LEARNING DAILY

Amos 8:11, "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.”

When we think about famine, it is understood to mean a lack of food and/or water. The verse from Amos above cryptically speaks of a famine in Israel of hearing God’s Word. What does that mean? A physical famine can cause widespread suffering and desperation because food and water have become scarce. Think about what happened to the shelves at the grocery store when there were threats due to Covid or hurricanes or some other natural disaster. People rushed to buy (in access) whatever they believe they needed for their comfort and peace of mind.

As I was doing some research on this verse, I found a reference to Amos 8:1, “This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit.” The comment in the Life in the Spirit Study Bible said, “The ripe summer fruit signifies that the people were ripe for judgment; their end was at hand.” Another source stated, “Ensnared by economic prosperity and fueled by grief, dishonest merchants added to their coffers by making merchandise of the poor (Amos 8:4-6) [exploiting the poor]. Rather than honoring the Lord, these dishonest merchants considered acts of worship as unwelcome business interruptions. None of this had escaped God’s attention. He had witnessed their deeds, and He knew the hardness of their hearts.” In other words, these merchants were anxious to have the Sabbath over with so they could continue to sell products and continue to build their wealth; they were so caught up in making money that they had no time for God. Today, we see businesses open on Sunday to be commonplace, seeking the almighty dollar.

It seems to me this generation is like the people in the day of Amos. Israel continually rejected the Word of God spoken to them through the prophets. They were about to get what they wanted – a famine of God’s Word. He would send no prophet to them, and no word from God would come to them. Do you understand the severity of this judgment where people who would seek God would not find Him? His Word would be hidden from those who despised Him.

I am not sure there is a worse judgment that God giving a person over to his/her own sinful desires. When this happens the person will become a slave to evil, Romans 1:24 is clear, “So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies.” When God is rejected in even a simple thing it leads to rejecting Him in other things. It is about moving away from His Truth and not honoring and worshipping Him.

The most interesting part of this verse, to me, is “[a famine] of hearing the words of the Lord.” To some degree we are experiencing a famine of God’s Word today! Paul’s warning to Timothy is happening today. “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.” There is no lack of availability of God’s Word; it is a shortage of people truly listening to and absorbing God’s Word. Is this verse important today? Absolutely! We live in a world where there are so many spiritual distractions that God’s Word takes a backseat resulting in a spiritual famine. A skimming of God’s Word to check a box on our “To Do List” can be an appearance of godliness but not producing a person of power and who God wants (2 Timothy 3:5).

May I encourage each of you to prioritize your spiritual growth in order to avoid a spiritual famine! Jesus reminds us in Matthew 4:4, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." This is an emphasis on the importance of God’s Word for our walk on the narrow way! When you take time to really read/study/ meditate on God’s Word, it transforms your spiritual well-being and provides spiritual health to your life.