“For Thus Saith the Lord unto the House of Israel, Seek Ye Me, and Ye Shall Live”
(See Amos 5:1–27.)
Dr. Ellis T. Rasmussen wrote:
“A lament over the fall of ‘the virgin of Israel’ (Amos 5:2), followed by an invitation to return, opens this revelation. She, who had been sustained and defended by the Lord in former times when she was deserving, would not be defended in the coming invasion but must fall if she did not seek the Lord and live. Of cities that sent out a thousand to battle, a hundred would be left; of those that sent a hundred, ten would be left. Nevertheless, the prophet and the Lord never gave up hope of saving some of Israel; they repeatedly entreated Israel to seek the Lord, seek the Creator, seek good and not evil, hate evil, love good, and establish justice (Amos 5:4, 6, 8, 14, 15). The final appeal to foster justice and righteousness is poetically beautiful and religiously correct (Amos 5:24).
“The Lord was cognizant of the people’s rejection of the prophets, their oppression of the poor, their injustices, their hypocritical and token offerings, and their honoring of idols. Therefore, unless Israel repented, evil times were upon them. The ‘day of the Lord’ would be a dark day for them, for they would go into captivity northward ‘beyond Damascus’ (Amos 5:26-27).”
(A Latter-day Saint Commentary on the Old Testament [1993], 646–47.)
