The people of Israel were likely already frightened by Amos' message about Israel's sin and impending discipline. In Amos 3:8, he had warned: ″The lion has roared– who will not fear?″ It echoes the description of God in 1:2–as a lion whose roar dries up pastures and withers mountains. But God's message to Israel is not yet complete; there is more.

In 3:13-15, Amos begins to add more detail to the discipline that is coming to Israel. Two specific things will happen to Israel, both of which reflect a specific aspect of Israel's sin: improper worship (v. 14), and the decadence of the rich at the expense of the poor (v. 15). As with previous sins, the consequence fits the crime.

The altars at Bethel (v. 14) were places where sacrifices were offered to God (see Genesis 12:8, 31:13, 35:1). Adonijah and Joab also held onto the horns of the altar to escape death (see 1 Kings 1:50-51, 2:28). The thought was that no one would dare kill someone in the same place where sacred offerings were presented to the Lord.

So when the Lord says that He will cut off the horns of the altar (Amos 3:14), He is telling Israel that there will be no safe place when His judgment arrives. This is partly because Bethel had become an illegitimate place of worship. God had appointed only the temple in Jerusalem as the place of worship. But Jeroboam I established Bethel (and Dan) as places of worship, placed golden calves in the two sanctuaries, and ordained priesthoods to serve at these places (see 1 Kings 12:25-33). In destroying the altars in Bethel (13:1-5), God is sending a clear message that He is rejecting Bethel as a place of worship and that no place would be spared His discipline.

The destruction of the opulent winter and summer homes (Amos 3:15) may seem peripheral at first, but these homes were built from the dishonest gains of selling the poor and perverting justice (see 2:6-8). The fact that the elite in Israel could own multiple homes and mansions while others were being sold for owing a small amount of money was both a violation of the law and an affront to God, who cares for the vulnerable. The houses are symbolic of the sin in Israel, and so they will be destroyed.

God is faithful and consistent. And though there may be some time between the sin and its consequences–for He always gives people time to repent–He does impose the consequences for sin.