Amos 3:1–15 serves to persuade the people of Israel that the judgment promised in Amos 2:6–16 will really happen. Many Israelites believed that their historical experiences and privileges would protect them from God’s wrath and guarantee his continued favour.1 They would now learn that this is not true. The privileges they enjoyed of living in covenant with God actually exposes them to judgment and does not exempt them from it.2 This would have been a very difficult and somewhat surprising lesson to learn, which is why it will be repeated throughout the book of Amos.
Amos 3:1–15 can be arranged as follows:3
An introductory call (Amos 3:1)
Thesis (Amos 3:2)
Refutation of opponents (Amos 3:3–6)
Establishment of credibility (Amos 3:7–8)
Detail of people’s sin and God’s punishment (Amos 3:9–12)
Epilogue (Amos 3:13–15)
1 Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt: