Old Testament: Amos 3.1–2

To read the Bible in a year, read Amos 1–3 on December 14, In the year of our Lord Christ 2021

By Don Ruhl 

God the Lord had something very special with Israel, which is why he delivered them from Egyptian bondage, but that also required something from them, and if they were not forthcoming with it, they suffered: 

Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying:

“You only have I known of all the families of the earth;
Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”

– Amos 3.1–2 

They were his people out of all the peoples of the earth. However, they needed to act like it, and when they did not, he would punish them for their iniquities. The punishment did not mean that he hated them or wanted them gone, but he was bringing them up as his family, and this is what families do. 

Questions: 

• Would it be a family if the parents never punished their children when it was needed? 
• What have you learned when your parents punished you? 

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