It could be a buzz, a beep, or a ping: we all recognise the sounds our phones make to alert us to a new text from a friend or a news story from our preferred news site. We want to be constantly updated from certain sources, because they deliver information we care about. The sounds get our attention.

That's the effect of Amos' next statement to Israel in Amos 3. When Amos declares, ″Hear this word″ (v. 1), it was a summon to pay attention. No one listening would have ignored the notice that important information was being conveyed.

Though the statement (v. 2) is short, when combined with the introduction it covers a great deal of significant information.

This introduction to Amos 3 contains three very distinct and important elements: identity, relationship, and requirements. And they are all interconnected and dependent on each other.

First, it mentions Israel's identity. At the time that Amos prophesies, Israel and Judah are separate nations; they have been divided for some 150 years by this point. But God reminds the Israelites that they are still part of a larger group of people–″the whole family I brought up out of Egypt″ (v. 1). This reference suggests that though they are politically separate, God still views Israel and Judah as a single people. It is an implicit indictment of their division.

This statement also reminds the people of their relationship to God, based on what God has done for them–delivering them from their slavery in Egypt.

This truth is stressed by God telling them that He has chosen them out of all the families of the earth (v. 2). This is significant; the words used imply an intimate knowledge. God knows Israel (not just the nation, but the whole family) deeply, and is closer to them than to any other people group on the earth.

This choosing and knowledge, however, has certain necessary implications–there are requirements of those so chosen and known.

Whenever we encounter a ″therefore″ in the Bible, we must always ask: What is it there for? In the case of Amos 3:2, the ″therefore″ signifies the implications of God's having chosen Israel. Because Israel is God's chosen, they must not sin against Him. When they do sin, breaking their side of the covenant, God is bound by His covenant love to discipline them for those sins. The argument of the text contains a force of necessity. Because of the unique connection between God and Israel, it is His right and responsibility to discipline them for their sins.