9:1 In the final vision that Amos recorded, he saw Yahweh standing beside an altar. The altar at Bethel is probably in view since Bethel was the worship site in view in most of this book and since Amos' encounter with Amaziah occurred there (7:10-17). The Lord gave a command that someone (an angel?) would strike the capitals that supported the roof of the temple there with such force that its foundation stones would shake and the whole structure would fall down (cf. Judg. 16:29-30; Isa. 6:4; Ezek. 40:6). The Lord also said He would slay with the sword the rest of the priests and worshippers who survived being killed by the collapse of the temple. No one would escape with his or her life.
"The temple was not a literal temple, for the collapse of such a building would affect only a few. Rather it represents the religion of the northern kingdom, which, in the end, brought about the destruction of its adherents. The decay of the social structure that resulted from their cold externalism could lead only to national ruin. The gross sin of idolatry could lead only to judgment."75
9:2-3 It would be impossible for those whom the Lord chose to slay to escape even if they tried to dig into the earth or climb into the sky (cf. Ps. 139:7-8; Jon. 1-2).
"If neither heights nor depths can separate people from the love of God (cf. Rom. 8:38-39), they are also unable to hide them from the wrath of God."76
The ancients conceived of Sheol as under the surface of the earth, so digging into Sheol meant hiding in the ground. Neither would hiding in the forests and caves of Mt. Carmel, one of the highest elevations in Israel, or trying to conceal oneself on the floor of the sea be effective. The Lord would seek the guilty out and command His agents to execute them, even if that agent had to be a serpent in the sea (cf. 5:19; Job 26:12-13; Ps. 74:13-14; 89:9-10; Isa. 27:1; 51:9-10). Note the chiastic structure of these verses going from down to up and back down, signifying all places.
9:4 The Lord would even slay the Israelites whom their enemy led away into captivity. Yahweh would order the sword to slay them even there, though there they would be under the protection of a strong foreign power. They would not be able to hide from His all-seeing eye. Normally God watched over His people for their good, but here He promised to set His eyes on them for evil. His purpose and intention for them was evil from their viewpoint.
