Don’t judge a book by its cover, or as Amos would say, don’t judge a society by its fruits. Once again, this week we have an obscure vision from the prophet Amos, using imagery and the Hebrew language to paint a very critical image of the ways God’s people have strayed from God’s commandments. In today’s vision, Amos sees a basket of summer fruit. Usually the indicator of a plentiful and successful harvest. A sign of promise, wealth, and hard work. A sign of doing the right things at the right times. What we don’t see in the English is the wordplay. Because where Amos sees fruit, God sees “the end” for the people of God. Fruit and end, two words in Hebrew that look and sound similar. But what looks like prosperity, health, and promise to the people of God looks like death and despair to God.