“You only have I
chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all
your sins.” (Amos 3:2).
With this verse
Amos introduces his key theme for the rest of his book: Israel ’s
special relationship to him means that when they rebel against him special
judgement is required. The rest of the
book will elaborate on this truth. But
first in this chapter Amos argues that God will bring calamity on his people
and that he is duty bound as prophet to announce this (verse 3-8). Then he calls Israel ’s
enemies to witness this judgement (verses 9-11). There is a particular note of judgement on
their luxurious lifestyle – beds and couches (verse 12); winter and summer
houses (verse 15).
But how does this
relate to us? Hebrews reminds us that as
Christians our sins are forgiven: “Christ was sacrificed once to take away the
sins of many” (Heb 9:28). We are now
able to enter into a close relationship with God as our Father. But we must never forget that our Father God
is a holy God, who calls us to holiness (1 Peter 1:15-16). Later in the week we will read about God’s
fatherly discipline of us (Hebrews 12), a truth which helps us understand what
Amos has to say to us today. As part of
our wonderful and intimate relationship with God he is seeking to purge our
lives of sin, through the wonderful and intimate work of his Holy Spirit.
(Trinity College student)