9:1 I saw the Lord standing upon the a altar: and he said,
Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and
cut them in the b head, all of them; and I will slay the
last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall
not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be
delivered.
(a) Which was at Jerusalem: for he did not appear in the
idolatrous places of Israel.
(b) Both the most important of them, and also the common
people.
9:3 And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will
search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from
my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the
c serpent, and he shall bite them:
(c) He shows that God will declare himself as an enemy to
them in all places, and that his elements and all his
creatures will be enemies to destroy them.
9:6 [It is] he that buildeth his d stories in the heaven, and
hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the
waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the
earth: The LORD [is] his name.
(d) He declares by the wonderful power of God, by the making
of the heavens and the elements, that it is not possible
for man to escape his judgments when he punishes.
9:7 [Are] ye not as children of the Ethiopians e unto me, O
children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up
Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from
f Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?
(e) Am I more bound to you than to the Ethiopians, or other
people? Yet I have bestowed upon you greater benefits.
(f) Read (Jer 47:4).
9:8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD [are] upon the sinful
kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the
earth; saving that I will not utterly g destroy the house
of Jacob, saith the LORD.
(g) Though he destroys the rebellious multitude, yet he will
always reserve the remnant of his Church to call upon
his name.
9:9 For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel
among all nations, like as [corn] is sifted in a sieve, yet
shall not the h least grain fall upon the earth.
(h) Meaning that none of his own would perish in his wrath.
9:11 In that day will I raise up the i tabernacle of David
that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I
will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days
of old:
(i) I will send the promised Messiah, and restore by him
the spiritual Israel; (Ac 15:16).
9:12 That they may possess the remnant of k Edom, and of all
the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD
that doeth this.
(k) Meaning, the very enemies (as were the Edomites) and
others would be united with the Jews in one society and
body, of which Christ would be the head.
9:13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman
shall l overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes
him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall m drop
sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.
(l) Signifying, that there will be great abundance of all
things, so that when one type of fruit is ripe, another
would follow, and every one in order; (Le 26:5).
(m) Read (Joe 3:18).
9:14n And I will bring again the captivity of my people of
Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit
[them]; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine
thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of
them.
(n) The accomplishment of this is under Christ, when they
are planted in this Church, out of which they can never
be pulled, after they have once been grafted into it.
