CHAPTER XI

USING the political situation and the impending calamity of their day as a background, the prophets of the Assyrian period painted the future of the kingdom of Israel and foretold the calamities that would overtake their people in the near and the remote future. Those to whose writings I wish, in this chapter, to call special attention are Amos, Isaiah, and Micah. From several of their predictions we can gather the condition of Israel at the time of Messiah's first appearance.

I. THE MESSAGE OF AMOS

Amos was commissioned of the Lord especially to deliver his messages to the northern kingdom. At the same time he gave some attention to Judah. This fact becomes evident from a casual perusal of his nine short chapters--in fact, a hasty reading of chapters 1 and 2 shows that he delivered oracles concerning the nations surrounding Israel and then concluded his messages by predicting the judgment of the Almighty upon both Judah and Israel. In 2:5 we read the following statement: "But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem." This prediction, in connection with others, shows conclusively that he also engaged in a ministry pertaining to Judah.

According to the best chronological data obtainable we learn that Amos' life and labors fell largely in the second quarter of the eighth century before the common era. During the reigns of Uzziah in Judah and Jeroboam II in Samaria these rival kingdoms enjoyed prosperity such as they had not experienced since the days of Solomon. A period of peace and plenty, prosperity and luxury, is a hotbed in which the deadly germs of moral and spiritual decadence and national disintegration breed prolifically. The truthfulness of this statement is verified by a casual glance at history.

In chapter 9 of his prophecy, Amos recorded a vision in which he saw the Lord standing beside the altar. The fact that he prefixes the article to the word altar is evidence that this one stood out preeminently above all other altars of the time. To anyone who is familiar with the history of the day, it is certain that the one here referred to was the brazen altar of the Temple in Jerusalem. All of the altars in the northern kingdom were set up in rebellion against the true God, but the one at Jerusalem was that which was authorized by Him; hence we can be absolutely certain that this reference was to the one in Jerusalem.

The Lord reproved the nation for disloyalty and revealed the fact that, because of the people's exceeding sinfulness, no condition could arise in which they would be secure. There was no place to which they could flee for protection from His wrath. This is the lesson that men and women everywhere need to learn. In this connection may I suggest the reading of Psalm 139 which declares that God knows everything, and that He will punish all wickedness?

In Amos 9:5,6 the Lord, who appeared to the prophet, declared that He is the one who has His chambers in the heavens, and who is controlling the universe. In these verses we have a sublime declaration of the omnipotence of God. For similar and more detailed statements concerning Him see chapters 4:12,13 and 5:6-9 of our prophet. In 9:7 Amos declared the overruling providential control of the nations by the Lord Almighty. He grants to man the power of choice, but at the same time overrules everything that comes into the life of the individual or the group for the advancement of His plans and purposes. In this verse the prophet reaffirmed, in the form of a rhetorical question, that God was the one who controlled the migration of the Ethiopians and also that of the Philistines. This statement, doubtless, was a revelation to many of his auditors. Though God is not present personally here upon earth in a physical body, yet He is overruling everything and is making all events contribute to the advancement of His Plan of the Ages. The inference which they could draw was that God not only overruled the movements of these heathen nations, but also everything that pertains to the nation of Israel.

"8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord Jehovah are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; save that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith Jehovah. 9 For lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, like as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least kernel fall upon the earth. 10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, The evil shall not overtake nor meet us" (Amos 9:8-10).

In verse 8 appears the prediction that the Lord was against the sinful kingdom, and that He would destroy it from the face of the earth. The prophecy does not say that He would destroy the Israelitish people, but rather that He would bring to a termination the northern kingdom of Israel--in fact, the last clause shows that, though the national life was to be taken away, the people would remain.

In verse 9 Amos showed how the people will be kept in a state of preservation, not in the Holy Land, but rather dispersed among the nations. Thus he declared: "For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among the nations, like as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least kernel fall upon the earth." Though this passage has specific reference to the ten northern tribes, the kingdom of Israel, yet in this setting we see that it includes the two tribes of the southern kingdom, for the altar mentioned in verse 1 of this chapter refers to the one at Jerusalem, and in verse 11 the tabernacle of David is in view. From these considerations we can be certain that Judah is included in this prediction. When we look at the historic fulfilment, we see that the northern kingdom was brought to an end in the year 719 B.C.E., the citizens being carried off into Assyrian captivity. In the fateful years 605-586 B.C.E. the government of the southern kingdom collapsed and the royalty with the nobility was carried into Babylonian captivity. These two exiles, while included in Amos' prediction, do not fill out the entire picture, for the dispersion here foretold is world-wide and culminates only with the time when all of the sinners of Israel are purged from the nation. In striking contrast with this prediction, those of Israel and Judah who, at the end of the seventy years of Babylonian captivity, desired to return to their native land had the privilege of doing so under the leadership of Zerubbabel, the governor, and Joshua, the high priest. At that time the sinners were not purged from the nation. Hence the Babylonian exile was brought to a close by the restoration under Zerubbabel. From these and other facts we know that the dispersion here foretold reached far greater proportions than either of the two captivities just mentioned.

When one studies this passage and is willing to accept each word at its usual, literal meaning in the light of the context, he arrives at the conclusion that this prediction was a forecast of the Roman occupation and domination of the Holy Land and the dispersion of Israel which occurred in the year 70 C.E. At that time the national life was destroyed and the people were scattered to the four winds. From that day until the present she has resided among the peoples of the earth. This international situation will be terminated, as suggested above, only with the purging of the nation during the time of "Jacob's trouble."

That this world-wide dispersion of Israel is brought to a conclusion at the end of Jacob's trouble is evident from verse 10: "All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, The evil shall not overtake nor meet us." From this verse we see that the sinners in Israel, who are confident that evil will never overtake them, will all be purged from the nation by the sword. There will be, according to other predictions on this point, a time when the nations shall be gathered against Israel, restored to the homeland, to exterminate her from the face of the globe. In the terrible war that follows all the sinners among the Jews will be slain by the sword. On the contrary those who fear God, and who yearn for His worship and service (see Zephaniah 3:18-20) will be preserved and will be permitted to enter that glorious kingdom era which is described in our passage.

"11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old; 12 that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations that are called by my name, saith Jehovah that doeth this" (Amos 9:11,12).

Note the fact that verse 11 begins with the statement "In that day." What is the significance of this phrase? In the light of the context it can refer to no time other than that of the period when the sinners are purged by the sword from Israel at the termination of Israel's age-long dispersion. Therefore the "day" here referred to is the time of Jacob's trouble. When we study the passages referring to this time of disaster, we see that at the conclusion of this day of the Lord, He will set up the throne of David; hence we may correctly conclude from this connection that verse 11 is talking about the end of the time of Jacob's trouble, or the day of the Lord.

The Lord declares that at the end of the Tribulation He will "raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen." What is the meaning of the statement "raise up the tabernacle of David"? According to II Samuel 5:11,12 David built a royal palace for himself which is called a בַּיִת house. That this word refers to the official residence of the Davidic dynasty is clear from the context. In the prophecy of Amos, however, the word סֻכַּת succah is used and is translated "the tabernacle." Why is there a change in the use of the words referring to the royal palace? In the answer to this question will be found the information for which we are in search.

"Sukkah, a hut, indicates, by way of contrast to bayith, the house or palace which David built for himself upon Zion (2 Sam. v. 11) a degenerate condition of the royal house of David. This is placed beyond all doubt by the predicate nopheleth, fallen down. As the stately palace supplies a figurative representation of the greatness and might of the kingdom, so does the fallen hut, which is full of rents and near to destruction, symbolize the utter ruin of the kingdom. If the family of David no longer dwells in a palace, but in a miserable fallen hut, its regal sway must have come to an end" (Commentary on the Minor Prophets by Keil and Delitzsch, Vol. I, page 329).

In the imagery of this verse the period during which the Davidic dynasty reigned in Jerusalem is symbolized by the regal palace which was erected on Ophel by David, but the period following the Babylonian siege and captivity to the time of the national collapse under Titus, the Roman general, is most significantly represented by a miserably torn tabernacle סֻכַּת. Thus in this representation we can see that Amos the prophet looked out into the future and saw clearly the period during which Israel would be in her own land and at the same time would be denied the privilege of an autonomous government under the Davidic dynasty.

"The kingdom of David first became a hut when the kingdom of Judah was overcome by the Chaldeans,--an event which is included in the prediction contained in vers. 1 sqq., and hinted at even in ch. ii. 5."

This quotation from a noted exegete is a correct interpretation of the facts set forth in this passage. The chapter to which he refers (Amos 2:5), and which foretold the destruction of the palaces of Jerusalem was completely fulfiled at the time of the national overthrow by the Romans in 70 C.E. During this period, symbolized by "the tabernacle," the Davidic dynasty is no longer wielding the sceptre in regal splendor, but rather has lost its authority and is living in a dilapidated and miserable hut.

The promise contained in verse 11 was by the ancient synagogue recognized as a Messianic prediction. On this point I wish to quote from Hengstenberg's Christology, Vol. I, pp. 391, 392:

"It is from the passage under review that the Messiah received the name בר נפלים filius cadentium--He who springs forth from the fallen family of David; compare Sanhedrin, fol. 96, 2: R. Nachman said to R. Isaac. Hast thou heard when בר נפלים is to come? The latter answered: Who is he? R. Nachman said: The Messiah. R. Isaac: But is the Messiah thus named? R. Nachman: Certainly, in Amos ix. 11: 'In that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen.' In Breshith Rabbah, sec. 88, we read: 'Who would have expected that God should raise up again the fallen tabernacle of David? And yet we read in Amos ix. 11, 'In that day,' etc. And who could have hoped that the whole world could yet become one flock? And yet, such is declared in Zeph. iii. 9: 'Then will I turn to the people in pure lips, that they all may call upon the name of the Lord, and serve Him with one lip.' But all that is prophesied only in reference to the Messiah."

I feel that the facts of the context justify the ancient synagogal interpretation of this passage. In the light of the prediction of Amos concerning the raising up of the fallen tabernacle of David, the ancient rabbis spoke of Messiah as בר נפלים, son of the fallen ones. It is evident that those teachers interpreted Amos 9:11 as a reference to King Messiah, but they spoke of Him in terms of the fallen tabernacle. But why should He thus be thought of unless He had some connection with the "fallen tabernacle"? There can be but one answer to this question; namely, they understood that He would be born during the days when the house of David would be dethroned and would be living in private obscurity; hence they called Him "the son of the fallen ones." It was impossible, however, for them to have arrived at this conclusion from Amos' statement alone, but, when they studied it in connection with other passages, they could interpret it in no other way.

An examination of this passage in the light of other predictions shows why the Talmudical authorities spoke of the period of the Second Temple in terms "of those who had fallen." According to their understanding, the Messiah then was to be born in this "tabernacle of David," or "hut." Speaking apart from a figure, one would say this: These rabbis understood that Messiah would be born during this period of national humiliation when Israel would be under foreign domination and the dynasty of David no longer would be functioning as the ruling house of the nation, but would be living in virtual obscurity.

Inasmuch as the nation of Israel went down under the sledge-hammer blows of the Romans in the year 70 C.E., the autonomous government collapsed, and the people were scattered among the nations, we would say, in the language of this verse, that the tabernacle here referred to was completely demolished. Since the government of the Davidic dynasty is represented as a tabernacle or hut, since it was destroyed in 70 C.E., and since Messiah is called by the Talmudical authorities "the son of the fallen ones," it is obvious that the evidence of the sacred Scriptures led these ancient rabbis to conclude that Messiah would be born during the existence of the Second Temple and before the collapse of the kingdom.

In making this prediction, Amos declared that God would raise up this fallen tabernacle and build it as in the days of old. The words, days of old, undoubtedly refer to the glorious days of David and Solomon when the kingdom of Israel reached the zenith of its power in the historic past. When, therefore, this tabernacle of David is rebuilt, those living at that time will look back to the ancient glory of David's time and will speak of its being as "in the days of old." The use of this expression, therefore, indicates that the rebuilding of the tabernacle of David was, from the standpoint of Amos, in the distant future.

When this house is reerected, the entire house of Israel--both Judah and Israel--will be united and will live under the one banner of King Immanuel. This was foretold by Ezekiel the prophet: "and I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all" (37:22). When this prediction is fulfilled the curse will be lifted from the earth and the glory of the Lord shall encircle the earth as the waters cover the sea.

In this ninth chapter of Amos we see the four different periods into which Israel's national life is divided: first, the monarchical period during which Amos lived and the Davidic dynasty was reigning in Jerusalem; secondly, the time commonly known as "the era of the Second Temple," during which the nation of Israel was under foreign domination, but was still enjoying its life in the land of the fathers, and which terminated with the collapse of Jerusalem in the year 70 C.E.; thirdly, the period during which all twelve tribes of Israel are scattered among the nations, and there is no visible evidence of the continuance of the Davidic dynasty; and fourthly, the great golden era of the future when Messiah, "the son of the fallen ones," will rebuild the tabernacle of David and reign in splendor, not only over Israel, but over the entire world. The facts therefore presented in this passage, read in the light of other predictions, show that Messiah's first coming was during the era of the Second Temple when the Davidic dynasty was degraded from its position of supreme authority in the nation to one of humiliation in private obscurity. We may conclude, therefore, from this angle that Messiah was scheduled to come prior to the collapse of the Jewish nation which occurred in the year 70 C.E.

The ministry of Amos and that of Isaiah overlapped somewhat. The latter's labors fell within the third and fourth quarters of the eighth century before the common era. His predictions are in perfect harmony with those of his immediate predecessor in the prophetic office. These two spoke of the degradation and humiliation of the Davidic dynasty and house.

According to chapter 6, Isaiah received his call and commission in the year that king Uzziah died. At that time he was granted a vision of the glory of the Lord when He shall reign in the restored temple at Jerusalem, and when the earth shall be full of the glory of the Lord. Being overwhelmed by the sight of the holiness of God, the prophet fell prostrate, making this confession: "Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts" (Isaiah 6:5). When the prophet thus confessed his own sinful condition, one of the seraphim came with a live coal from the altar, touched his lips, and cleansed his soul. Then the Lord called for a volunteer. With a heart thrilling and overflowing with love and gratitude, he offered his services. That he might not entertain any false hopes or misapprehensions, but that he might understand the situation with which he would be confronted, the Lord gave him an exact statement of the results which his preaching would produce. The outlook to the prophet was indeed discouraging. In view of these facts he asked the Lord, "how long?", i.e., how long would he have to speak to such ungrateful and non-responsive people whose hearts would become as hard as adamant? To this query the Lord answered,

"Until cities be waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land become utterly waste, and Jehovah have removed men far away, and the forsaken places be many in the midst of the land" (Vss.11,12).

In this reply there is the forecast of the desolation of the land and the removal of the people far hence. According to 5:13, this removal was called a "captivity." Here appears, in the writings of Isaiah, the first hint of the exile of the people of Israel. When one studies the conditions of the Babylonian captivity, he sees that it did not fill out the picture here presented, but that it was only a partial and limited fulfilment of this prediction. Since God will make good every statement that He has uttered, we may be confident that this prediction which looked beyond the Babylonian captivity to the world-wide dispersion of Israel will likewise be fulfilled literally. At the time of the collapse of the kingdom under the siege by the Chaldeans, the desolation wrought by them does not fill out the picture here presented. On the other hand, the conditions in Palestine during Israel's dispersion among the nations correspond exactly to this given by Isaiah. While all that has been said is true, we must not forget that the calamity which was immediately before the prophet's mind was that which was wrought in the invasion of the country by Sennacherib of Assyria. History always repeats itself, but we may be certain that Isaiah viewed the various sieges and desolations that would come to the land. At the same time he saw in the distant future Israel's world-wide dispersion and the Palestinian devastation of the centuries.

The doctrine of a remnant first appears in Isaiah's writings in 5:13: "Therefore my people are gone into captivity for lack of knowledge and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude are parched with thirst." In this prediction he declared that, if the population should be reduced to one-tenth, it should be eaten up but not completely, for in the following sentence he showed that there is to be a remnant of the godly ones. He illustrated this truth by the stump or stock of a tree which had been hewn down, and out of which there would spring forth a shoot. In Job 14:7-9 this same figure is used:

For there is hope of a tree,
If it be cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that the tender branch thereof will not cease.
Though the root thereof wax old in the earth,
And the stock thereof die in the ground;
Yet through the scent of water it will bud,
And put forth boughs like a plant.

The tree, through the invigorating power of water, will send forth a shoot that will bear fruit later. In Isaiah's prophecy "the holy seed" is that stock which remains in the soil and which later sends forth its shoot. Though his statement does not declare this truth, such is the implication. His auditors doubtless concluded that there would be a calamity which would sweep away the major portion of the nation into eternity, leaving only a small remnant of godly, consecrated ones to perpetuate the race.

In order that we may understand the full significance of the predictions of the Book of Immanuel, it becomes necessary to look at the political situation of Isaiah's day. These prophecies (Isaiah 7-12) fall in the period of the crisis between 734 and 732 B.C.E. At that time there was a threatened invasion of the westland by Assyria under the powerful monarch, Tiglath-pileser III. As the storm clouds were gathering on the eastern political horizon, the smaller countries in western Asia were thrown into consternation and dread. It is assumed by some that only chapters 7:1-9:7 were spoken at this time, and that the oracle beginning with 9:8 was uttered after the fall of Samaria in 719 B.C.E. It is altogether possible that this analysis may be correct; on the other hand, it is just as likely that the entire book of Immanuel was spoken at the same time, prior to the fall of Damascus in 732. By the Spirit all the future was opened to the prophet's view. He saw the overthrow of Samaria and the stubborn reaction of its people, their determination to rebuild their homes, after the devastation, upon a greater and a more substantial order. This great overflowing flood of the waters of the River (as the Assyrian invasion was called) would sweep away, not only the northern kingdom, but would also reach unto Judah and all but inundate the entire country. This prediction is set forth vividly in chapter 10:5-34.

According to 10:5-7, the Lord intended to use the Assyrian to accomplish His purposes in chastening His disobedient people, Israel, although this stout-hearted monarch had no conception of his being used by divine providence to accomplish His holy purposes.

In the pride of his stubborn heart he boasted that he would do to Jerusalem and her temple as he had done to the different cities and kingdoms which he had conquered, and whose gods he had destroyed. His mad ravings are set forth in verses 8-11. In the following paragraph (verses 12-14) God showed that He would accomplish His purposes with the Assyrian (Sennacherib) and then punish him. In the next paragraph (verses 15-19) He made a further revelation concerning the punishment which He would bring upon this stout-hearted monarch. In this paragraph He compared the Assyrian army and nation to that of a forest which would be hewn down, and which would be burned with fire.

Beginning with 10:5 he foretold the invasion of the country by the Assyrians. The immediate fulfilment of this prediction was accomplished either by Sargon or by his son Sennacherib. Charles Boutflower thinks that the former did so in the year 720 B.C. and presents many arguments in favor of this position. I cannot, however, accept this view. For close study of this chapter reveals the fact that the vision went far beyond any military operations and the consequent desolations that were wrought by either Sargon or Sennacherib and reaches into the end time when a full end "will the Lord, Jehovah of hosts make in the midst of all the earth."

In 10:18 the Assyrian forces were compared to a forest which would be consumed and destroyed by "the light of Israel" so that the "remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few, so that a child may write them" (10:19). This figure is resumed in verses 33 and 34. In this passage the king and the leaders of his army are compared to the highest boughs of a forest: "and the high of stature shall be hewn down, and the lofty shall be brought low." Following this statement the prophet declared that the Lord would "cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one." This language shows that Isaiah compared the Assyrian army with its outstanding mighty leaders to the cedars of Lebanon and declared that the Lord God would, by miraculous intervention, slay the Assyrian king. We are not, however, to conclude that the prediction foretold the Lord's slaying the king when he was in the land of Palestine. The forecast simply declares that this great human forest will fall by "a mighty one." This mighty one can be none other than the Lord God Himself. This prediction found its immediate fulfilment in the destruction of Sennacherib's army by the Angel of the Lord as recorded in chapter 37:36-38. Since the vision of chapter 10 sweeps on into the end time, it is certain that the destruction of the major part of the Assyrian army by this Angel of the Lord was but a partial and limited fulfilment, which foreshadows the complete destruction of the great Assyrian army in the time of the end, i.e., in the day of the Lord.

Having used the figure of the hewing down of a forest in order to set forth the destruction of the Assyrian army, the prophet very easily and most naturally extended this figure to the house of Judah and the Davidic king. In 11:1 the house of Jesse is compared to a mighty tree which has been hewn down, and whose stump remains in the ground. "And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit." This figure was a favorite one in the ancient orient. For instance, Croesus once threatened the men of Lampsecus that he would destroy them like a fir. This threat threw the men into great consternation until one of the elders guessed the meaning of it and told them that "the fir when cut down never grows again but dies outright." Unlike the fir will the tree of Jesse be. It is to be hewn down; the stump is to remain in the ground, but it will send forth the shoot out of its roots that shall bear fruit.

What does the hewing down of this tree of Jesse signify? The figure can naturally suggest nothing but the removal of the Davidic dynasty from its royal function of reigning over the house of Judah. Like a tree it is hewn down and dies officially and no longer bears any fruit. Nevertheless the stump, the family of Jesse, continues to remain in the soil and eventually sends forth a sprig or shoot that bears fruit.

When was this regal tree of Jesse hewn down? The answer is: When the Babylonians overthrew the government and took the leaders of the people into captivity. Zedekiah was the last one of the kings of the Davidic line that reigned in Jerusalem. Thus the royal tree was completely hewn down in the year 586 before the common era, but the stump remained in Palestinian soil in the form of the royal house that was demoted or degraded to private life.

According to the prediction, a shoot is to come forth out of this stump while it remains in the ground. Certain trees, when they are hewn down, naturally send forth shoots out of their stump. Thus shall it be with the stump of Jesse. If, however, the stump is torn up and pulled out of the ground, it too will die and will be unable to send forth the shoot. In the year 70 of the common era the entire Jewish nation, including the royal house of Jesse, was torn ruthlessly from Palestinian soil and scattered throughout the countries of the world. Bearing this figure in mind we would say that the root of Jesse was torn from the soil at the time of that calamity, and that after that event it was impossible for a shoot to come forth out of the stump of Jesse. The conclusion to which we are inevitably driven is that this shoot must come forth out of the stump of Jesse before it was torn up and cast forth from Palestinian soil. This is the only logical deduction which we can draw when we bear in mind the figure used.

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