Amos

I just finished my reading of Amos 1-9 (I guess I skipped 2-3). God is extremely wrathful and mean! But the Israelites always fall into the same trap of enjoying luxury and pride and they forget about God and the source of their blessings. They start to intermarry with the non-believing neighbors and worship their gods and even the stars. God speaks through Amos about the exile, about the Babylons that are going to carry them away. In Amos 8 he also warns that God will be silent for 400 years, it will be a famine of God's word. After Amos and only a few more prophets before Malachi there will be 400 years of silence until John the Baptist. However Amos 9 talks about the rebuilding on Israel, the raising of old cities, the establishment of a nation that will never be uprooted. This reminds of events that happened more recently, with the formation of the nation Israel in 1949 and the continuing attacks from Israel's neighbor even throughout this past summer. It's in God's promise that Israel shall always stand and never be defeated. I believe they are much more devout and they hold on to their beliefs more strongly than ever.