In that day I will restore Davids fallen tent.

I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins,

and build it as it used to be, so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that
bear My Name, declares the Lord, who will do all these things.
Amos 9:11-12
There are two questions which we constantly find ourselves wrestling with. First, does my life
have a purpose? Second, is there a purpose behind the steady march of events in history? James L.
Mays in his Interpretation Commentary on the Book of Psalms writes regarding the description of the
Lords announcement of His calling of the World to His Judgement Throne, which is presented as an
event which is taking place within history, these powerful thoughts about Psalm 50:1-6. The psalm lets
us envision the convening of a trial whose proceedings can be seen only by the eye of faith. (Mays,
James. L., Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, Psalms, John Knox Press,
Louisville, Kentucky, 1994, p. 194) Gods ongoing work of judgement upon the world as He calls us to
believe the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is something which can only be seen by faith. This is true as
well for His hand behind the events of history as well as the circumstances of our own personal lives.
We can only understand these things by faith. Such faith is an awareness that God is at work fulfilling in
our world His purpose and plan to bring redemption to His people. We see this in the powerful
Messianic prophesy which we find in Amos 9:11 & 12.
This prophesy, which is quoted by Luke in Acts 15:16-18a, was given during a time of prosperity
among Gods people. Warnings of a judgment to come were already being given but they were being
ignored. Amos delivers a scathing indictment of all of the nations, including Israel, of the judgment
which was coming. Such a thing was hard to comprehend for the people of God, especially those in
Judah, because God had made a promise to David that he would always have a ruler on the throne.
Davids line, and therefore Jerusalem could not fall therefore. Amos points out that the way forward for
this promise of God was through the cross and resurrection. Gods ways are not our ways. He is the
God of the resurrection. So Amos begins to make some key points for us to ponder.
1) God will restore Davids fallen tent. For the Messiah to come Davids line must first of all fall
so that it can be restored. When the Messiah comes He must first fall. He must die so that
death can be conquered in the resurrection.
2) Gods restoration of the tent of David will involve the restoration of the remnant who live in
all the nations of this world. Amos symbolizes this by pointing to Edom and the nations that
bear Gods Name. God will be creating a new people out of the old. It will be created in the
crucified Messiah.
3) The way into this new creation is through the cross. We must die to ourselves and be raised
in Christ. Repentance requires dying to our self-reliance and putting all our faith in the one
who died and was raised again for us.
Where is history going? What is the purpose of our lives? It is going in a direction which brings
glory to God in the face of Christ. God is acting in His Messiah. This is what the Prophet Amos is
pointing to. Nothing is more important than that we hear Gods call and come to the Lord Jesus
Christ in faith. We must understand this truth as it applies both to our lives and to the whole
sweep of history.
Have you found Gods purpose for your life?