A Famine for the Word
TimeWatch Editorial
November 18, 2015
We face a time of unease and uncertainty unlike any other time in the history of mankind.
Isaiah 24:1 says:
Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.
But of all the difficulties confronting mankind today, there is one which, while being ignored, will ultimately be the harshest deprivation of all.
Amos 8:11says: 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:
But what is this hearing of the word? Is it:
- The sense by which sound is perceived?
- A meaningless vibration of the inner ear?
- The ability to decipher that which is heard?
- A fascination with the sound itself?
- A willingness to listen and obey?
Amos 8:12 says: 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].
The prophet plainly points to a time when, because of continued disobedience, it would be too late for the Israelites to turn to God’s Word in an attempt to avoid the divine judgments. Deep sorrow sometimes stimulates men to heed the Holy Scriptures. Unfortunately, such sorrow often comes too late to produce any beneficial result. This is so, not because God’s love is withdrawn from the sinner, but because the sinner has become so hardened in his iniquities that he wishes only to escape the consequence of his transgressions, and not to forsake his evil ways. He has grieved the Holy Spirit beyond all hope of true repentance and reformation of character
But how does obedience come?
Romans 1:5 says: By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
So Obedience comes through faith. But how does faith come?
Romans 10:17 says: So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
In the final “day of the Lord,” just before the second advent of Christ, this experience of ancient Israel will be repeated, when the impenitent of the whole earth, suffering under the seven last plagues, will seek relief from calamity by any means possible, even turning to the Word of God, sent by his servants, which they had formerly neglected to study and obey.
Which servants are these?
Hebrews 1:1 says the following: God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Hebrews 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by [his] Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Jeremiah continues the thought.
Jeremiah 29:17 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.
Jeremiah 29:18 And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them:
Jeremiah 29:19 Because they have not hearkened to my words saith the LORD, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending [them]; but ye would not hear, saith the LORD.
Notice here, that not one message has been omitted.
Jeremiah 35:15 I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending [them], saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me.
The counsel then is clear. We should gather together a full supply of the counsel that God has made available. The efforts made to defend ourselves, to prepare for any onslaught, will prove pointless and useless, until we have stored the truth in our hearts.
Cameron A. Bowen
