass, his prayer is hindered by distracting thoughts, his feet are as lead to deeds of virtue, his hands bang down, his knees are feeble Heb 12:12, he dreads death; he sticks fast, languishes. He is shaken in a sieve, that he may mistrust self, place his hope in God, and the dust of vain-glory may be shaken off. He is proved, that it may appear whether he cleave to God for the reward of present enjoyment, or for the hope of future, for longing for the glory of God and for love of Himself. God suffereth him also to be sifted by the devil through various temptations to sin, as he said to the Apostle, Simon, lo! Satan hath desired you, to sift you as wheat Luk 22:31. But this is the power of God, this His grace to the elect, this the devil attaineth by his sifting, that the dust of immoderate self love, of vain confidence, of love of the world, should fall off: this Satan effecteth not, that the least deed which pertaineth to the inward house and the dwelling which they prepare in their souls for God, should perish. Rather, as we see in holy Job, virtues will increase, grow, be strengthened.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Amo 9:9
I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall net the least grain fall upon the earth.
Winnowing
The winnowing of corn was effected in various ways. Sometimes by the mere operation of the wind blowing through the barns where it was thrashed,–when the worthless chaff was separated and dispersed. Which similitude well expressed the character and condition of the ungodly, who are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. As the action of the wind is very uncertain, the shovel was early used by agriculturists. The sieve and fan were, however, very soon invented and brought into use. Now, machines save much manual toil, and speedily and more effectually, answer the end proposed. The security of the true grain, amidst the winnowings to which in Divine wisdom it is exposed, is affirmed in our text.
I. They that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution. Never can we be sufficiently grateful for the quiet and toleration we enjoy in this favoured island. Yet a degree of persecution winnows the Church at the present day. The finger of reproach is still pointed against the youthful convert, etc.
II. Severe temptations winnow characters. Temptations are as various as our circumstances, ages, or peculiar situations in life. It may be some time before the particular trial, well adapted to reach our case, may occur. Poverty has proved a snare to many; prosperity to more. There are temptations which chiefly affect the mind.
III. Adverse occurrences may be considered as the sieve by which Israel is sifted. Personal adversity tries the character. Relative afflictions winnow our families. The Church has her winnowing times. At the period of death, the last and greatest extremity, the character is sifted as corn is sifted in a sieve. But the Lord commands His loving-kindness in the day of our trial, and in the night is our song to the God of our life. In conclusion, take a retrospect of all the way which the Lord our God has lcd us these many years in the wilderness. Various haw, been the sifting occurrences of our lives. Anticipate the period when we shall be finally sifted, and separated alike from the husks of our own imperfections and frailties, and the chaff of all carnal and ungodly associations. (W. Clayton.)
Divine silting
I will sift the house of Israel.
I. It is a Divine sifting. The Oriental mode of sifting illustrates the Divine method.
1. The primary reference is to the Jews.
2. Then to the Church of God as a whole.
3. Also to individual members of the Church.
II. The manner of sifting. As corn is sifted.
1. The sifting suggests a mixed condition of character and condition. The mixed condition of things in the Church of God necessitates a sifting process. And the mixed experience of individuals necessitates various Divine siftings. Happy would a Church, family, or individual be, if it could be said to be altogether wholesome grain and pure.
2. The sifting of corn must be done prudently and patiently. Some grains require a finer sieve than others.
3. Sifting discriminates between chaff and corn. It does not create either chaff or corn, but makes each manifest. So all deceits and mere appearances are exposed by Gods siftings. There is no such thing as permanent concealment of character in the moral world.
4. The sifting is thorough. There is an individual discrimination as well as a Church sifting. Each grain is severely subjected to this sifting.
III. The means whereby the divine sifter sifts the house of Israel.
1. By the manifold changeful experiences of life.
2. A faithful ministry is a Divine sieve by which the great Husbandman sifts the grain.
3. Temptations of the devil.
IV. The design of the divine siftings of life. There is then a call to submission, gratitude, patience, hopefulness, and searching inquiry. (Anon.)
The sieve
This prophecy is originally applicable to the long-afflicted seed of Israel. And how terribly has it been fulfilled. Apply to the spiritual Israel. Two things to remember–the sifting and the saving.
I. the sifting. God has ordained that this side Jordan there shall be no rest for His people as to their outward circumstances. As long as the wheat lies on the threshing-floor the flail must be kept in motion. The Church of God since its institution has never been perfectly pure. The Church has shared in the imperfection of everything else that is human. Then, wheresoever and whensoever God has a Church, it is sure to be in the sieve. Take this fact in reference to the Church at large. Illustrate from the history of the persecutions of the Christian Church. Other sieves besides persecution have been used. There is the sieve of heresy. The uprising of new infidelities acts as a test to the Church. At divers times the public mind exhibits a strong tendency towards unbelief. One wave rolls up black with superstition, and the next is pale with infidelity. The mind of man oscillates like a pendulum between believing a lie and believing nothing. Another sieve is that of providential examination by public opinion and sense of justice. You must never expect that any professing Church of God will be for a long time flourishing if it abide exactly in the same state. Whenever our Churches run for years in the same rut, little good is done. We must expect often to hear that the ship of Christs Church is in a storm. Purification will be the result of agitation. Certain sieves in which you and I shall be.
1. The preaching of the Word. Wherever the Gospel is faithfully preached, it acts as a discerner of spirits.
2. Temptation. The daily temptations of the shop, the house, the field, the street, yea, even the Church of God, are the discoverers of sincerity, the detectives of delusion, the exposers of hypocrisy, and the beacons of wisdom.
3. The trials of life. There are temptations in prosperity. That is a sieve which few men can pass. Few men can endure long-continued, undisturbed prosperity. Capuau holidays ruined Hannibals troops. Adversity acts in the same sifting manner.
4. Inward conflicts. There are times with us when everything in us is salted with fire.
5. The hour of death has often served as a touchstone by which formality has been revealed.
6. And what a test the day of judgment will be!
II. The saving. A few comfortable words. Sifting is not a pleasant experience. The farmer sifts his wheat because it is precious. And our trials, changes, catastrophes, and afflictions are no proof of want of affection on the part of the Most High, but the very contrary. The farmer does not mean to destroy the grain when he puts it into the sieve. God will chasten, but He will not destroy. The promise of the text is, There shall not the least grain fall to the ground. He who holds the sieve watches with an observant eye, and acts with an unlimited power. The least corn of wheat He keeps His eye upon. Much sifted, but not lost; much tempest-tossed, but not shipwrecked; much put into the fire, but never consumed. Blessed be God for all that. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Divine sifting
When the Lord sends a soul- stirring message through His servant Amos, He avails Himself of an agricultural figure. I will sift the house of Israel.
I. It is a divine sifting. The Oriental method of sifting illustrates the Divine method.
1. The primary reference is to the Jews.
2. To the Church of God as a whole.
3. To individual members of the Church.
II. The manner of sifting. As corn is sifted.
1. The sifting suggests a mixed condition. The mixed experience of individuals necessitates various Divine siftings.
2. The sifting of corn must be done prudently and patiently. Some grains require a finer sieve than others. And often one sifting is not sufficient.
3. Sifting discriminates between chaff and corn. It does not create either chaff or corn, but makes each manifest. There is no such thing as permanent concealment of character in the moral world.
4. The sifting is thorough. Every grain is sifted. There is an individual discrimination as well as a Church sifting. Each grain is severely subjected to this sifting.
III. The means whereby the divine sifter sifts the house of Israel.
1. By the manifold changeful experiences of life.
2. A faithful ministry is a Divine sieve. Such was the ministry of Amos.
3. Temptations of the devil are sieves through which the enemy desires to destroy good grain.
IV. The design of the divine siftings of life. To purify unto Himself a peculiarly holy people. Whatever the manner and means of sifting this is the design. If these things are so there is a call to–
(1) Submission,
(2) Gratitude,
(3) Patience,
(4) Hopefulness,
(5) Yea, searching inquiry. (Henry Smith.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 9. I will sift the house of Israel among all nations] I will disperse them over the face of the earth; and yet I will so order it that the good shall not be lost; for though they shall be mixed among distant nations, yet there shall be a general restoration of them to their own land.
The least grain] tseror, little stone, pebble, or gravel. Not one of them, howsoever little or contemptible, when the time comes, shall be left behind. All shall be collected in Christ, and brought into their own land.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
For, lo: as this confirms what the 8th verse promiseth, so it requireth a very diligent and full attention of us.
I will command, or give a charge to all nations whither these exiled persons shall come, and they shall observe the charge, it shall as surely be done as it is spoken.
I will sift the house of Israel among all nations; though Assyrians and other nations be the means and instruments, yet Gods hand is principal; whilst they would toss and scatter Israel with violence, yet God will hold the sieve, and guide their hands, and set bounds to their violence.
Like as corn is sifted in a sieve, by a skilful and careful husbandman, who designs to separate the chaff from the corn; to preserve this, to tread the other under foot.
Yet shall not the least grain; though covered under much chaff, though tumbled and tossed with the greatest violence, and without any regard to it, yet the smallest and least regarded good grain shall not be lost or destroyed with that fire which consumeth the chaff.
Fall upon the earth, i.e. perish, or be lost; so the phrase 1Sa 26:20; 2Sa 14:11; 1Ki 1:52. Here is a promise of preservation as great and wonderful, and as hardly comprehended, as was the threatened punishment.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. siftI will cause theIsraelites to be tossed about through all nations as corn is shakenabout in a sieve, in such a way, however, that while the chaff anddust (the wicked) fall through (perish), all the solid grains (thegodly elect) remain (are preserved), (Ro11:26; compare Note, see on Jer3:14). So spiritual Israel’s final safety is ensured (Luk 22:32;Joh 10:28; Joh 6:39).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For, lo, I will command,…. What follows; which is expressive of afflictive and trying dispensations of Providence, which are according to the will of God, by his appointment and order, and overruled for his glory, and the good of his people:
and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, as [corn] is sifted in a sieve; this is to be understood of spiritual Israel, of those who are Israelites indeed, who are like to corns of wheat, first die before they live; die unto sin, and live unto righteousness; grow up gradually, and produce much fruit; or like to wheat for their choiceness and excellency, being the chosen of God and precious, and the excellent in the earth; and their whiteness and purity, as clothed with Christ’s righteousness washed in his blood, and sanctified by his Spirit; and for their substance and fulness, being filled out of Christ’s fulness, and with all the fulness of God, with the Spirit and his graces, and with all the fruits of righteousness; and for weight and solidity, not as chaff driven to and fro, but are firm and constant, settled and established, in divine things; and yet have the chaff of sin cleaving to them, and have need of the flail and fan of affliction; and this is the sieve the Lord takes into his hands, and sifts them with; whereby sometimes they are greatly unsettled, and tossed to and fro, have no rest and ease, but are greatly distressed on all sides, and are thoroughly searched and tried, and the chaff loosened and separated from them; and sometimes the Lord suffers them to be sifted by the temptations of Satan, whereby they are brought into doubts and fears, and are very wavering and uncomfortable, are sadly harassed and buffeted, and in great danger, were it not for the grace of God, and the intercession of the Mediator, Lu 22:31;
yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth; or, “the least stone” p; which is in the spiritual building, and laid on the rock and foundation Christ; or the least corn of wheat, so called because of its weight, solidity, and substance. The meaning is, that the least true Israelite, or child of God, who is the least in the kingdom of heaven, and has the least share of grace and spiritual knowledge, that is even less than the least of all saints, shall not be lost and perish; though they fall in Adam, yet they are preserved in Christ; though they fall into actual sins and transgressions, and sometimes into gross ones, and from a degree of steadfastness in the faith, yet not totally and finally, or so as to perish for ever; no, not a hair of their head shall fall to the ground, or they be hurt and ruined; see
1Sa 14:45; for they are beloved of God with an everlasting love, ordained, by him to eternal life, adopted into his family, justified by his grace, and are kept by his power, according to his promise, which never fails; they are Christ’s property, given him of his Father, to whom he stands in the relation of Head and Husband; are the purchase of his blood, closely united to him, and for whom he intercedes, and makes preparations in heaven. The Spirit of God is their sanctifier and sealer; he dwells in them as their earnest of heaven; and the glory of all the divine Persons is concerned in their salvation; hence it is that not one of them shall ever perish.
p “lapillus”, Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, Munster, Junius Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius, Cocceius so Ben Melech.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
He afterwards adds, For, lo, I will command, etc. The Prophet here confirms the former sentence; and hence I conclude that the second part of the preceding verse is ironically expressed; for if he had promised pardon to the Israelites, he would have gone on with the same subject; but, on the contrary, he proceeds in another direction, and says, that God would justly punish the Israelites; for the event would at length make it known, that among them not even a grain would be found, but that all would be like chaff or refuse: Lo, he says, I will shake among the nations the Israelites as corn is shaken in a sieve: a grain, he says, shall not fall on the earth; as though he said, “Though I shall scatter the Israelites through various places that they may be dispersed here and there, yet this exile shall ever be like a sieve: they now contend with me, when any grain has fallen. The event then shall show, that there is in them nothing but chaff and filth; for I will by sieving cleanse my whole floor, and nothing shall be found to remain on it.” If one objects and says, that there were some godly persons in that nation, though very small in number. This I admit to be true: but the Prophet speaks here, as in many other places, of the whole nation; he refers not to individuals. It was then true, with regard to the body of the people of Israel, that there was not one among them who could be compared to grain, for all had become empty through their iniquities; and hence they necessarily disappeared in the sieve, and were like chaff or refuse.
But it must be observed, that God here cuts off the handle for evasion, for hypocrites ever contend with him; and although they cannot wholly clear themselves, they yet extenuate their sins, and accuse God of too much severity. The Prophet then anticipates such objections, “I will command,” he says, “and will shake the house of Israel as corn is shaken.” It was a very hard lot, when the people were thus driven into different parts of the world; it was indeed a dreadful tearing. The Israelites might have complained that they were too severely treated; but God by this similitude obviates this calumny, “They are indeed scattered in their exile, yet they remain in a sieve; I will shake them, he says, among the nations: but not otherwise than corn when shaken in a sieve: and it is allowed by the consent of all that corn ought to be cleansed. Though the greater part disappears when the corn, threshed on the floor, is afterwards subjected to the fan; yet there is no one but sees that this is necessary and reasonable: no one complains that the chaff thus perishes. Why so? Because it is useless. God then shows that he is not cruel, nor exceeds moderation, though he may scatter his people through the remote regions of the earth, for he ever keeps them in a sieve.
He afterwards adds, And fall shall not a grain on the earth They translate צרור, tsarur, a stone, but צרר, tsarer is to tie, and hence this word means what is collected or, binding, as when the children of Jacob had their money tied in their sacks, they said, ‘Behold my binding;’ so also now it is taken for the solid grain. God then intimates that he would not be so rigid as not to moderate his punishment, so as to spare the innocent. I have already said that though there would be still a remnant among the people, yet what the Prophet says is true as to the whole body; for it had nothing either sound or pure. But this objection might be made: It is certain that many faithful worshipers of God were taken away into exile with the wicked; they then fell on the earth as useless chaff or refuse; but God denies that this would be the case. To this I answer, that though the Lord involves his servants with the ungodly when he executes temporal punishment, he is yet ever propitious to them; and it is certain, that however hardly they may be dealt with, they yet do not expostulate; they groan, indeed, but at the same time they acknowledge that they are mercifully treated by the Lord.
But another thing must also be remembered, — that though the Lord would not have dealt so severely with his people, had they been like the few who were good, yet not one of them was without some fault. Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego, were indeed like angels among men; and it was indeed a miracle, that they stood upright in the midst of so much impiety; they were yet led into captivity. When they approached God, they could not object, that they were punished beyond what they deserved. Worthy, indeed, was Jeremiah of heavier punishment; and so was Daniel, though an example of the highest and even of angelic integrity. God then could have cast them away as refuse: it is nevertheless certain that they were wheat; and the Lord shook them in the sieve like the chaff, yet so as ever to keep them gathered under his protection; but at the same time in a hidden manner: as, for instance, the wheat on the floor is beaten together with the chaff, this is common to both; no difference can be observed in the threshing. True is this, and the case is the same when the wheat is being winnowed. When therefore the wheat is gathered, it is, together with the chaff, to be sifted by the fan, without any difference; but the wheat remains. So also it happened to the pious worshipers of God; the Lord kept them collected in the sieve. But here he speaks of the people in general; and he says that the whole people were like refuse and filth, and that they vanished, because there was no solidity in them, no use to be made of them, so that no one remained in the sieve. That God then preserved his servants, was an instance of his wonderful working. But the denunciation of punishment, here spoken of, belonged to the outward dealings of God. As then the people were like refuse or chaff shaken and driven to various places, this happened to them justly, because nothing solid was found in them. It now follows —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(9, 10) Sift.Literally, shake to and fro. That which is not chaff shall be preserved and dispersed as seed. The race shall live, though the kingdom be destroyed. This peculiar judgment is threatened in Lev. 26:33; Deu. 28:64. (Comp. Hos. 9:17.) The prediction is very remarkable, as pointing to the indestructible vitality of the race, and its wide diffusion among all nations.
Prevent us.Better, assail us.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Amo 9:9-10 carry further the thought of 8b. The judgment has a disciplinary purpose, to separate the pure from the corrupt; the pure will be preserved, the corrupt destroyed. This teaching is in accord with the philosophical conceptions of the times; the prophet does not consider the possibility of a righteous man being cut off, while an ungodly person might escape.
I will Better, I am about to (see on Amo 2:13).
Command The divine executioner (Amo 6:14).
Sift R.V. margin, “cause to move to and fro,” as the grain in the sieve is shaken back and forth.
House of Israel All, good and bad alike.
Among all nations Among which the Israelites were to be scattered in exile. That experience would test the loyalty of the people, just as the sifting process tests the character of the grain. Grain [“kernel”] Literally, pebble. In view of the figure of the sieve it seems best to interpret the word figuratively of the solid, sound grain of corn. Not even the smallest sound kernel will be allowed to fall to the ground and be trampled under foot; carefully it will be preserved, to be used according to the wishes of the husbandman. Thus the righteous kernel among the exiles will be preserved for God’s own use; only the godless chaff will perish. Some interpret the word literally, pebble, or little stone. The pebbles are kept in the sieve while the good grain is allowed to fall through, to be gathered and preserved; so the wicked will be retained in exile, while the pious will be restored. In either case the thought is that the fate of the righteous will not be the same as that of the wicked; the former will be preserved for a brighter future.
The sinners Not the righteous, who have been separated by the sifting process.
By the sword Of the enemy. A figure of violent death, whatever the means.
The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us For the second verb, now obsolete in the sense required here, R.V. reads “meet us.” This is undoubtedly the sense of the passage but to justify this translation two slight changes in the verb forms may be necessary.
Evil Misfortune or calamity. The prophet has in mind especially the self-secure sinners who, relying upon their membership in the chosen race (Amo 9:7; Amo 3:2), or upon their religious zeal (Amo 5:21 ff.), fancy that the judgment cannot touch them (Amo 6:3; compare Mic 3:11; Isa 5:19).
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Amo 9:9. I will sift the house of Israel This prophesy remarkably agrees with the present state of the Jews. “I will mingle and scatter the Israelites among all nations, just as good and bad grain are mingled in a sieve; but will so order it, that the good grain (the souls faithful to the grace of God) shall be preserved.” See Mat 3:12 and Lowth.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 1194
THE SECURITY OF ALL GODS PEOPLE
Amo 9:9. Lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve; yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.
THOUGH God does not see fit to preserve his people wholly from national calamities, yet he interposes, either to lighten their afflictions or to sanctify them to their good. Daniel and the Hebrew youths were carried captive with their nation; yet were they eminently protected by that God whom they served: and Jeremiah, though not raised to any exalted station, was on many occasions marked as an object of Gods incessant care and attention. The Prophet Amos was commissioned to foretell the dispersion of Israel which began in the Assyrian captivity, and was completed at the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans: but the God of Abraham promised by him, that he would be mindful of his hidden ones, and deliver them from the evils to which the profligate and secure should surely be exposed.
There are now, as well as in former ages, sifting times, (if we may so speak,) both to the Church at large, and to the individual members of it: and the same distinguishing regard is still, though less visibly, manifested by God to his dear children; not the smallest of whom shall ever be overlooked. To illustrate this truth we shall shew,
I.
By what methods God sifts his people
God sees that a state of perfect ease would by no means conduce to his peoples welfare: and therefore he suffers them sometimes to be agitated,
1.
By outward afflictions
[Persecution is the common lot of all who live godly in Christ Jesus: and this, together with other trials common to the world at large, is made use of to separate the godly from the ungodly, and to purify them from the corruptions that cleave to them in their present state. While the world smiles upon us we are too ready to seek its friendship by sinful compliances; and when we enjoy an entire freedom from troubles, we are apt to grow careless, and to relax our diligence in seeking the rest that remaineth for us. God therefore causes us to he emptied from vessel to vessel, that we may not be settled on our lees [Note: Job 36:8-10. with Jer 48:11.].]
2.
By inward temptations
[By far the sorest trials which Christians experience, are, for the most part, of an inward and spiritual nature: Satan wounds them with his fiery darts, and harasses them with many painful suggestions. That wicked fiend indeed desires to sift them as wheat, that he may prevail against them to their destruction; but God permits him to do it for a very different end, namely, that he may root out all their self-confidence, and stimulate them to greater exertions in their spiritual warfare. This was the effect which it produced on Peter [Note: Luk 22:31. compared with 1Pe 5:8.]; and it is with the same benevolent intent that our Almighty friend gives licence to our adversary to make his assaults on us. Doubtless such tossings to and fro are very distressing to us at the time; but they are overruled for good, in that they separate us move effectually from an evil world, and render us more meet for the heavenly garner.]
Doubtless many who make a fair appearance, perish by these means: nevertheless we are assured of,
II.
The security of all those that are truly upright
There is an essential difference between the hypocrites and the sincere
[As chaff and corn may to a superficial observer resemble each other, so may the real and merely nominal Christian. But as there is a solidity in the corn which is not to be found in the chaff, so the truly converted person has something, which clearly distinguishes him from the most refined hypocrite: he is not contented with an appearance of religion, but seeks to possess it in truth: nor can he rest in the performance of duties; but labours to have his heart engaged in them. To be high in the estimation of men is, in his eyes, a poor matter; he would approve himself to God in all he does: nor is there any measure of perfection with which he would be satisfied, while there remained a hope and prospect of attaining more.]
Moreover, God will infallibly distinguish the true professors from the false
[Man may easily be mistaken in his estimate of characters: but God will form an unerring judgment: he discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart: he weighs the very spirits of men no less than their actions: he needs not that any should testify of man, for he knows what is in man: he will discover sincerity under the most unfavourable circumstances, and hypocrisy under the most artful disguise. Abijah alone of all the house of Jeroboam had some good thing in his heart towards the Lord God of Israel, and God did not fail to notice it with tokens of his approbation, while he poured out the vials of his wrath on all the family besides [Note: 1Ki 14:13.]. If we were less than the least of all saints, if we were only as smoking flax, having but one spark of grace and a whole cloud of corruption, God would assuredly observe the latent principle, and discover the workings of his own Spirit amidst all the infirmities of our fallen nature.]
Nor will he ever suffer the weakest believer to perish
[From the violence with which corn is agitated, an ignorant person would imagine that much of it must be lust with the chaff: in like manner many that are weak in faith may be ready to cry, I shall one day perish [Note: 1Sa 27:1.]. But God pledges himself for the preservation of every the smallest grain. lie represents himself under the image of a woman, who, having lost a small piece of silver, lights a candle, and sweeps diligently till she find it [Note: Luk 15:8.]; and he assures us, that it is not his will, that any of Ins little ones should perish [Note: Mat 18:14.]. We have no reason then to fear: for whilst he continues possessed of omniscience to discern his people, and omnipotence to preserve them, we shall be as secure amidst all our agitations, as if we were already lodged in the granary of heaven.]
Infer
1.
How much are we concerned to be found sincere!
[There is a day quickly coming, when Christ, the Judge of (piick and dead, shall sift and winnow us all. Nor will he merely cause a separation of the precious from the vile, but such a separation as shall be followed with endless happiness or misery [Note: Mat 3:12.]. Should we not then diligently inquire whether we be wheat or chaff? To what purpose is it that the tares grow up with the wheat, and sometimes are mistaken for it, if, at the harvest, they must be separated for ever [Note: Mat 13:29-30.]? So it will be of little avail to have been reputed Christians, if, the very instant we die, we are to take our portion with hypocrites and unbelievers. Let us then turn to God now with our whole hearts, that we may have confidence before him at his coming.]
2.
How may we welcome afflictions, provided we be truly upright!
[What are afflictions but the sieve in our Fathers hand, whereby he takes us from among the ungodly, and purifies us unto himself a peculiar people? And shall we distrust his skill, or doubt his love? If the countryman, instructed by him, knows how to suit his threshing-instruments to the nature of his corn, shall God be at a loss how most effectually to produce his ends on us [Note: Isa 28:26-28.]? Let us then leave ourselves in his hands, and submit cheerfully to the means, that we may at last attain the end.]
3.
How important a grace is faith!
[Under the various trials with which we are harassed, it is faith alone that can keep us steadfast, or afford us any solid comfort. If we be destitute of faith, we shall be tormented with ten thousand fears: but if we be strong in faith, we shall, under all circumstances, stay ourselves on God, and be kept in perfect peace [Note: Isa 26:3.]. However sensible we be of our own weakness and unworthiness, we shall expect the accomplishment of Gods promise, and shall dismiss our fears, knowing that he is able to keep that which we have committed to him [Note: 2Ti 1:12.]. May we all be enabled in this manner to trust ourselves in his hands, and to wait quietly for that salvation which he has prepared for us!]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Amo 9:9 For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as [corn] is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.
Ver. 9. For lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel ] It is not without God’s command and good leave that evil spirits and men can sift the saints, as Satan desired to have done Peter. He desired it, as a challenger desireth one of the other side to combat with; so he begged leave to sift Job, and so he tempted David to number the people, but it was by God’s permission. Up therefore and pray, that ye enter not into temptation, Luk 22:31 ; Luk 22:46 , or, that ye may come clear out of it, and more than conquerors, even triumphers. The enemy is stinted; yea, Christ will tread him under your feet shortly, Rom 16:20 .
And I will sift the house of Israel among all nations
Like as corn is sifted in a sieve
Yet shall not the least grain (Heb. stone) fall upon the earth] As the chaff and dust shall; for “what is the chaff to the wheat?” saith the Lord, Jer 23:28 . Improbi nobiscum esse possunt in horreo, sed non in area The wicked are able to be with us in the storehouse but not on the theshingfloor. (Augustine). Christ hath his fan in his hand, and will surely discriminate, Mat 3:12 ; he will take out the precious from the vile, he will drive the chaff one way and the wheat another; and take care that not the least grain of weighty wheat, that had good tack in it (as a stone hath, though but a little stone), shall be lost. He will turn his hand upon the little ones, and secure them, Zec 13:7 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
lo = behold. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6.
the least grain. Hebrew. tzeror. A usage common to-day with thefellahheen (see James Niel’s Palestine Explored, p. 250).
earth. Hebrew Wets. Not the same word as in Amo 9:8.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
sift
(See Scofield “Psa 72:1”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
and I: Lev 26:33, Deu 28:64
sift: Heb. cause to move
grain: Heb. stone
Reciprocal: Num 23:9 – shall not Deu 28:65 – shalt thou Est 4:14 – then shall Isa 27:12 – ye shall be Isa 28:28 – Bread Isa 30:28 – to sift Isa 43:2 – passest Isa 65:8 – General Jer 3:16 – when Jer 4:27 – yet Jer 29:18 – will deliver Jer 30:11 – though Jer 31:17 – General Jer 31:36 – cease Jer 46:28 – but I will not Jer 49:36 – scatter Jer 51:5 – Israel Eze 5:10 – the whole Eze 12:16 – I will Eze 17:21 – all his fugitives Eze 20:34 – General Eze 20:38 – I will purge Eze 36:19 – I scattered Eze 39:28 – and have Dan 9:7 – near Hos 9:17 – and Amo 6:11 – the Lord Hab 1:12 – we Zec 2:6 – spread Zec 10:9 – sow Zec 13:8 – but Mat 3:12 – and gather Luk 22:31 – sift Act 27:44 – that Rom 11:1 – Hath God
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE GARNERING OF THE LEAST GRAIN
I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.
Amo 9:9
There is double comfort here, as to others and as to ourselves.
I. As to others.Have not some of us had a scarcely detected notion as if to some extent the salvation of others depended upon our efforts? Of course, we never put it in so many words; but has there not been something of a feeling that if we tried very hard to win a soul we should succeed, and if we did not try quite enough it would get lost? And this has made our service anxious and burdensome. Cannot we trust Him Whom the Father trusted with the tremendous work of redemption? Shall He not do right? Cannot we trust the Good Shepherd about His own sheep? Why should it actually seem harder to trust Him about His own affairs than about our own? Trust in Him at all times, includes the time when we almost fancy the salvation of a dear one depends on our little bits of prayers and efforts. Not that this trust will tend to easy-going idleness. It never does this when it is real. The deepest trust leads to the most powerful action. It is the silencing oil that makes the machine obey the motive power with greatest readiness and result.
II. Then the comfort for ourselves.Satan has desired to have us, that he may sift us as wheat; but the Lord Himself keeps the sieve in His own hand, and pledges His word that not the least grain shall fall on the earth.
I am so glad of that word, not the least; not even me, though less than the least of all saints, though having only the claim of being a sinner.
Illustrations
(1) This prophecy about the sifting of Israel among the nations is the story of eighteen centuries of the Christian era. God seems to have cast away His people whom He foreknew. As the farmer throws up the grain against the wind, so has God sifted them, yet the nation has remained intact. Not the least grain has been unnoticed or forgotten. Surely God will yet sow the unmowed grain in the soil of all the earth, and harvests of souls shall result.
(2) A marvellous chapter. It begins with an announcement of the certainty of the punishment of the guilty. Let them climb never so high, or burrow never so deep; let them scale the loftiest hills, or plumb the deepest seas, yet would vengeance follow and overtake them. What hope is there for the sinner to contend successfully against Him, Who builds His chambers in the heavens, and founds His vaults upon the earth, and at Whose bidding the waves roll in upon the land? The great desolations which have befallen the mighty nations and cities of former days, prove how strict God is to mark iniquity.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
A Bird’s-Eye View of Amos
Amo 9:9-15
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
We wish to suggest five things about the Prophet whom God used to deliver His message to Israel.
1. Amos, the man. Our opening verse reads: “The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa.” The Lord does not always choose the cultured, educated, and perhaps withal more or less physically weakened youths, to do His work. He often goes into the most rugged places, where nature has hardened her young men to difficult tasks; and from thence He selects a man prepared by toil, to do His bidding.
A herdsman is usually thought of as rough, rugged and ruddy; and as one hardly considered to be bent toward piety and spiritual things. With Amos it was different. He was rough, we have no doubt; he was rugged and ruddy, beyond question; and yet he was capable of both a spiritual vision, and of a heart of compassion toward others.
In the 7th chapter of Amos, Amo 7:14, we read concerning this herdsman: “I was no Prophet, neither was I a Prophet’s son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit.”
2. Amos and his call. Amos said: “The Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said unto me, Go, prophesy.” We believe that every minister and Prophet of today should have a direct call from Heaven. The ministry is not an occupation to be chosen, as other avocations are chosen: we must be God-sent, if we would be God-honored and God-blessed.
3. Amos and his burden. In Amo 5:1, it is written: “Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel.” The true Prophet must have more than God’s approval, more than God’s power and more than a commission from God. He must have also the compassion which consumed His Lord.
4. Amos and his times. Often we think of the minor Prophet as living years after the major Prophets were dead. Such is not the case with Amos. He lived somewhere around B. C. 776-763, and he was a contemporary of Rehoboam II. He lived also in the days of Uzziah, that mighty king, who reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem and finally died under God’s curse of leprosy.
5. Amos, the Prophet, as a seer. Perhaps one of the outstanding features of the prophecy of Amos was his frequent use of imagery and symbolism in his messages. Let us give you a few of these:
In Amo 5:8, he uses the imagery of the seven stars and Orion.
In Amo 2:13, he speaks of a cart pressed full of sheaves.
In Amo 3:12, he speaks of a shepherd, of a lion, and of a lamb.
In Amo 4:1, he speaks of the kine of Bashan.
In Amo 6:12, he tells of horses who run, of oxen who plow.
In Amo 8:1, he speaks under the imagery of a basket of summer fruit.
This could be continued. We only desire to show that there is a very prominent place given to homey and common illustrations and comparisons in the words of a God-endued and God-sent Prophet.
I. DOES GOD PUNISH NATIONAL SINS? (Amo 1:3; Amo 1:6-7; Amo 1:13)
Frequently we imagine that everything that happens in the way of the judgments which fall upon nations, happens accidentally or as a matter of natural sequence. God is usually left out of the picture.
It must be still conceded that “Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth.” If we are willing to grant that individuals are punished for their transgressions, why should we forget that nations are also punished?
In. the Book of Amos, we read: “The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem.” This word, “roar,” suggests judgment and destruction following out God’s sentence against a people.
1. God punishes the Gentile nations.
In Amo 1:3 of our chapter, we read concerning Damascus: “I will not turn away the punishment thereof.”
In Amo 1:6, we read: “For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof.”
In Amo 1:9, God says: “For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof.”
In Amo 1:11, it is written: “For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof.”
The same thing is written concerning the children of Ammon and of Moab.
These statements suffice us. God does punish nations, and particularly those nations who war against His people, Israel. When God called Abraham, He said, He that blesseth thee shall be blessed, and he that curseth thee shall be cursed.
2. God punishes His own people, Judah. In Amo 2:4, it is written: “For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof.” It seems to us that God’s own people, Israel and Judah, were the more severely punished because they had a fuller light and a deeper knowledge of God. Let us deduct our own spiritual lessons.
II. GOD’S CASE AGAINST THE CHOSEN NATION (Amo 3:1-3)
The statement that God would punish Judah and Israel is given in chapter 2. To this we referred. We now enter into the details of God’s curse against Israel as a whole. May the reader keep in mind that Judah composed two and a half tribes, and Israel ten and a half; however, the word, “Israel,” which in chapter 2, Amo 2:6, is used against the ten and a half tribes, is used in chapter 3, Amo 3:1, against the twelve tribes. The verse reads: “Hear this word that the Lord hath spoken against you, O Children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt.”
1. The twelve tribes were a delivered people. Amo 3:1 says: “I brought (you) up from the land of Egypt.”
2. The twelve tribes were a chosen people. Amo 3:2 says: “You only have I known of all the families of the earth.”
3. The twelve tribes were a favored people. Amo 3:3 says that the Children of Israel were a people who walked with God.
It is sad beyond thought that against such a people, a delivered, chosen, favored people, it became necessary for God to say, “I will punish you for all your iniquities.”
4. Amos certifies his prophecy. In Amo 3:1, it is written: “Hear this word that the Lord hath spoken against you.” As God’s judgments follow throughout the chapter, we wonder if there shall ever be left one of the Children of Israel, who shall not fall and be cut off forever? In answer to this, Amo 3:12 gives us the calm assurance, “Thus saith the Lord; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the Children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria.” How graphic is this description! The Children of Israel will be saved, and yet saved only, as it were, by two uneaten legs or by the piece of an ear.
III. AMOS’ LAMENTATION (Amo 4:12)
1. The call to prepare to meet God. Amo 4:12 says: “Because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.” All through the Book of Amos there are marvelous opportunities for spiritual lessons which may be rightly applied to the saints of our day. If Israel had to meet her God, so do we. We must meet Him at the Bema judgment of Christ, where every one shall be giving account of himself to God. Then shall we receive just judgment.
2. The hopelessness of a people who had sinned against their Lord. “The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up.” God, however, can raise her up, and He has kept unto Himself a remnant. In Amo 5:3, we read: “The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the House of Israel.”
3. The hope of a people who have sinned against the Lord. In Amo 4:4, it is written: “Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years.” In Amo 5:6, we read: “Seek the Lord, and ye shall live.” The 5th verse warns Israel against seeking Bethel. It is God, and God alone, who can save. In Amo 5:8, a cry is made.
There is no more graphic language giving glory to God in the Book of Amos than this. It is to such a God, the God of the stars, the God who poureth water upon the earth, that Israel is to come for help.
IV. GOD’S CURSE UPON PASSIVITY (Amo 6:1)
1. They were at ease in Zion. The Children of Israel, in the days of the prophecy of Amos, were flourishing. They were sinning against God, to be sure, and yet withal keeping up more or less of a form of spiritual activity. They neither dreaded the foes which were around them, neither did they dread the judgments which God was about to pour forth. They were at ease in Zion.
Alas! Alas! Such is the case today. There are many churches which are saying: “I am rich, and increased in goods and have need of nothing.” They know not that they are poor and miserable and blind and naked, and about to be spewed out of the mouth of the Lord.
2. There was no sense of need. Their trust, according to Amo 6:1, was in the mountain of Samaria. They put off every thought of an evil day. They delighted to lie upon beds of idleness, and to stretch themselves upon their couches. Their joy was eating the lambs out of the flock. They chanted their hymns to the sound of the viol. They drank wine in bowls, and anointed themselves with the chief ointment. It was for this cause that they had no sense of need. God, however, hated their palaces, and the things which they called excellent, were a stench before Him.
3. In the hour of their self-confidence and ease, God sounded forth His judgment. He said (Amo 6:14): “Behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O House of Israel, * * and they shall afflict you.” In the day of God’s judgment, they would find their own utter helplessness revealed, for the Lord would smite their great house with breaches. They had “turned (their) judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock.” They had taken unto themselves the horns of their own strength, but had rejected the horns of the altar.
V. AMOS COMES TO VISIONS (Amo 7:1; Amo 7:4; Amo 7:8; Amo 7:10)
1. The vision of the ravaging locusts. Amo 7:1 says: “Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me; and, behold, He formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth.” When the grasshoppers had made an end of eating the grass of the land, poor Amos cried, “O Lord God, forgive, I beseech Thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.” We have no doubt that these were actual locusts which were sent to destroy the land, and they were a pest unconquerable and devastating.
2. The vision of the destroying fire. Amo 7:4 tells us: “The Lord God shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord God called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part.” Once again the Prophet cried, “O Lord God, cease, I beseech Thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.” How startling to think of a great nation falling prey to the insignificant grasshopper and now being consumed by the terrific roar of the fire!
3. The vision of the plumb line. In Amo 7:8, Amos saw a plumb line. “Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of My people Israel.” There is something about a plumb line that is unimpeachable. When it falls down by the side of a wall, every onlooker condemns the wall for its crookedness and not the plumb line for its straightness.
After Amos had delivered these visions unto the Children of Israel, “Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the House of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.”
Let any true minister of God sound forth a faithful warning to the Church of today, and he will find plenty of Amaziahs among apostate preachers who are ready to sound forth his condemnation.
VI. A QUERY AND A RESPONSE (Amo 8:5)
1. The query. Our key verse says: “When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat?” It is not difficult for us to fathom the meaning of these questions. They were upset because they had to stop their making money in order to worship the Lord.
Their worship, was no more than mere formality: therefore worship was a great weariness to them. The Book of Malachi gives us further light on these same conditions in Israel. God Himself cried out to Israel, rebuking them, because everything they did for Him was done with an evil eye.
Present-hour conditions, alas, are much the same in many localities. History is repeating itself.
2. The response. God answered Israel and said: “I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day.” Israel wanted to know when their Sabbaths, and their periods of sacrifices, would cease. The Lord seemed to say to them through the lips of Amos: They shall cease when the Son of God passeth around the cycle of His suffering and the sun ceases to shine at midday.
3. The prophecy. Here is one of Amos’ most graphic and meaningful words. He prophesied: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the Words of the Lord.”
If we know the Word of the Lord, that day is fast coming upon them, and upon us now. When the Church is raptured and the antichrist seeks to destroy every vestige of Divine mercy, there will be indeed a famine for the Word of the Lord. May God pity those who live in that hour.
VII. SIFTED, AS IN A SIEVE (Amo 9:9)
1. The unescapableness of God’s judgment. When Amos prophesied, the people perhaps mocked him. and laughed at his words. The Lord, however, makes His words sure and steadfast. In Amo 9:2, the Lord said by Amos: “Though they dig into hell, thence shall Mine hand take them; though they climb up to Heaven, thence will I bring them down.”
People, today, look too lightly upon the Church’s departure from the faith; as well as upon the present worldliness which engulfs it. God seems, even now, to be saying to the Church, “If God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest He also spare not thee.”
2. The certainty of God’s favors. As God’s judgments are inescapable and sure, so also are His favors. If Israel is to be sifted, according to Amo 9:9, among all nations like as corn is sifted in a sieve, so also shall she be gathered again. The last statement of Amo 9:9, which reads: “Yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth,” is just as sure of fulfillment as the fact of her sifting. Thank God! His people are not cast off forever.
3. Planted never to be pulled down. There have been many restorations of Israel. The earlier chapters of the Book of judges are full of them. Israel sinned, God delivered her to her enemies, Israel cried unto the Lord and repented, and God restored her. Here, however, in the closing verses of Amos, we have a different kind of restoration. It is written: “I will bring again the captivity of My people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make; gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.”
These words are authoritative, trustworthy, and final. What God has promised, He will do.
AN ILLUSTRATION
It was God who made the ministry of the herdsmen of Tekoa blessed.
What a beautiful legend it is that lingers about the memory of the great artist, Michelangelo. Engaged one time, so the legend runs, on a great painting he began to feel incompetent for the great and delicate work he had undertaken. At last he grew weary, became discouraged and fell asleep with the task unfinished before him and bearing marks of imperfection which could not hide themselves from his great genius, though he had despaired of doing any better. Then it was that while he slept an angel came, and taking the brush which had fallen from the sleeping artist’s fingers, went over the painting and touched it into rarest beauty and Divine completeness. At length the great artist awoke with a sense of shame that he had neglected his task in self-indulgent sleep. Still discouraged he took his brush and determined to overcome the imperfections and to complete the picture. But as he lifted his eyes to the canvas his soul was thrilled and his heart was overjoyed as he realized that his painting was finished, and that it had been
“painted fairer
Far than any picture of his making
In the past, with tint and touch Divine,
And a light of God above it breaking.”
Child of God. here is great comfort for you and me. How earnestly we have longed to be like the Master. We have prayed and we have striven, and we have sought for strength from every quarter. But we are conscious of failure; our achievement does not measure up to our ideals; we seem to be making little if any progress and we grow discouraged. But is it not true that in the very hour of our faintness the Master-workman comes, even the Spirit of our God, full of grace and almightiness, and silently works His beauty in our soul? One day, blessed be His precious Name, we shall awake and find our work has been finished; and we shall be satisfied, for we shall awake in His likeness.-W. E. B.
Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water
Amo 9:9. This verse has the same subject matter as the preceding one, only It is expressed In figurative language. The heathen nations are the sieve and God was going to use that means of separating many of the people of Israel. In literal actions a sieve retains the good grain, while the dwarfed and otherwise objectionable particles will drop through and fall to the ground. The prediction of the verse Is that none of the grain among the people of Israel would fall.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
9:9 For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as [corn] is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the {h} least grain fall upon the earth.
(h) Meaning that none of his own would perish in his wrath.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
God would sift all the Israelites, among the other nations, to separate the people deserving judgment from the righteous few. He would allow the righteous person (true wheat) to slip through but would retain the unrighteous (a kernel, pebble, anything compacted, Heb. seror) for judgment. Another possibility is that those who do not pass through the screen represent the righteous remnant and all others are the sinful Israelites. He would separate the righteous from the sinful as He sifted through the Israelites. God determines just how much sinfulness makes His punishment inevitable; He determines the mesh of the sifting screen.