By refusing to repent of their apostasy from God's way of life, the Israelites could only expect the coming of God's fearsome punishment. Hear this word which I take up against you, this lamentation, O house of Israel: The virgin of Israel has fallen; she will rise no more. She lies forsaken on her land; there is no one to raise her up. For thus says the Lord GOD: The city that goes out by a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which goes out by a hundred shall have ten left to the house of Israel. This death came when Assyria conquered Israel from 721 to 718 BC and deported her people to foreign lands. Israel, surrounded by luxury and prosperity, should have produced God's personality and character, but she failed miserably. Whenever Israel is destroyed, the evidence of her demise will be bits of furniture like couches and beds, showing opulence, luxury, self-indulgence, and indolence, products of their self-concern and self-satisfaction. They will find no effects of godly spirituality, righteousness, justice, and mercy. For behold, the LORD gives a command; He will break the great house into bits, and the little house into pieces. The great house refers to the noble or wealthy family in society, and these big names will certainly be destroyed along with the common folk. The rich and powerful will not be able to escape the dreadful punishment God promises. Amos warns Israel of the coming destruction in three visions: The Vision of the Locusts, The Vision of the Fire, and The Vision of the Plumb Line. The first two visions depict Israel's total destruction, and though God relents temporarily, a sense arises that He would not postpone Israel's punishment much longer. In the third vision, the plumb line tests whether the people are upright, living in God's grace and law. The Israelites' moral standards had degenerated, and they failed the test. God's patience and forgiveness finally ended; He could no longer defer the punishment for their sins, and the time had come to destroy them. In another vision, a basket of ripe fruit signifies that the time is ripe for picking Israel. God had tried to get the people to repent, but in their hardheaded, hardhearted way, they would not. God's patience had run out, and He would not pass by them anymore. Disaster would take them by surprise. Now that He has announced Israel's imminent calamity, God shows how His punishment would alter their lives. The songs of the temple shall be wailing in that day, and many dead bodies will be everywhere, thrown out in silence. God's sudden punishment will stun the people of modern Israel, leaving them incredulous at the severity for what they see as little sin. God squarely places the blame for their punishment on Israel's pride. He swore by His holiness and by Himself, yet Israel was not impressed. Their pride made them disregard His warnings. Natural disasters will mount to such an intensity that the people of modern Israel may seek repentance, but it will be too late. God will not pass by anymore. These are signs of a ripe society, indicating profound instability, with society rocked by crime, violence, immorality, and injustice, as everyone does their own thing in confusion. Amos describes the torment, fear, and hopelessness of the coming punishment to make the ancient Israelites aware of their mental state during judgment. Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! For what good is the day of the LORD to you? It will be darkness, not light, very dark with no brightness in it. In their complacency, the people think their future is full of gladness, but when God comes, He will be their enemy. During this time, a famine of the Word will make God's truth nearly impossible to find, leaving the people in panic, desperately searching for what they had regarded so lightly. In the final vision, the time for talk is over; God simply acts. He strikes down the house of Israel from the top, destroying everything in sight. No matter where the people flee in