Tuesday, March 15, 2022
“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 KJV).
Unbelieving Israel has taken God’s words for granted for many centuries, so now He will be silent for the next 400 years. May we not be so foolish in declining the Divine revelation given us!
If something is commonplace, its value depreciates in our eyes. For example, it takes a bout of illness before we realize just how great it was (and is) to be healthy. It is not until we are poor do we comprehend how prosperous our prior life was. Once we lose a loved one to death, it is only then can we appreciate just how much that person meant to us. The Israelites, in the context of today’s Scripture, had become so accustomed to hearing from the LORD and ignoring Him through the last eight centuries, they had reached the point of no return spiritually. God’s words meant nothing to them; now, these souls were totally unresponsive.
When the Prophet Isaiah was commissioned about 20 years after the Prophet Amos’ words in today’s Scripture, this directive was given: “And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed” (Isaiah 6:9,10). Eventually, the LORD sent no more prophets, angels, or visions to Israel. Once the Prophet Malachi conducted his ministry 400 years before Christ, and closed the Old Testament canon by writing the Book of Malachi, God never spoke to Israel again until John the Baptist—four centuries later.
Let us be sure to avoid Israel’s sin, and highly prize the Word of God….
333 Words of Grace 