As I write this, social media in India is filled with distressing stories and videos of church buildings (usually big tents made of metal sheets) being pulled down and torched by religious fundamentalists in Manipur (North East India). Regular church people are seen helplessly weeping and wondering when they will be able to rebuild their sanctuaries and begin their gatherings again.

The prophet Amos witnessed “the fallen tent of David.” David’s tent, another name for Judah, was once a safe, prosperous, and God-oriented kingdom. Decades later, Amos, a citizen of Judah, is now part of the fallen tent of David. Judah had rejected the Law and followed false gods (Amos 2:4). God tried warning Judah of its impending fall and ruin (Amos 2:5). Sadly, Judah’s slide continued, and God’s word came true centuries later.

Is that all? Can ruins be repaired, after all? As a young kid, I remember our house had a thatched roof with mud walls. When it rained heavily, the mud walls broke down, and our house was a big pool. Immediately, Dad would call his friends and mend the broken mud walls.

Amos knew God’s grace, and so he proclaimed that God would certainly repair, restore, and rebuild Judah as it used to be (Amos 9:11). In addition, he visualized a great reunion on “that day.” Even Edom, Israel’s archenemy, along with all the other nations, would come under the repaired tent (Amos 9:12). Incredibly, there will also be “reaping” in Israel’s fields (Amos 9:13). The harvest will be so plentiful that the reaper will not be able to finish before he is overtaken by the ploughman (Amos 9:13). Similarly, the grape harvest in Judah would be so incredible that the planter would follow the one collecting the grapes. Amos’ vision is an incredible story, one that began with a tent in ruins but then pans to a beautiful picture of repair, reunion, and reaping.

Today, we are privileged not only to read the text of Amos’s grand prediction but also to see its miraculous fulfilment in the coming of our Lord Jesus. Before the advent of our Lord, the tent of David was indeed fallen. God’s promise of a global kingdom under a Davidic king (2 Samuel 7:8-16; Isaiah 9:6-7; Jeremiah 23:5-8; 33:14-26; Ezekiel 37:24-28; Hosea 3:4-5) remained a forgotten dream. Yet in God’s great plan of salvation, our Lord Jesus, the Son of David, made sure the tent of David leapt back to strength with even more glory.

Just as Amos predicted, the ministry of Jesus repaired the broken purpose of Israel. Through His church, Jesus continues to reunite the nations. As we speak, we are reaping a great harvest of believers. In building His church, Jesus has rebuilt the fallen tent of Old Testament Israel that now extends beyond Edom into all the world. Therefore, at the Jerusalem council James triumphantly referenced Amos 9:11-12 when he was speaking about a huge number of believing Gentiles joining the early church (Acts 15:13-17). Today, the tent of David is not fallen. Rather, through Jesus, the church stands as a big, international community.

We live in a time and day when some people, motivated by evil agendas, destroy church buildings, beat up believers, and threaten us with death. History has proved time and again that our God is a builder of His church. We must simply depend on God’s grace, promise, and power. Unlike them, our strength is not in horses, chariots, or political power. We may seem to fall back, but God’s kingdom always grows. In the end, the meek will inherit the earth. Let us stay the course. Let us be the energetic ploughmen and the reaper in God’s kingdom. Let us never stop.