Daily Devotions
Amos
"I will send a famine on the land"
Text: Amos 8:11
A SPECIAL FAMINE
The word of God had been proclaimed by the faithful servants of the Lord. But their words had fallen on deaf ears! Another punitive word of warning was issued.
“‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord GOD,
‘That I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread,
Nor a thirst for water,
But of hearing of the words of the LORD.
They shall wander from sea to sea,
And from north to east;
They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD,
But shall not find it.'”
Amos 8:11-12
1. Famines
a) They occur from time to time.
b) Sometimes the Lord would cause a famine to occur (Genesis 41:25-32).
c) These were carefully orchestrated by the Lord to bring about a fulfilment of His plans.
2. A special famine
a) Of the word of God.
b) This was a special reference to the prophetic ministry.
c) If the prophets of God were not sent to proclaim divine messages, there would be a severe spiritual famine.
3. Searching for the word of the Lord when the spiritual famine hits
a) Many would search for a special word from the Lord.
b) But none would be found.
c) If the Lord would not speak nor send His servants the prophets, then no divine word was heard.
THE MINISTRY OF THE PROPHETS
The prophet Jeremiah noted the ministry of the prophets in the following text.
“Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt
until this day, I have even sent to you all My servants the prophets,
daily rising up early and sending them.
Yet they did not obey Me or incline their ear,
but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers.”
Jeremiah 7:25-26
1. God had been graciously and faithfully sending His servants the prophets to proclaim His word.
2. But their ministry of the word of God had not been appreciated.
Amos proclaimed a cessation of the prophetic ministry. After Malachi, the prophetic voice ceased for four hundred years!