“In that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David, and wall up its breaches; I will also raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old” (Amos 9:11).
Amos’s transition from judgment to restoration, tearing down to building up, scattering to regathering in the final verses of his book, is what filmmakers would probably call a “hard cut.” It is very sudden, and the contrast incredibly stark. But for those who know the Torah well, Amos’s transition, though swift, is hardly surprising, for it is clear the prophet has taken nearly all his predictions from Moses’s eschatology.
One word in Amos’s Messianic prophecy really stands out and therefore merits a closer look. Why does Amos state that God will restore David’s “booth”? The reason may be found by seeking an answer in the larger context of the book. In chapter 5, God condemns the house of Israel to exile for the worshipping of a Mesopotamian astral deity called “Sikkuth,” whom they honored as their heavenly king instead of God.
…by reading the Hebrew Bible more closely, we gain a far greater appreciation for the New Testament’s insistence that Yeshua is indeed our promised Messiah.
By referring to the Messianic kingdom as “Sukkath David” (the booth of David), Amos highlights the radical reversal from the worship of a false king to the worship of their true king, who is simultaneously both the son of David and a divine Messiah (see Isa 9:6 [5]).
And it is by virtue of this strategic literary connection within the book of Amos that our respect for the New Testament’s sensitive handling of the Hebrew Bible should skyrocket. For Luke too strategically employs these same verses, Amos 5:26 and Amos 9:11, both to condemn the religious leaders in his day for failing to put their faith in the promised King of Israel, as well as to explain the inclusion of the Gentiles within the Messianic faith.
And so we see an important principle at work: by reading the Hebrew Bible more closely, we gain a far greater appreciation for the New Testament’s insistence that Yeshua is indeed our promised Messiah. “Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11).
