As
Amos continued to share the further judgment that was to come upon
Israel, he told them the LORD would “turn” their “feasts
into mourning, and all their songs into lamentation”. The LORD
would also “bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon
every head”. They would mourn “as the mourning of an only
son, and the end thereof as a bitter day”. In chapter eight and
verse eleven of his prophesy, Amos shared how the LORD would “send
a famine in the land” of “hearing the words of the LORD”
where we read:
Behold,
the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the
land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing
the words of the LORD:
The
verse begins, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD,
that I will send a famine in the land,...” Amos
began with the word, “Behold the days ”
which means “Look the periods or divisions of time”, “come”
or “enters, attain and are enumerated” “says” which
means “utters, proclaims or declares” “the Lord”
or “the title which is spoken in place of Yahweh in Jewish
display of reverence” “GOD”
which refers to “Yehovah or Jehovah who is the existing One and the
proper name for the one true God”, “that I will send”
or “God will let go, stretch out, extend and direct” “a
famine” which means “hunger,
dearth and famishing” “in the land”
or “the country, territory, region or district”. The LORD's
promise was that He would send a “dearth and famishing” into the
land of Israel.
The
verse goes on to say, “...not a famine of bread, nor a thirst
for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:” Amos
continued, “not a famine” or “it will not be a hunger,
dearth and famishing” “of bread” which means “food,
grain or bread-corn”, “nor a thirst” or “not a desire”
“for water” which means “clear liquid refreshment”,
“but” which is a disassociation conjunction that means
what is about to written takes precedence over what was just stated,
“of hearing” or “listening to and obeying” “the
words” which means “the speech, speaking, utterance, advice,
affair and answer” “of the LORD” which refers to
“Yehovah or Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for
the one true God”. The LORD's “famine” would not be for
food or water, but for the “hearing” of God's word.
When
we consider these words of Amos, we cannot imagine how horrific this
judgment would be. The LORD wasn't going to affect their nourishment
by food or “thirst” at this time, but He was to remove the
people's ability to “listen to and obey” His words. In other
words, the word of God and its affect was to be silent and absent
from the people. For a time, the words of Jesus Christ are available
to us, and those who are wise will read, hear, listen to and obey
them while they are available. Lest we receive the same judgment as
the people of Israel for a “famine of God's word”, let us be sure
to feed and drink daily upon the word of God.
Next
time Amos tells Israel how people shall “wander
from sea to sea”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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