Amos 3:2

You only. God’s special relationship to the children of Israel is frequently emphasized in the Scriptures (see Deut. 4:7, 20; 14:2; 2 Sam. 7:23; 1 Chron. 17:21; Rom. 9:4, 5). When Israel, as a nation, refused to live up to her high privileges and to accept her responsibilities, this favored position was taken from her and given to the spiritual family of God on earth, the Christian church (see pp. 35, 36). We are brought into the family of God (see Gal. 3:26, 29) by our spiritual birth through faith in Christ as our Saviour (see John 1:12, 13; 3:3; 2 Peter 1:4). This makes us “sons of God” (1 John 3:1), and so “joint-heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:17), and recipients of grace and of all the family privileges (see Gal. 4:6, 7).

Punish. Because of their high privileges and the abundant light that the Lord had permitted to shine upon their pathway, He would particularly punish Israel for their iniquities. The more clearly we know our spiritual kinship with God, the more reprehensible it is to reject God, and the more deserving the consequences for such action. Great privileges must not be abused, else they will bring upon us great penalties (see Luke 12:47, 48). God’s love for us still remains, which impels Him to try another way, albeit a “strange” way, punishment, in the hope of bringing us to moral and spiritual correction (see Isa. 28:21).

All your iniquities. The chief sin of the northern kingdom of Israel was apostasy (see chs. 3:14; 4:4; 5:4, 5). However, in this chapter it is to be noticed that the sins that particularly bring forth divine rebuke and threatened punishment are extreme moral corruption, covetousness, and luxury, which in turn produce a shameless disregard of the simple duties we owe our neighbors and a violent oppression of the poor. This last evil is repeatedly the cause of sharp censure (see chs. 2:6, 7; 4:1; 5:11, 12; 8:5, 6). Amos strongly condemns the great and the rich for the neglect and the misuse of their wealth and influence, those blessings that should have been used to remedy this corruption and poverty.