Amos is a prophet against the people of Israel and he begins his prophecy with oracles of judgment. He describes the horrible sins of Israel’s foreign neighbors and slowly brings the target closer to home. He begins far off, moves to nearby neighbors, then to Judah, and finally he pulls all the punches and ends with the eighth oracle: judgment on Israel itself.
Israel has oppressed the poor, given themselves to pagan practices, exploited others financially, and not respected those who have taken special vows for God. Their sins are made worse for unlike the other foreign nations, they should know better since they know God.
As I mentioned earlier there is a last word of hope. Israel has failed but it is not the end for them for in the last days God will restore all things. Amos concludes with this powerful promise:
“I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,” says the LORD your God.
Amos 9:15
Year in the Bible 