“You only have I known
of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish you
for all your iniquities.” Amos 3:2
Back with thoughts on biblical love again today, along with more from Leon Morris, an excellent scholar that many laypeople won’t want to wade through (might as well be honest:-)!
At first sight, Amos 3:2 doesn’t sound like very good news — until we put it in the context Morris suggests:
“True love will lead the beloved to the best possible path. And that will mean that from time to time, disciplinary measures will be taken. The Bible clearly points out that God disciplines his people to deter them from destructive sin. The Old Testament saints did not doubt that the sufferings and travails of this life are meaningful. They are evidence not that God does not love his people, but that he does. They are his way of bringing his people out of their petty sins and leading them along the way of right into the blessing.” Testaments of Love Leon Morris
Morris notes C.E.B.Cranfield, “[God’s] love was willing to hurt in order to save, to shatter all false securities and strip Israel of his gifts, if so be that in the end, in nakedness and brokenness, they might learn to know their true peace. But the severity was never separated from tenderness.” Theological Wordbook of the Bible
