“In that day I will raise up the booth of David that has fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old.”
– Amos 9:11
Listen to those verbs. I will raise up, I will repair, I will rebuild. The whole picture here is the line of David, the throne of David, the kingdom of David, which obviously is much bigger than David. And this Advent season, as we’ve seen all throughout God’s word, and remember this all pointing forward to Jesus the King, from David’s line who will make all of this a reality.
All of these things, raising up, repairing, rebuilding. Do you ever look in your life and see a variety of broken pieces? And you think about sin in your past and the effects of that sin, and you just feel almost a shame over it, or just regret. Or do you ever look around just in the world and just see there’s so much broken? Think about broken relationships, think about the effects of those broken relationships, the hurt and the pain. It makes this Advent promise all the more beautiful to read. That God will one day raise up, repair, and rebuild. Just think about it.
Amos 9:11 Illustrates the Restoration that God Oversees in Our Lives
God is doing this in one sense in our lives every single day. He is gradually, daily restoring us to himself. He is daily bringing us more into the image of Jesus, not the broken, sinful hearts that we have been saved from. But more and more and more hearts that love him, hearts that are glorifying him, hearts that are obeying. This is the Christian life, we want that to grow more and more and more in us. We are being conformed into the image of Christ, being repaired, rebuilt in the image of Christ. This is the Christian life. And one day, it will be complete. This rebuilding, repairing process will be complete.
I was just in 1 John 3 the other day. We will one day see him and we will be like him as he is. We will be conformed to the image of Jesus. Meaning we will be totally free from sin, totally free from all shame, regret, pain, and hurt. Totally restored to God, completely, 100% restored to God. Oh, don’t you long for that day?
Amos 9:11 Celebrates Advent
This is the reality that Jesus’s coming makes possible. So as we celebrate this Advent season, look forward with anticipation to Christmas day and the celebration that involves, realize that Jesus has made possible a raising up, and repairing, and rebuilding of our lives and this sinful world.
Come Lord Jesus come quickly, we pray. Even as we anticipate the celebration of your first coming, we long for your second coming. God send your Son back soon, we pray, to finish this work of repairing, and raising up, and rebuilding a new heaven and a new Earth, free from sin, and free from death, and free from sorrow, and free from pain, and all the hurt and brokenness that come from these things. Oh God, rebuild our lives today more in the image of Jesus, and tomorrow more in the image of Jesus.
Let’s Pray…
God we pray that we would look more like Jesus each day. And by your grace, your love God, continue to repair, rebuild us. And our relationships with others and ultimately our relationship with you. God restore us more and more and more to you we pray, through Jesus our Savior, King, Redeemer, and Restorer. In his name we pray, amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
