October 6 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading:

Amos 3:1-11

¹Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying,
²You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
³Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
⁴Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?
⁵Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?
⁶Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?
⁷Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
⁸The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?
⁹Publish in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof.
¹⁰For they know not to do right, saith the LORD, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.
¹¹Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; An adversary there shall be even round about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be spoiled.

Devotional:

Punishment must be regarded by God's people as a sign that we stand in a special relationship to Him: 'You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities' (3:2).

We have previously pointed out that the word to know in the languages of Scripture does not mean simply to recognize or have cognizance of. It means to love. Because God loved Israel He punished her! Punishment in this context is an evidence of caring. If parents do not care what trouble their children get into or how badly they mess up their lives and the lives of others, if they do not care to what extent their children will incur the wrath of God, then they need not go through all the emotional anguish of punishing and training and disciplining. Parents who love their children must punish them and point them to God.

Can two walk together except they be agreed? (3:3). God wants us to be able to walk with Him, to have day-by-day fellowship with Him. This we cannot do if we are estranged. Because He loves us and wants us to be able to walk with Him, He punishes our sin. This punishment is designed to alert us to our sin and its seriousness and to bring us back to the path of obedience. This punishment is for our sanctification.

God does not punish us so that we may thereby pay for the wrong we have done or atone for our sins! This we can never do. This we need never do, either. God sent His Son to do this for us. And His Son willingly came and obtained our redemption.

Thank You, God, for Your great plan! Thank You for loving us enough to save us. Thank You for loving us enough to punish us and to sanctify us so that we may walk with You!