Disciplining children is an essential part of parenthood. Because children need to develop their skills of empathy and kindness since these are behaviors that are self-sacrificial in nature, parents simply cannot allow their children to behave however they’d like. Discipline is formative but also loving. When it comes to a parent’s own child, the need for discipline becomes far more important; your child is an extension of who you are because they reflect how you raise them, especially when they are young. Just because you might be a child of a specific person does not mean that you will be excused by them for any type of behavior. In fact, you should be held to a higher standard by your own parents.

The most common analogy we use as human beings for our relationship with God is that of a Father and His children. In our current state, the family of God has been opened to allow anyone who wishes to become a child of Him. Before Christ, however, God had an only child who was His pride and joy, who received the fullness of His love and the entirety of His promise: the nation of Israel. Just like a first-born child in a household, Israel was expected to pass on the duties of being the children of their parents and to help form those who would later enter into the family of God. A first-born child is not born with the ability to help raise others or to be models of behavior for those who are younger; they commit the same mistakes and errors of judgment that anyone else does, which is why it is so important for them to be disciplined by their parents. In this passage, we reach the end of a list of oracles given to the prophet Amos by God. The first seven issue condemnations on the enemies of Israel and reaffirms God’s omnipotence in destroying them for their wickedness. To the shock of the reader and to the Israelites hearing these messages, the last condemnation is reserved for Israel itself. They have fallen into wickedness. They have ignored the mercy of God in their history. Worst of all, they should have known better than the other nations since God had chosen them alone to be His people. 

Like a good parent who warns his children when they have erred, God lays out plainly what He will do to Israel if they do not change their ways. This is not an empty threat; He shows precisely what power He has by listing all the nations and enemies He is willing to destroy for the sake of their sins. If Israel is not willing to act as children who reflect the way their parents raise them, they can expect a similar fate. Now that the family of God has been expanded and we have become adopted sons and daughters of God, this message should especially resonate with us. This is not reserved for the nation of Israel at a certain point nearly 3,000 years ago. It is a message of discipline from a Father to His children at any age. If we want to be children of God, we must act like it. Just as a child is an extension of their parent, we must present ourselves to the world as extensions of God, who is supremely loving, supremely merciful, supremely just, and supremely holy. You may make mistakes sometimes, but expect and accept discipline when it is necessary. Above all, give God a reason to be delighted that you are His child.