Amos 9:1 says, I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.  The people of Israel had profaned God's altar, but now God was standing on His altar.  We may profane the things of God today and look everywhere for Him, but I believe that God will always be present if we look for Him.  The people of Israel were still not really looking for God spiritually.  Those who had turned their backs on God were to be destroyed.  If we are looking for God today, we must first come to Him through the cross of Christ.  God calls us there, and we can only respond to that call.  If we do not, then eternal separation from God is our destination.  Verse two declares, Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:  No matter where those under God's judgment attempted to escape, from digging deep in the earth or fleeing to the highest mountain, they would not escape the judgment of God.  There is still no place we can go today where God isn't already there.  Verse three states, And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:  Basically this tells us that there is no place to escape God.  The people of Israel had been searching for God's word everywhere except by looking to God, now they were attempting to hide from God.  When we do not accept God's word, then we ultimately will be attempting to hide from Him, but He will always find us.  Verse four states, And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.  Even if the people of Israel were to be in captivity, they would no be escape God's judgment.  We may think that if we align ourselves with powerful people, even in a subservient manner, that we will be protected from God, but that is not the case.  God is in control of His universe.  Verse five says, And the Lord GOD of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.  God can indeed melt the land or send floods upon it.  Still, not all of these things are a result of God's direct action.  I believe that God sends a warning when He is going to punish someone or some group of people and does not just take credit for it afterwards. Verse six says, It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name.  Amos was making sure that the people of Israel knew or remembered Who God was.  God was the all powerful God, the only true God.  We today need to remember Who God is.  We serve a mighty God, the only true God that there is.  Verse seven asks, Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?  Those who were supposed to be the people of God, His children, had become just like the children of the rest of the world.  When there is no difference between God's people and the world, we can be certain that God's judgment will come on them.  We are called to be a peculiar people, set aside from the world.  I know we don't like the word peculiar today, but it simply means that we are different from the world, those who do not know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.  Verse eight says, Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.  God's chosen people were called a sinful kingdom and were going to be destroyed, except for that remnant that remained faithful.  We cannot think that God has to always deliver us simply because we call ourselves His people.  We must be obedient to the leadership of the Holy Spirit in order to effectively follow God.  We must live by the standards of God and not the standards of the world.