Amos 2:6 says, Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;  Amos now pronounces God's judgment on the remainder of His people, the nation of Israel.  They were not divided in to two nations, Judah and Israel, by any action of God, but by their own actions.  If we, as followers of Christ today become divided by anything it will not be because of any action of God.  God said that Israel was guilty of selling the righteous and the poor for material wealth.  Verse seven declares, That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name:  They were guilty of ignoring or even mistreating the poor.  As followers of Christ, we have a responsibility to help those who are less fortunate than us and not to ignore or condemn them instead.  The people of Israel, God's chosen people, were also guilty of sexual sins.  I believe that we can see enough of that today to know that this has not changed.  Verse eight states, And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.  This simply says that they used the things pledged to God for their own benefit.  As followers of Christ, we pledge everything that we have to God, yet we often treat what we have materially as if it is ours to do with as we please.  I believe that God expects us to help the poor and oppressed and not look down on them.  Verse nine states, Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.  God reminded the people of Israel that he was responsible for their success as a nation.  The Amorites had been a strong and successful nation in worldly terms, but God gave Israel the ability to defeat them.  Verse ten says, Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.  We need to remember that the nation of Israel spent forty years wandering in the wilderness because of their own lack of faith.  Had they had faith in the power of God when they first came to the promised land they would not have spent forty years in the wilderness.  Verse eleven states, And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD.  God reminded the people of Israel that He had sent prophets to them to help guide them, and then asked them if this were not so.  When God sends preachers and teachers to us today, it is to help us follow Christ more closely.  God has never and will never leave His people without an understanding of His will for their lives.  Verse twelve declares, But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.  God's chosen people, who were so in name only, corrupted the prophets and told them to quit prophesying.  There are those today who would like to stop God's word from going forth, but hopefully it is not those who profess themselves to be God's people who do this.