Amos 2:4-8 (NLT)
4 This is what the Lord says: “The people of Judah have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They have rejected the instruction of the Lord, refusing to obey his decrees. They have been led astray by the same lies that deceived their ancestors. 5 So I will send down fire on Judah, and all the fortresses of Jerusalem will be destroyed.” 6 This is what the Lord says: “The people of Israel have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They sell honorable people for silver and poor people for a pair of sandals. 7 They trample helpless people in the dust and shove the oppressed out of the way. Both father and son sleep with the same woman, corrupting my holy name. 8 At their religious festivals, they lounge in clothing their debtors put up as security. In the house of their god, they drink wine bought with unjust fines.

Amos was a shepherd during the reign of Uzziah over Judah. Amos had visions from the Lord, which he proclaimed to the people. In chapter 1 of Amos he announces the Lords intent to punish the neighbors of Israel. He calls out the sins of Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, and Moab. But then the words of the Lord are turned towards Judah and Israel for the sins they have committed.

Imagine as the people of Israel listened to Amos speak the words the Lord had given him. He starts out with Damascus and says the following, “This is what the Lord says: “The people of Damascus have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They beat down my people in Gilead as grain is threshed with iron sledges. So I will send down fire on King Hazael’s palace, and the fortresses of King Ben-hadad will be destroyed. I will break down the gates of Damascus and slaughter the people in the valley of Aven. I will destroy the ruler in Beth-eden, and the people of Aram will go as captives to Kir,” says the Lord. He then continues on one by one speaking out against the others who have opposed Judah and Israel.” The people of Judah and Israel were probably thinking, ALRIGHT! IT IS ABOUT TIME GOD GOES AFTER OUR ENIMIES. However, I imagine they got pretty quiet when the words turned on them as Amos proclaimed the sins of Judah and Israel. Suddenly they were faced with the things they had done and the punishment they would receive. Are we no different today? We see the sins of others and become glad when consequences strike. But we loose sight of our own sins and the consequences we deserve. Jesus said, “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”