Israel’s Transgressions
Amos 2:6–16
6 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;
7 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:
8 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.
9 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.
10 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.
11 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.
12 But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.
13 Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.
14 Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself:
15 Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself.
16 And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the Lord.
Dr. Monte S. Nyman and Ferres H. Nyman wrote:
“Having gotten Israel’s attention, Amos turns to the sins of which they were guilty that were to bring the Lord’s judgments upon them. Israel also had four transgressions against them. Israel’s first sin enumerated by Amos was the selling of the poor people into slavery. In Amos’s words, ‘They sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes’ (Amos 2:6). Not only was Israel neglecting the poor, but they were also using them and the righteous to further their own financial gain.
“Israel’s second sin was one of immorality. However, it was immorality carried on in the name of religion, of which Israel had been repeatedly warned. The pagan worship of Baal included the practice of temple prostitution. Israel, who knew better, was profaning the name of Jehovah by a man and his father going in to the same maid under the guise of religion [see Amos 2:7].
“The third sin of Israel was a failure to care for the poor among them [see Amos 2:8]. The Lord places a high priority on the care of the poor [see Alma 34:28; D&C 104:18]. Under the law, a person’s outer clothing could be taken as a pledge for indebtedness, but it was to be returned to the person by evening because it was used as a cover for sleeping. The rich oppressors were failing to return these pledges and were using the pledged garments for their own comfort and satisfaction.
“The fourth sin of Israel was one of failing to keep their covenants. The Lord, through Amos, reminded Israel that He had destroyed the Amorites out of this land and brought Israel out of Egypt to occupy it. The Lord had intended that Israel’s sons be prophets and enter covenants to be Nazarites, who pledged to abstain from wine and other things. However, their fathers were encouraging these young sons to drink wine and discouraging them from honoring their priesthood or becoming prophets [see Amos 2:9–12]. This is the equivalent of encouraging the breaking of the Word of Wisdom and discouraging young men to go on missions in our day.
“Because of these four sins, the Lord proclaims that the nation shall fall. Their flight shall fail them; their strength shall fail them; their armies shall not be able to defend the nation; and those who are swift of foot or even ride horses shall not be delivered from the enemy. Even the most courageous will be driven before the onslaught of the invading army [see Amos 2:13–16]. This army is undoubtedly the Assyrian conquest in 721 B.C.”
(The Words of the Twelve Prophets: Messages to the Latter-day Saints [1990], 49–50.)
