Notice how Amos sees the Lord here standing by the altar.
The altar
was that key piece of furniture at the temple, and the temple was the place where God lived with his people. God living with his people brought the people great security because if anyone attacked God’s people, they thereby attacked God as well! Therefore, what Amos sees is quite something! God’s temple is there in Israel but it does not at all bring security and life; rather, it brings vicious destruction and death that none can escape! This in turn means that insincere worship does not bring security at all; instead, it brings the opposite!
1 Je vis le Seigneur, qui se tenait sur l'autel. Et il dit: Frappe les chapiteaux et que les seuils s'ébranlent, Et brise-les sur leurs têtes à tous! Je ferai périr le reste par l'épée. Aucun d'eux ne pourra se sauver en fuyant, Aucun d'eux n'échappera.