Amos 8:11-12
“ Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God,
“ when I will send a famine on the land—
not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the Lord.
They shall wander from sea to sea,
and from north to east;
they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord,
but they shall not find it.
The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Am 8:11).
This text out of Amos is a passage of judgment. The Israelites had developed a pattern of rejecting God and His Word. They were given, by the gracious hand of God, a covenant. They were privileged to have the voice of God’s Word. And instead of heeding and listening to this gift, they rejected it.
Amos was announcing the judgment of God. It would be a famine. A famine is when there is a scarcity of resources. Generally brought on by a drought, nothing grows. There is no grain or grasses. So the crops and the herds die out, and food is scarce.
This is not knew. There are many times in scripture when God sends a famine on the land in judgment on the sins of the people. He would judge His own people and even other nations by means of a famine. No food.
In Amos, this famine is different. It is not a lack of food, it is a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.
Every where I go I have access to a Bible. They are so abundant. Everyone has at least one, probably more. In fact, it is so accessible that I am afraid that there are times that I take it for granted. In doing so, I am no better than those being chastised in Amos 8.
I was thinking about this famine of the word of the Lord. It sounds absolutely dreadful. When I truly meditate on how God has used His word so profoundly in my life, it humbles me. It makes me grateful for the Bible. In the pages of that book I have met one-on-one with God! He has fed my soul, encouraged me, corrected me, instructed me, lifted me, and shown me Himself. What a tremendous blessing! How foolish I am to ever, for even a moment, neglect the precious gift of God’s Word. A famine of His word would be devastating!
“ Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God,
“ when I will send a famine on the land—
not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the Lord.
They shall wander from sea to sea,
and from north to east;
they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord,
but they shall not find it.
The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Am 8:11).
This text out of Amos is a passage of judgment. The Israelites had developed a pattern of rejecting God and His Word. They were given, by the gracious hand of God, a covenant. They were privileged to have the voice of God’s Word. And instead of heeding and listening to this gift, they rejected it.
Amos was announcing the judgment of God. It would be a famine. A famine is when there is a scarcity of resources. Generally brought on by a drought, nothing grows. There is no grain or grasses. So the crops and the herds die out, and food is scarce.
This is not knew. There are many times in scripture when God sends a famine on the land in judgment on the sins of the people. He would judge His own people and even other nations by means of a famine. No food.
In Amos, this famine is different. It is not a lack of food, it is a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.
Every where I go I have access to a Bible. They are so abundant. Everyone has at least one, probably more. In fact, it is so accessible that I am afraid that there are times that I take it for granted. In doing so, I am no better than those being chastised in Amos 8.
I was thinking about this famine of the word of the Lord. It sounds absolutely dreadful. When I truly meditate on how God has used His word so profoundly in my life, it humbles me. It makes me grateful for the Bible. In the pages of that book I have met one-on-one with God! He has fed my soul, encouraged me, corrected me, instructed me, lifted me, and shown me Himself. What a tremendous blessing! How foolish I am to ever, for even a moment, neglect the precious gift of God’s Word. A famine of His word would be devastating!
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