Amos 7 details the punishment that God has in mind for Israel and her people. Even in the midst of judgment, the Lord is merciful.
Grace is sometimes defined as getting what we don't deserve (i.e. heaven, eternal life, forgiveness, etc.) Mercy, on the other hand, is understood as NOT getting what we DO deserve (i.e. punishment, hell, separation from God, etc.)
Israel has certainly earned her punishments. For centuries after the kingdom was divided between Rehoboam and Jeroboam, both nations erred, but Israel's sin of idolatry was the more constant. The time has come for the day of judgment, and Amos shows God deliberating as to the most appropriate form that the punishment should take.
At first, God considers sending forth locusts to completely devour the land. The prophet implores Him to refrain, however, pointing out how small Israel is. The Lord agrees and relents. The next punishment to be weighed has to do with a consuming fire upon the land. Again, Amos points out the frailty of the people, and God withdraws. The third sentence that God has in mind is exile, and there is no changing His mind here. The land will be deserted as the people are to be sent away (vs. 8-9).
Amos' messages of exile are so distressing that the Israelite priest, Amaziah, commands him to stop prophesying. He threatens to chase him away to Judah. But how do you shut up a true prophet of the Lord?
In response, Amos says, "I am no prophet, nor a prophet's son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees" (vs. 14). Amos then lays a particularly devastating personal prophecy at the feet of Amaziah: his wife shall become a prostitute, his sons and daughters fall by the sword, and he shall experience the exile firsthand, dying in an unclean land. Judgment, even tempered with mercy, is a serious business.
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