Promises for Young Prodigals

At eighteen years old, I left home and, with it, the church for a time. I called myself a Christian, but in my heart, I regarded Jesus as not much more than an eternal insurance plan. Like many passing through Vanity Fair, I was captivated by its wares: grades, reputation, romance, amusements, and even a soft bed on Sunday morning. These things kept me busy, happy, and outside of any church building. But the world’s pleasures and freedoms are a trap to the young Christian. Apart from my own experience, I have seen and heard how other young Christians backslide or deconstruct as soon as they leave home, and how many do not return.

Christ comes to us in Amos 9, warning such young people of the threats this newfound freedom poses: unrepentant sinners claiming Christ have no benefit from him, but they are called to repent and believe in him who will conquer the nations through his word. This text is highly relevant to those who have wavered in their faith. In the space that follows, I will consider Amos 9 against its contextual backdrop and consider its relevance for today—both for those who need to hear God’s call to return, and for their loved ones.

First, verses 1–10 show that Israel's status as God's people does not relieve them from the judgment to come. Instead, God’s judgment is more severe on those who have the truth but fall into the ways of the heathens. Amos 9 comes on the heels of eight chapters of judgment oracle and vision of that judgment. Israel has fallen into the sin of Jeroboam, using religion as a pragmatic tool to prop up the establishment. They suppose that having the name of the LORD will protect them from the judgment to come, and they say, "Disaster shall not overtake or meet us" (Amos 9:10). But the LORD will not grant mercy to a people who seeks his mercy with their mouths while tempting his justice in their actions (cf. Isa. 29:13; Matt. 15:8). Rather he says, "I will fix my eyes upon them for evil and not for good" (Amos 9:4). What a terrifying prospect!

Israel is wont to flee from God’s wrath. And don’t we understand that temptation? Nevertheless, God tells Israel, no matter where you go to escape, I will be there: whether you dig to Sheol or hide in the mountains, depth and height are as nothing to me (vv. 2–3); should you flee to a far country, you will find only destruction (v. 4).

This is also true in the New Covenant: nominal Christianity is useless to anyone who bears the name of Christ if that name is accompanied by unrepentant sin. One might choose to run from home, escape the confines of membership in a local church, and avoid accountability to his elders, friends, or parents. But he cannot escape the Sovereign's notice and judgment. "No geographical realm is beyond the sovereignty of the God of Israel."

Nor is this judgment only eternal and objective, but he will be miserable in this life, too. In verse 7, God repeats the preface to the Ten Commandments— "Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt[?]" (cf. Exod. 20:2). Who, knowing these words and living in unrepentant sin, does not regret that they ever learned the words that follow, "You shall have no other gods before me" (Exod. 20:3)? The leap from "You shall have no other gods" to "I have set up other gods" is a short one, and this is only the first of the Ten! What an effect this word has on the one who makes it to the second and third. When a child has left the faith with a head full of Bible knowledge, he must hide from any reminder (Amos 9:3), or his conscience will be tormented. So, these first ten verses are a minefield for the guilty conscience: He sees what awaits. He may suppress the knowledge of that truth (Rom. 1:18); he may deny it; and he may lightly dress his wounds, assuring himself that the consequences will not come (Amos 9:10; cf. Jer. 6:14); he may suppose that God does not care what he does; but in his heart, he knows that God's justice will seek him out (Amos 9:4). This assurance of God's wrath terrifies the sinner, and rightly so: he cannot possibly clear his guilt, and who can stand before an angry God (Ps. 76:7; Job 41:10)?

But thanks be to God that he has made propitiation, as Amos soon shows. God explicitly promises, "I will raise up the booth of David" (Amos 9:11), and we see Christ fulfill this promise explicitly: whereas the LORD had promised to David that he would have a man on the throne forever (2 Sam. 7:16), we see in Christ the fulfillment of that promise. He is the long-awaited son of David (Matt. 1:1), who will reign over Israel forever (Luke 1:31–33, cf. Amos 9:8).

The promise of judgment is certain and clear, with Amos making obvious reference to the covenant curses in Deuteronomy (Amos 9:4; cf. Deut. 28:63–68). But in referring to those curses, Amos also alludes to the hope of restoration, calling to memory the promises associated with repentance in Deuteronomy 30:1–10. This covenant blessing is the essence of the New David’s reign: he will bring covenant blessing upon Israel. Their soil will be so fertile that they will hardly have reaped before they can sow again, and their mountains and hills will flow with sweet wine (Amos 9:13, cf. Lev. 26:5); they will have unassailable security (Amos 9:15; cf. Lev. 26:5–8).

How, when Amos has given chapter upon chapter of curses to Israel, will they ever escape judgment and be restored? The answer is found in Christ, who later attained for himself a people, becoming a king over them (John 17:2–4) by his unfailing obedience to the Law (Isa. 50:5–6; 1 Pet. 2:22), propitiatory death, and resurrection (1 Cor. 15:3–4; Heb. 2:17; 1 John 2:2). Having saved a people from judgment, he sends the Holy Spirit to circumcise the hearts of Israel so that they will love the LORD with all their being (Col. 2:11; Deut. 30:6; Rom. 2:29; Jer. 4:4).

However, this New David’s reign will not stop with ethnic Israel. Instead, God promises that his people will "possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name" (Amos 9:12). An exegetical note on this verse is in order. What could Amos mean by the peculiar phrase "remnant of Edom"? Where did Edom come from? Motyer writes that Edom was "used symbolically by the prophets as an embodiment of the hostility of the world to the kingdom of God," which, of all the kings, only David had conquered and held, so in conquering it, the Second David shows his presence and power. And I offer that this reference to Edom is synecdochical, representing all the gentile nations, as Motyer notes, "Messianic hope in the Old Testament is essentially universal… [Amos] sees the nations involved in the privileges of the reign of the new David (12)."

So this new and stronger King David will conquer the Gentiles but leave a "remnant" who will be "called by his name," as one gains a new name through marriage (Isa. 4:1) or adoption (Gen. 48:16). To summarize up to this point, in Amos 9 we see a New David who, for the sake of God's covenant, will stand between Israel and God, absorbing the curse of the Law, bring blessing upon Israel, and gain for himself a mixed people—Jew and Gentile—who will be called by his name as heirs to the promise.

This promise is certainly a flash of hope, but how will it happen, specifically? It comes by the completed work of Jesus and the ministry of his gospel. The apostles in the Jerusalem Counsel of Acts 15 illuminate the nature of this conquest. I will suggest two significant aspects of Christ's reign as the New David and their implications in turn.

First, his redemption is a gift received by faith in Christ Jesus without distinction, as the apostle says, "…God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, [gave] them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:7–9). God will redeem Edom, even those who are overtly hostile. He writes, "Is My hand shortened, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver?" (Isa. 50:2). Certainly, it is not! One application for the young prodigal is this: just as God will judge without distinction, so is his free grace offered without distinction. Repent and receive his grace. Another is this: God's church has a mission—by it, he will redeem yet more of his people to be called by his name. The church is not just for private faith and personal holiness, but it is a God-ordained means of salvation to the nations. Therefore, we must live accordingly by extending the offer of free grace to "all the nations who are called by [his] name" (Amos 9:12).

Finally, God redeems a people unto holiness. If his people are called by his name, let them depart from iniquity (2 Tim. 2:19). Applying this text in Acts 15, James rebukes those who would have Gentile believers observe the whole Mosaic law. Nevertheless, he leaves no doubt that they ought to live in holiness: he says they should "abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood" (Acts 15:20). They must live holy lives.

When covenant children leave home, they are invariably barraged by worldly distractions. Even those raised by the most diligent and faithful parents may be drawn away by their own desires (cf. James 1:14). But Israel’s backsliding is a severe warning to anyone who—like I had—rejects God’s reign and pretends to have him as savior. How much more are God’s promises to Israel a gracious call to return?

Indeed, the curses for disobedience are real and severe; this is the message of Amos 9:1–10. But to a redeemed people, the Law is no less valuable, for it shows us what pleases God, who says, "You shall be holy, for I am holy" (1 Pet. 1:16). He who would have the plowman overtake the reaper (Amos 9:13), who would partake in the many blessings of Christ, let him leave everything for the sake of Christ and receive back a hundredfold (Matt. 19:27–29).