Amos 5:11

"Forasmuch therefore as ye trample upon the poor, and take exactions from him of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink the wine thereof."

In this verse again, Amos goes back to the great covenant passages of the Pentateuch where almost the identical language of this verse is used, making it likely, as we indicated above, that this pattern of his thinking was habitual. By thus appealing to the great covenant words of the Mosaic law, Amos is declaring the justice of God's forthcoming judgment against Israel:

"When Amos uses these formulations, he is saying in effect, that Yahweh will invoke the sanctions of his covenant with Israel against these perverters of Israel's social order ... The maintenance of that order, especially justice and righteousness in the courts is a requirement of God's covenant; and for those who violate his will, the salvation-history will become a judgment-history."[28]