What does it mean that there will be a famine of hearing the words of the Lord (Amos 8:11)?

A great famine is announced. It is not to be a famine for bread, or thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. His Word and the light of His revelation is to be completely withdrawn from them. The Word of the Lord which they despised they would then desire to seek in vain. They will wander hither and thither from sea to sea, from the north to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the Word of the Lord and shall not find it. Such was the case with them when the cruel Assyrian power took hold on them and carried them away. Such a judgment too is fast approaching for Christendom which in its apostasy rejects the Word of the Lord, turns to fables, till the day comes when the Spirit will leave and as a result there will be a famine of the Word, no comfort and no help for those who are ripe for judgment.

One of God's 'four sore judgements' which He in past times brought upon the earth, and which He has foretold will again be sent as a punishment. The most severe famines recorded in scripture are the two of seven years' duration, one in the time of Joseph, and the other in the days of Elisha. Gen. 41:27-57; 2 Kings 8:1-2: cf. Ezek. 14:21; Matt. 24:7; Luke 21:11; Rev. 18:8. In speaking of the tribulations that will come upon Israel before the remnant of them are brought into blessing, Amos prophesies that there will be a famine of the 'words of Jehovah.' When judgements are falling on them, they will seek for some word from God for guidance and comfort; but will not find it: God will for a time leave them in darkness and perplexity. Amos 8:11-12.

Amos 8 opens with a fourth symbol — a basket of summer fruit, betokening how near as well as sure the end was for Israel. "I will not again pass by them any more. And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, says the Lord Jehovah; there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence." The command of the king, the intervention of the priest, would in no way stay, but rather accelerate and increase, the punishment of their iniquity. Thus a still more solemn and complete chastening is proclaimed on Israel. Their oppressive conduct is exposed with vigour, and Jehovah's sworn judgment is repeated. Nothing yet executed meets the term of verse 9. Their worst famine should be one of the word (verses 11, 12): they shall feel the want of what they despised. The most fresh and vigorous should not escape the suffering (verses 13, 14).

Amos 8 renews the declaration, that the end of Israel was come on account of their iniquity. God would no longer pass it over. The prophet announces likewise the distress the people should come into from being deprived of all guidance from Jehovah. They who trusted in the vanities that Israel had set up for themselves should fall, and never rise again.

A famine was in the land of Israel. Why? Because the literal famine was to draw attention to the spiritual famine that came before it, a famine for hearing the words of God. Though Israel suffered from the spiritual famine, they did not feel it. So God sent them something they would feel!

The famine was felt even in Bethlehem of Judah. Bethlehem means "the house of bread," where, of all places, there ought not to be a famine. But we too, though we are blessed with plenty in spiritual riches, fail to take advantage of these provisions and the saints of God experience times of spiritual famine. We complain about the lack of ministry, though, when it was available, we paid little attention to it. Bethlehem was in Judah, which means "praise."

"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: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it." - Amos 8:11-12.

In time of plenty who thinks of famine? But famine sometimes succeeds plenty. It was so in Egypt. There were first seven years of plenty, and then seven years of famine; and all the plenty was forgotten when the famine consumed the land. So is it sometimes with the ministry of the word of God. At a time when many honoured servants of the Lord are actively engaged in ministering Christ to souls, there are few perhaps who consider the possibility of scarcity following the plenty. It may be that the greatest blessing that God gives to souls on earth is a plentiful and seasonable ministry of His precious word which testifies of Christ; and yet some of us can look back and see place after place where this was so, which has now become little more than a state of desolation and almost famine of the Word; so that those who are children of God are barely existing instead of being in holy liberty devoted to the Lord.

About this some believers may be ready to say, "If we are deprived of all the Lord's 'gifts,' we still have the Bible." True; and we would add, "Ye need not that any man teach you;" for you have received the Holy Spirit, who can "guide you into all the truth;" and happy are those who thus find daily food for their souls. But there is another side to this. How many are there who read the Bible as a routine, and get nothing for their souls? Why is this? Are we not told that Moses and the prophets were read in the Jewish synagogue every sabbath-day? so that, with the Scriptures in their hands, and read at stated intervals, there was such a famine of the word of God, that they knew not Him of whom the Scriptures which they read spake, but actually fulfilled the same in condemning Him. Again, was not Nicodemus well-instructed in the facts and letter of Scripture? yet was he not ignorant of the foundation truth that a man "must be born again" either to "see" or to "enter into the kingdom of God"? And is it not in the present day most appalling, with so many Bibles and so many readers, to find so few who declare with divine certainty, founded on God's word, their present possession of eternal life; and fewer still who speak of God's word, because it testifies of Christ, being the daily food of their souls?

Is there not at this moment with many, and in many places, "a famine of the Word"? As in the time to which we have referred, those only who in their need had to do with Joseph had bread, so it is now. Christ is our Life-sustainer; and many are faint, and in perplexity and uncertainty, because they do not go to Him to be nourished by His truth. As in olden time the people came to Joseph, saying, "Give us bread," so all believers have to learn that there is famine everywhere apart from the blessing of the greater than Joseph. We are told, "There was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine. … And they came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence?" (Gen. 47:13-15.) Now Jacob was a man of faith, and he bitterly felt the lack of food. He wanted bread, and knew that it could only be obtained from One who was over all the land of Egypt, whatever the instrumentality might be that brought it. This Joseph was a remarkable type of Christ risen and glorified. He had been hated by his brethren, sold by them, falsely accused, put into a dungeon, and after he had been taken out of it was highly exalted. Then it was he became, by God's ordering, the dispenser of bread to preserve life - a striking type of the Lord Jesus, our Life-sustainer. Jacob and his sons were objects of God's love and care, and they fainted for lack of "corn." They hungered for bread; nothing less than the bruised corn of wheat could satisfy and sustain them; nothing else could meet their need. Have it they must, if possible; for they were famishing; and it could be had only from the typically dead and risen Joseph. May we never separate the Scriptures from Christ, of whom they testify

"And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision." A spiritual famine prevailed; not a famine of bread, as in the days of the Ephrathite Elimelech, but of the word of God. "Man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live; "so spake Jehovah to His people in the days of His servant Moses, and again to us in a latter day through His Son, the "Teacher come from God." And in the days that came between He spake in a similar strain by His holy prophet: "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: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it" (Amos 8:11-12).

In what a solemn way do we see, all around us, the fulfilment of scripture warnings! "Behold the days come, saith the Lord Jehovah, 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 Jehovah. And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of Jehovah, and shall not find" (Amos 8:11-12). Religious people are, today, exultant over the decay of faith and the advance of rationalism under false colours, who will vainly seek light once despised and rejected. How faithfully does the inspired apostle Paul, who clearly anticipated the present developments of ecclesiastical iniquity (as did also Peter and Jude), set before us the judgment in store for those who reject the present testimony of grace and falsify the truth. For the mystery of lawliness doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let] until he be taken out of the way. And then shall the lawless one be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the manifestation of his coming: [even him] whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and wonders of a lie, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish: because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (2 Thess. 2:7-12).

The great multitude had assembled from far and near to see the works and hear the words of Jesus. These sheep of Israel and also other sheep not of that fold were "consumed with hunger in the land." For the Pharisees and scribes were hireling shepherds, and their days were like those of which the prophet Amos wrote, saying, "Behold, the days come, says the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a f amine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it" (Amos 8:11-12). Is it any wonder, then, that the crowds listened with untiring eagerness to the words of life from Jehovah's diligent Servant who spoke with authority and love, not as the scribes, nor indeed as any other man? How many of them, listening to the divine utterances, felt, though they could not express it as the Psalmist had already expressed it for them in the fulness and beauty of that stanza: "More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb" (Ps. 19:10). At any rate, they thought not of departure from Him, but waited for Him to conclude His discourses and His healings, and to dismiss them to their homes.

We are convinced that it is not charity to refrain from looking this weighty subject fairly in the face. That Christians generally are longing after more of Christ, and that many of the books of the present day give a solid ministry of Christ to souls, we fear is far, very far, from being true; but until such is the case all the efforts and devices put in action, and all supposed improvements as to organization, must utterly fail to supply that which personal enjoyment of the Lord Jesus Christ only can give. The inspired prophecy of Amos to God's ancient people is very solemn: "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: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it." (Chap. 8:11-12.) H. H. Snell.