Amos 9:7
Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?
Amos was a herdsman and fruit gardener from Tekoa about twelve miles south of Jerusalem. He was called to prophesy at Bethel and Samaria to the northern kingdom against the idolatry and depravity of the chosen people and the surrounding nations. His message was delivered during the reign of Jeroboam II just after his great successes, and was written out after he was expelled on the complaint of Amaziah the priest.
Privilege implies responsibility, so nations, and by analogy individuals, are bound to live up to the measure of light and knowledge granted to them. Justice between person and person is one of the divine foundations of society. Failure to recognize that responsibility will surely bring punishment. The most elaborate worship insults God when it is offered by those who have no mind to conform in will and conduct to His requirements. The chapter to which the verse belongs closes with prophecies portraying last-day conditions, when after rejecting God's word the wicked will search for it in a time of calamity but will not find it. God will save His people and restore the fallen tabernacle of David.