A famine of God’s Word

A famine of God’s Word

Scripture: “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “when I will send a famine through the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it. Amos 8:11-12

Observation: In this famous verse from Amos, we see the prophecy declaring the famine of hearing the words of the Lord. This came true for 400 years from the time of Malachi to John the Baptist, when the Lord raised up no prophet among His people Israel.

From this Scripture, we can clearly see that the famine of God’s Word is far worse than the famine of food or water. Today, God speaks to us primarily through His Word, the Bible. However, there was a time in the past, during the dark ages, when the Bible was kept away from the masses, and only reserved for reading by the clergy. How precious is the Word of God readily made available to us today in many different languages! We must never take it for granted!

The absence of God’s Word is symbolic of the absence of God Himself. In everyone of us, there is a moral standard inborn in us. All of us know that it is wrong to kill another human being, to steal or to cheat others. Standards may differ from individual to individual but there is always a basic understanding of good and evil in each person. Where does there this morality come from? It is from our Creator God, who is just and strong, yet faithful and loving.

In societies where God is not present, it will quickly degenerate into anarchy and chaos. God’s Word brings order, righteousness, peace. It is not by chance that early Western Christian nations were transformed from barbaric, violent societies to civilized, peace-loving countries as more and more people began to adhere by the principles of the Bible. In this day and age, the Word is more and more disdained by the modern generation, and these countries are again degenerating into lawlessness.

In his in-depth teaching on blessings and curses, the late teacher Derek Prince spoke of a clear connection between blessing and listening to the Word of God and doing it. Likewise, there was a clear connection between curses and not listening to God and not doing what He says. Psalm 1 speaks of how blessed is a man who delights in God’s Word.

Application: God’s Word is infinitely precious. Ask God to give you a deeper, more intimate love for His Word. Endeavor to read Scripture and commit some to memory. In these last days, a time may well come again when access to the Bible may become very difficult.

Prayer: How precious is Your Word O Lord. Deepen my love for Your Word I pray. Open my eyes to understand Your Word more and more. Let Your Word always be near me, deep in my heart. Praise You, Father, Son, Holy Spirit. In Jesus name, Amen.