God squarely places the blame for Israel's punishment on their pride. In Amos 4:2, He swore by His holiness, His moral integrity and very nature, and by Himself in Amos 6:8, indicating His sovereignty over all creation. Yet, Israel remained unimpressed. So, God declares with irony that if swearing by His own attributes carries no weight with them, He will swear by something they cannot refuse—their own pride. This shows their profound disconnection from Him, as they value their self-concern and self-satisfaction above His truth. This pride leads to instability throughout the land. When man falls out of step with God, nature itself suffers, with beauty giving way to ugliness—slag piles, polluted rivers, foul garbage dumps, expanding deserts, and denuded forests. The land begins to vomit the people out, as foretold in Leviticus 18:24-28, and though they may show a belated interest in God and His truth, it will be too late to halt the destruction. Natural disasters, acts of God in response to their moral condition, will intensify—rain roaring like an avalanche, rivers flooding in anger, fires sweeping over forests, windstorms devastating cities, and earthquakes increasing in frequency and power. These are signs of a ripe society, teetering on profound instability. Societal instability mirrors this chaos, as crime, violence, immorality, and injustice rock the nation. Amos describes the resulting insecurity, bitterness, and death from failing to hold to God's absolute standards. Where once homes could be left unlocked, now doors must be barred. Violence fills the streets, a constant source of worry that breeds further unrest. Without absolute standards of right and wrong, moral and immoral, ethical and unethical, everyone does their own thing, leading to increases in violence, divorce, deviance, suicide, and mental illness. In such a state, the people of modern Israel face a terror-filled future, unable to escape the coming judgment.