Amos 3:1 - Meaning and Application

The point of these verses is to convince Israel that God had a case against them. The prophet is telling them that the Lord has something to say against them, in Amos 3:1. They were his special people, knew his name, and were called by it. Yet he still had a charge against them, and they must listen to it, just as a prisoner listens to the accusation read in court.

The children of Israel had often ignored God’s words of comfort and guidance. Now they must hear his words of correction and warning. The Lord had spoken, and he would act on what he said. They must understand that God’s gracious care and the blessings he had given them did not excuse their sins. Israel was the family God brought up out of Egypt, Amos 3:1, and it was only a family when it went down there. God rescued it from there and made it his own family.

This was not meant only for the ten tribes, the kingdom of Israel, but also for Judah. It is spoken against the whole family God brought out of Egypt. God had shown this family special favor and owned them in a unique way. “You only have I known of all the families of the earth.” God’s church in the world is a family honored above all the families of the earth. Those who know God are known by him. In Judah, God was known, and so Judah was more than any people known by God.

God had chosen them, made covenant promises to them, and dealt with them as his close people. One might think the result would be, “Therefore I will spare you and overlook your faults.” But no, the result was, “Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” God’s special favor does not excuse people from punishment if it does not turn them from sin. In fact, the nearer people are to God in outward profession, and the more kindness he has shown them, the more surely and more severely he will call them to account if they live in stubborn sin.

If they disgrace the name they bear, break their commitments, and treat lightly the honors they have received, they will be punished. Their sins dishonor God more than the sins of others do, because they are nearer to him. God must defend his own honor by showing that he hates sin, especially in those who are closest to him. If they are as bad as others, they will be judged more severely, because more was expected of them. Judgment begins at the house of God, and begins at the sanctuary, for God will be honored either by those who come near him or on them (Leviticus 10:3).

They also must know that they could not expect close fellowship with God unless they first made peace with him, Amos 3:3. “Can two walk together unless they agree?” No, they cannot. Where there is no friendship, there can be no fellowship. If two people are at odds, they must settle their differences before they can enjoy one another’s company. Israel had insulted God, broken covenant with him, and repaid his kindness with evil. Yet they still expected him to keep walking with them, support them, act for them, and assure them of his presence, though they had made no effort through repentance and reform to agree with their offended God.

But how could that be? God says, in effect, “While you keep walking against me, you can expect me to walk against you,” as in Leviticus 26:23-24. We cannot expect God to be with us or to act for us unless we are reconciled to him. God and man cannot walk together unless they agree. Unless we agree with God in the purpose of our lives, which is his glory, we cannot walk with him in the path we are taking.

They must also know that the warnings God gave about coming judgment were not empty threats or scare tactics, but sure warnings of his wrath, Amos 3:4. “Will a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out from its den if it has caught nothing?” No. A lion roars over prey. In the same way, God would not warn them through his word and through lesser judgments if they had not made themselves prey to his wrath by their sins, and if he were not truly about to bring destructive judgments on them.

God’s warnings in Scripture and in providence are not made-up fears to frighten children and fools. They are true signs that follow from human sin and point to God’s coming judgment. They also must know that, since their own wickedness brought these judgments on them, the judgments would not be lifted until they had done their work, Amos 3:5. When God rises to contend with a sinful people, they must understand two things.

First, their own sin has trapped them. Can a bird fall into a trap on the ground where no snare has been set for it? No. Creatures are not trapped by chance, but by a trapper’s plan. So God’s providence brings trouble on sinners, and they are caught in the work of their own hands. Trouble does not rise from the dust. It comes from God’s justice and from our own wickedness.

Second, only their own repentance can free them. If a trapper has caught what he wanted, he will take up the snare from the ground. In the same way, God will not remove the affliction he has sent until it has done its intended work. If our hearts are truly humbled, and our afflictions lead us to confess and leave our sins, then the snare has caught what it was meant to catch. Then the purpose has been reached. Then, and only then, the trap is lifted and we are delivered in love and mercy.

They must also know that all their troubles came from God’s providence and from the counsel of his will, Amos 3:6. “Does disaster happen in a city, in a family, or in a nation, and the Lord has not done it, appointed it, and carried it out?” The evil of sin comes from ourselves. That is our own doing. But the evil of trouble, whether personal or public, comes from God. However human beings may serve as instruments, God is the chief actor. Both trouble and blessing come from his hand.

This should lead us to bear public troubles patiently, because whatever evil comes on a city, the Lord has allowed it. It should also make us seek to answer God’s purpose in those troubles. If God has sent the warning, we should not treat it lightly.

God makes his plans known ahead of time to the prophets. “Surely the Lord God does nothing unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). What God was bringing on the city, spoken of in the earlier verse (Amos 3:6), was not hidden from them, though it stayed hidden from everyone else. So people are foolish when they ignore the warnings God gives through his prophets.

The prophets are God’s servants, sent on his errands to people. God’s secret is with them. In a general way, God shares his counsel with the righteous (Proverbs 3:32) and with those who fear him (Psalm 25:14), but he does this in a special way with the prophets. The Spirit of prophecy is also a Spirit of revelation. It would be enough honor to say that God sometimes reveals his plans to prophets. But this verse says something even greater, that he does nothing without first revealing it to them, as if they were men in his inner counsel. “Shall I hide from Abraham, whom I have chosen, what I am about to do?” (Genesis 18:17). God will certainly deal with those who despise the prophets, whom he has honored so highly.

The prophets cannot help speaking what God has shown them. “The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy?” (Amos 3:8). God has spoken to them in secret, by dreams and visions, and they must speak openly to the people what they have heard. These truths fill their hearts, they are sure of them, and they are deeply moved by them. So they cannot stay silent, because the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. “I believed, therefore I have spoken” (Acts 4:20). More than that, the prophetic impulse joined with the Spirit’s work in them, like fire shut up in their bones (Jeremiah 20:9). God also gave them a command to deliver what had been entrusted to them, and they would have failed in their trust if they had kept quiet. A necessity was laid on them, as it is on gospel preachers (1 Corinthians 9:16).

People should tremble before God when he gives such clear warning. It is like hearing a trumpet in a city to warn that an enemy is coming, so everyone may take action and defend themselves. “Shall a trumpet be blown in a city, and the people not be afraid?” (Amos 3:6). When danger is announced, people normally gather at once and think about how to protect the whole city. Yet when God warns them through his prophets, they feel no effect. They are quicker to trust a watchman on the wall than a prophet sent by God. They are more ready to obey a city governor than the Lord of the whole world. God says, “Listen to the sound of the trumpet,” but they refuse to listen, and even say so plainly (Jeremiah 6:17).

It is also like the roar of a lion. God is sometimes like a lion, even a young lion, to the house of Judah, that is, the people of Judah (Hosea 5:14). A lion roars before he tears, so God warns before he wounds. If a lion roars at a traveler, as he did against Samson (Judges 14:5), that person would be thrown into fear. Yet when the Lord roars from Zion, people are not afraid, and they keep going as if they were safe (Amos 1:2). The clear warning given to a careless world will make its guilt greater on the last day if it is ignored. The lion roared, yet they did not even fear enough to prepare an ark. What shocking stubbornness in an unbelieving world, that even the terrors of the Lord do not move it.