John Calvin Commentary Amos 9:11

"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;" — Amos 9:11 (ASV)

Here now the Prophet begins to set forth the consolation, which alone could support the minds of the godly under afflictions so severe. Threatening alone might have cast the strongest into despair; but the event itself must have overwhelmed whatever hope there might have been. Hence, the Prophet now offers comfort by saying that God would punish the sins of the people of Israel in such a way that He would still remember His own promise.

We know that whenever the Prophets intended to give some hope to a distressed people, they presented the Messiah, for in Him all the promises of God, as Paul says, are Yea and Amen (2 Corinthians 1:20). There was no other remedy for the dispersion than for God to gather all the scattered members under one head. Hence, when the head is taken away, the Church has no head, especially when it is scattered and torn, as was the case after the time of Amos. It is no wonder then that the Prophets, after prophesying the destruction of the people (such as happened after the two kingdoms were abolished), should recall the minds of the faithful to the Messiah. For unless God had gathered the Church under one head, there would have been no hope. This is, therefore, the order which Amos now observes.

In that day, he says, will I raise up the tabernacle of David: as if he had said that the only hope would be when the promised redeemers would appear. This is the import of the whole. After showing then that the people had no hope from themselves (for God had tried all means, but in vain), and after denouncing their final ruin, he now adds, “The Lord will yet have mercy on His people, for He will remember His covenant.” How will this be? “The Redeemer shall come.” We now, then, understand the Prophet's design and the meaning of the verse.

But when he speaks of the tabernacle of David, he refers, I doubt not, to the decayed state of things, for a tabernacle does not befit royal dignity. It is as if Amos had said, “Though the house of David is destitute of all excellence and is like a humble cottage, yet the Lord will perform what He has promised; He will raise up His kingdom again and restore to him all the power that has been lost.” The Prophet then was referring to that intervening time when the house of David was deprived of all splendor and entirely thrown down.

I will then raise up the tabernacle of David. He might have said the tabernacle of Jesse, but he seems to have intentionally mentioned the name of David so that he might more fully strengthen the minds of the godly in their dreadful desolation, enabling them to flee to the promise with more alacrity, for the name of Jesse was more remote. Since, then, the name of David was highly esteemed, and since this oracle,

‘Of the fruit of thy loins I will set on thy throne,’
(Psalms 132:11)

was commonly known, the Prophet brings forward here the house of David, so that the faithful might remember that God had not in vain made a covenant with David: The tabernacle then of David will I then raise up, and will fence in its breaches, and its ruins will I raise up; and I will build it as in the days of old. Thus the Prophet intimates that not only would the throne of David be overthrown, but also that nothing would remain entire in his humble booth, for it would decay into ruins, and all things would be subverted. In short, he intimates that mournful devastation would happen to the whole family of David. He speaks metaphorically of the tabernacle, as is well understood; but the meaning is clear: God would restore the royal dignity to the throne of David, as in former times.

This is a remarkable prediction and deserves to be carefully weighed by us. It is certain that the Prophet here refers to the advent of Christ, and of this there is no dispute, for even the Jews are of this opinion, at least the more moderate of them. There are indeed those with shameless audacity who pervert all Scripture without any distinction; these and their barking we may pass by.

It is, however, agreed that this passage of the Prophet cannot be explained otherwise than as referring to the Messiah, for the restitution of David’s family was not to be expected before His time; and this may easily be learned from the testimonies of other Prophets.

Since the Prophet here declares that a Redeemer would come who would renew the entire state of the kingdom, we see that the faith of the Fathers was always fixed on Christ. For in the whole world, He alone has reconciled us to God; so also, the fallen Church could not have been restored otherwise than under one head, as we have already often stated.

If then, at this day, we desire to raise up our minds to God, Christ must immediately become a Mediator between us. For when He is taken away, despair will always overwhelm us, nor can we attain any sure hope. We may indeed be lifted up by one wind or another, but our empty confidence will shortly come to nothing unless we have a confidence founded on Christ alone.

This is one thing. Secondly, we must observe that the interruption when God overthrew the kingdom (I mean, the kingdom of Judah) is not inconsistent with the prediction of Jacob and other similar predictions. Jacob indeed had said,

‘Taken away shall not be the scepter from Judah,
nor a lawgiver from his bosom, or from his feet,
until he shall come, the Shiloh,’
(Genesis 49:10)

Afterwards followed this memorable promise:

‘Sit of thy progeny on thy throne shall he,
who shall call me his Father,
and in return I will call him my Son,
and his throne shall perpetually remain,’
(Psalms 132:11–12)

Here the eternity of the kingdom is promised; and yet we see that this kingdom was diminished under Rehoboam, we see that it was distressed by many evils throughout its whole progress, and at last it was miserably destroyed and almost extinguished. Indeed, it hardly had the name of a kingdom; it had no splendor, no throne, no dignity, no scepter, no crown.

It then follows that there seems to be an inconsistency between these events and the promises of God. But the Prophets easily reconcile these apparent contradictions, for they say that for a time there would be no kingdom, or at least that it would be disturbed by many calamities, so that no outward form of a kingdom and no visible glory would appear.

Since they say this, and at the same time add that a restoration would come—that God would establish this kingdom by the power of His Christ—they show that its perpetuity would truly appear and be manifested in Christ. Though the kingdom had fallen for some time, this does not conflict with the other predictions.

This, then, is the right view of the subject: for Christ at last appeared, on whose head rests the true diadem or crown, and who has been elected by God and is the legitimate king. He, having risen from the dead, reigns and now sits at the Father’s right hand, and His throne shall not fail to the end of the world. Indeed, the world shall be renovated, and Christ’s kingdom shall continue, though in another form, after the resurrection, as Paul shows us; and yet Christ shall truly be a king forever.

And the Prophet, by saying, as in ancient days, confirms this truth: that the dignity of the kingdom would not continue uniformly, but that the restoration would nevertheless be such as to make it clearly evident that God had not in vain promised an eternal kingdom to David.

Then the kingdom of David shall flourish forever. But this has not been the case. For when the people returned from exile, Zerubbabel, it is true, and also many others, obtained kingly power; yet what was it but precarious? They even became tributaries to the kings of Persia and Media.

It then follows that the kingdom of Israel never flourished, nor had anything but a limited power existed among the people. We must, therefore, necessarily come to Christ and His kingdom. Hence, we see that the Prophet's words cannot be understood otherwise than as referring to Christ.