Seek and Live
In the manual: Come, Follow Me lesson 48, “Seek the Lord, and Ye Shall Live,” on Gospel Library
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Five times in Amos 4, the Lord describes a hard thing that happened to Israel and ends with the same sad line, “yet have ye not returned unto me” (Amos 4:6–11).
Read Together
Hunger, drought, blight, plague, and war came one after another. The Lord said each one was a chance to turn back to him, and each time Israel stayed away.
4For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:
14Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. 15Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.
What It Teaches
The Lord’s answer to all of it is short. “Seek ye me, and ye shall live” (Amos 5:4). He says it again in verse 6, “Seek the Lord, and ye shall live,” and again in verse 14, “Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live.”
Israel still kept feast days and brought offerings, and the Lord said he would not accept them (Amos 5:21–22). He asked for goodness that keeps flowing. “Let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream” (verse 24).
Some trials come because of sin, and many come because life in this world is hard. Any of them can turn us toward the Lord. Mormon noticed that people often remember the Lord only after hard times humble them (Helaman 12:3).
“Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel” (Amos 4:12). Amulek taught the same thing centuries later. This life is the time to prepare to meet God (Alma 34:32).
Talk About It
Amos wanted righteousness to flow like a stream that never dries up. What is one good thing our family could keep flowing every day this week?
Take to Church
The Lord kept calling Israel back after every trouble, and his message never changed. “Seek ye me, and ye shall live.”