Amos 2:4-5--Judgment on Judah

Amos 2:4-5
English Standard Version

Judgment on Judah
4 Thus says the LORD:

“For three transgressions of Judah,
    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they have rejected the law of the LORD,
    and have not kept his statutes,
but their lies have led them astray,
    those after which their fathers walked.
5 So I will send a fire upon Judah,
    and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.”

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The LORD tells Amos to warn Judah that their transgressions are going to lead to their punishment--the Babylonian Exile, though that is not spelled out for them.  Why is the LORD set on this and will not turn away from punishing them?  They have broken the Law--His covenant with them.  They have not kept His statutes and have rejected the Law.  They have instead made up lies that they would rather believe instead of believing the truth that the LORD had given them.  It is those lies that have led them astray, just like their fathers did.

For these reasons, the LORD is justified in destroying them in much the same way that He destroyed their enemies.  Remember all those passages that said their walled cities would be burned with fire and their strongholds would be destroyed?  It is no mistake that Amos conveys a message from the LORD of nearly the same structure.  Judah will be destroyed by fire and the strongholds of Jerusalem will be destroyed.