Amos 9:12

When the house of David was again intact, Israel would exercise authority over all the nations of the world and would be a source of blessing to them. This would include even the small number of Edomites alive then, people who had formerly been implacable enemies of the Israelites (cf. Obadiah 1:19). Israel’s blessing would extend even to them, representing all Israel’s former enemies. All the nations would become associated with the name of Yahweh then and would enjoy His lordship and protection (cf. Genesis 12:3; Isaiah 9:1-7; Isaiah 11:1-13; Isaiah 42:1-7; Isaiah 45:22-25; Isaiah 49:5-7; Isaiah 55:1-5).

Amos described three different groups as remnants: (1) a small group of the faithful within Israel in his day in contrast to all Israel (Amos 3:12; Amos 4:1-3; Amos 5:3; Amos 6:9-10; Amos 9:1-4), (2) a small group of faithful Israelites in the future (Amos 5:4-6; Amos 5:15), and (3) a small group of Edomites and other neighbors of Israel who would benefit from the Davidic promise in the future (Amos 9:12). [Note: Gerhard Hasel, The Remnant, pp. 393-94.]

At the Jerusalem Council, the Apostle James quoted Amos 9:11-12 to support his view that the Gentiles of his day did not need to submit to circumcision and the Mosaic Law to obtain salvation or to live acceptably as Christians (Acts 15:13-21). He knew that the judgments of Israel were not yet over (cf. Matthew 24:1-22; Luke 21:5-24; Acts 1:6-7). He also knew, from this passage and others (Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 60:3; Malachi 1:11), that when God restored the house of David Gentiles would have a share in that rule as Gentiles. James concluded, therefore, that Gentiles did not need to become Jews to enter into these (millennial) blessings. He did not mean that the church fulfills the promises to Israel but that since Gentiles will experience millennial blessings as Gentiles they do not need to live as Jews in the church.

"The ancient Greek [Septuagint] translation rendered this verse as follows: ’That the rest of mankind may seek [the LORD], and all the nations upon whom my name is called, saith the LORD, who does all these things.’ Strange as it may seem to those who are unfamiliar with the Hebrew language, the Hebrew text may be rendered this way, with little more than the change of one letter. The corruption of this letter must have occurred after the time of the apostles, for James thus quoted the verse at the Jerusalem Council, and based his decision upon it (Acts 15:14-17). There were learned men present, some of them hostile to his view, who would certainly have shouted him down if he had based his decision upon a reading different from that which existed in the then current Hebrew manuscripts." [Note: The New Scofield . . ., p. 938.]