Outline Amos' vision of a basket of ripe fruit

Amos’ Vision of a Basket of Ripe Fruit (Amos 8:1-10):  

• God showed Amos a
  basket of ripe fruit which represents harvest time/ripe fruit quickly
  deteriorates, 
• The Lord told Amos that the end had come, and that Israel would
  no longer be spared. So, Israel was ripe for punishment, 
• The songs of the
  temple would turn to wailings. 
• There would be many dead bodies in every
  place, 
• The evil deeds of the people would never be forgotten, 
• For
  example: Those who took advantage of the needy, those who cheated even during
  the Sabbath. 
• The Lord would make the sun go down at noon, and darken the
  earth in broad-day light 
• Theft feasts would be turned into mourning, and
  their songs into lamentation.
• The Lord would bring sackcloth upon all
  loins, and baldness on every head, 
• God would send famine on the land, 
• Virgins and young men would faint for thirst, 
• The Word of God would be
  rare in those days 
• The young men and women would become weary and faint
  in their search for the Word of God 
• Judgment would come on them because
  they have sinned against God by trampling on the poor and the needy,  

Practices condemned by Amos:  

1. Lip-service to religion /empty religion, 
2. Observation of Holy Days i.e. Sabbath, New Moon festivals/Godless shrines, 
3. False swearing, 
4. The wealthy selling the poor for a pair of
   sandals/oppression of the poor by the father and son. 
5. Prostitution- father
   and son going in for the same woman, 
6. The use of false weights and measures
   by the rich cheating in business, 
7. Women feeding fat on the proceeds of
   their husband’s oppression of the poor, 
8. Corrupt courts of law/the poor
   had no fair trial in the courts 
9. Luxury of the rich at the expense of the
   poor.