THE FAMINE OF HEARING THE WORD OF GOD
THIS title is taken from Amos 8:11:
“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”
Amos was prophesying in c770 B.C.during the reign of Jereboam king of the ten tribed house of Israel. He foresaw the future declension and apostasy of Israel rightup to the ‘latter days’ just before the second advent. Indeed, we have such a famine situation today.
By the ‘words of the Lord’, Amos was of course referring to God’s revealed word as recorded by Moses in the Pentateuch – the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,Numbers and Deuteronomy, plus other books of our present Bible existing up to that time. We today are blessed with a complete book, our Holy Bible exclusively containing all of God’s word.
We have many translations of the Bible today, But the Authorized Version, sometimes called the King James Bible, I believe, conveys a better and more detailed understanding of God’s word. This understanding is dependent upon the interest and determination to understand, the faith and belief of the reader. We are told that if we truly seek God he will be found by us (2 Chronicles 15:2).The Bible provides us with the way, the path to seek God.
It must be understood that every single word and phrase etc. of the the word of God in the Bible is of absolute importance. The Bible is intended for all of us to read in time and space. However, each word or phrase or story may only be intended by God for a certain dispensation or a certain time or place or individual(s).We may not comprehend all that we read, perhaps the understanding of certain parts may not always be within God’s will.
A classic example of a message, indeed a prominent message in this case, from prophecy, which obviously is not being revealed to mankind by God at this time, is the identity of the Children of Israel in our world today. The Children of Israel exist without doubt as several prominent nations according to prophecy, which also tells us that they will be identified in due course. Many individuals are today aware of that identity. With the second advent likely I believe in the foreseeable future, the revelation of the identity may come soon worldwide.
The doubts expressed by some concerning the veracity of the Bible are totally illogical for two reasons:
(1) The Bible teaches righteousness and truth and all that those two words entail. We are not talking about any old book, the Bible is God’s word. It is of supreme importance to all mankind if they only knew it. It is still the book with by far the largest circulation throughout all history. To allege inclusion in the Bible of lies and falsehood, is contrary to all of its teaching and therefore totally illogical. Would a doctor, writing a medical treatise advise any action other than that intended to cure illness and save life; or would a driving instructor train a learner driver to crash his/her car; or a farmer introduce foxes to kill his lambs? No of course not. Neither has God allowed any falsehood to corrupt his word.
(2) Almighty God has infinite power and knowledge. The angel Gabriel told Mary as recorded in Luke 1:37 “For with God nothing shall be impossible”. As we read of God’s infinite powers, we can be sure God is most able to protect his word and has undoubtedly done so. The Bible is immune to error and alteration. It has been a very small thing for the Almighty to ensure that the integrity and truth of the Bible remains in accordance with his will.
As a result of the translation of the Bible into many languages, many based on the authorized version, many peoples can now read God’s word as well as hearing it taught. But as Amos quite rightly predicts in chapter 8 verse 11 above quoted, there is now a famine of hearing the word of God. Many people today do not attend church or read their Bible, so cannot know God’s word. For hose who do attend church, are they being taught God’s word and to read their Bibles? not always. A lot of scripture is overlooked unfortunately.
My Bible contains 1,352 pages of scripture and takes about two years in reading at least twenty minutes a day on a regular basis. So the church can hardly be expected to teach the lot in a typical lifetime. Personal reading obviously is the answer. People must be urged to read the Bible.The church must teach all the word and interest people sufficiently to encourage personal reading
Most churches preach the gospel of salvation, as indeed they should, it is of vital importance. But the rest of God’s word should be taught as well. Jesus, speaking to Peter in Matthew 16:18 says:
“And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”
This apostle Peter, writing in 2 Peter 1:19-21 tells us:
“We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophesy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost”.
The last part of verse 19 from ‘until’, means that as a result of reading and understanding prophecy, realization comes of the full significance of the ‘day star’ (which means Jesus the Christ and his salvation) in the. heart. The advent of Jesus was foretold in scripture. Verse 20 warns us of two possible errors that can arise in trying to understand the meaning of a prophecy.
(1) Prophecy is primarily meant for us to develop faith in seeing foretold prophecy fulfilled before us. If it is God’s will, the Holy Spirit will show the true meaning to us.
(2) Usually in prophecy many relative prophetic statements can be found elsewhere in scripture, each adding or clarifying detail. A single prophecy may only tell a part of the whole story.All references on a subject must be read in full for complete understanding.
Verse 21 tells us that all prophecy was inspired by the Holy Spirit, and is part of God’s truth. On fulfilment it proves the veracity of God’s word.
The great importance of prophecy is shown in Revelation 19:10 where John was so overcome by the presence of the angel that:
“And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, see thou do it not; I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy”
This reference reveals two great scriptural truths. The first is that we must worship God and HIM ONLY. No one, absolutely no one else. The second is in the words ‘for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy’. We should all know what the testimony of Jesus is. It is the blessed gospel of salvation in its entirety. The ‘testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy’ shows the inseparable connection between salvation and prophecy. Prophecy is a pathway, a faith builder, the encourager, the signpost to salvation. Those words spoken by the angel to John, and by Peter cannot be ignored.
A classic example of a prophecy and its fulfilment is related in Daniel Chapter 2:1-45. Space denies room to quote the whole forty five verses which it is recommended should be read now. A brief summary and part quotation is given: King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream which he had forgotten when he awoke. He summoned his wise men and told them that death awaited them if they could not relate the dream and its interpretation to him. Daniel was one of the wise men. Daniel prayed to God and God revealed the dream and its interpretation to him in a night vision. Daniel tells the king that the God of heaven had revealed the dream to himself and its interpretation. He proceeds to tell the King -Your dream was a vision of a great image of great brightness with a head of gold, a chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron and feet of part iron and part clay. A “stone cut without hands” smote the feet and broke them and the rest of the image. The stone became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
Daniel then tells the king that his kingdom is the head of gold, after him shall arise another kingdom of silver bearing rule over all the earth, followed by another kingdom of brass which will be superseded by a fourth kingdom of iron and clay. Finally in verse 44 we read:
“… the God of heaven (will) set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed… and it shall stand for ever”
It is most important to note Daniel’s closing words in verse 45:
“… the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure”
These words should be remembered because all prophecies in the Bible are ‘certain’ and have been or will be fulfilled.
History tells us that this prophecy, except verse 44, has been fulfilled. The four earthly kingdoms which followed each other were:
(1 ) Gold: The Babylonian kingdom under Nebuchadnezzar.
(2) Silver:The Medo-Persian empire.
(3) Brass: The world empire of Greece under Alexander.
(4) Iron: The Roman empire and its successors, iron and clay.
The kingdom of heaven, ruled by Lord Jesus the Christ (the stone cut without hands – verse 45) is yet, but soon, to come on the earth.
The kingdom of heaven is to be distinguished from the kingdom of God. The latter embraces all true believers of time and space. Eventually both kingdoms will merge as one, when all sin and evil and death have finally been permanently eliminated by Almighty God.
Turning to prophecy concerning the Children of Israel in the Bible we read in 2 Chronicles 15:2 the prophet Azariah’s words addressed to the Children of Israel about 950 B.C.:
“The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you”.
As we know, Israel did forsake God and He forsook them. Other prophecies make it clear that this forsaking was temporary and did not mean permanent abandonment. (see Jeremiah 31:31-37) Israel exists today as several large nations, not because of any virtue on their part, but only on account of God’s word and his mercy towards them. (see Ezekiel 36:22) Azariah’s words apply to all mankind. Forsake God and he will forsake you, and we see the disasterous results about us in the world today. Being forsaken of God results in Satan causing us more trouble than ever, illness, disasters, universal wrongdoing, lack of righteousness, accidents, corruption, selfishness etc. Unless this ‘famine’ is relieved and and we start to acquire an understanding and above all a belief in the whole Bible we will get no freedom from troubles.
To those who say, why does God allow such things as the recent tsunami disaster in the Far East we can only say, the Bible provides the answer. It is never a question of God allowing such things. Jesus speaking in Luke chapter 13 verses 1-5 reveals two important truths of scripture and must be read.A widely held belief today that God punishes us now for our sins is refuted in verses 2 and 3 where Jesus says:
“… suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
In verses 4 and 5 he says:
“Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
We saw in 2 Chronicles 15:2 above that if we seek God we will find him, but if we forsake him he will forsake us. We may then be subject to Satan’s attacks as in Luke 13:1-5 above. Jesus pronounces the remedy of repentance without which we may lose God’s protection. Note that Jesus uses the word ‘shall’, not ‘will’ perish. ‘Will’ is definite,. whereas ‘shall’ is indefinite. I believe that God in his mercy may well leave the door open for possible future repentance.
God has endowed us all with freewill – we can freely choose to follow right or wrong. We live in a world and in an environment which are both under the curse of sin. The Bible tells us that this means all creation – us, all living creatures, all natural things, the earth itself etc. This curse is due to the constant presence and actions of Satan the originator of all evil.He is always providing the seeds of corruption accident, disaster, murder, robbery etc. and persuading us to do evil. He is too strong for us and we cannot avoid evil on our own. We need the help and support of Almighty God, which he is only too willing to give us if we ask. It is not God’s will that we should die through and by our sin. Ezekiel 33:11 tells Israel, but it applies to all mankind:
“… As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways;for why will ye die, O house of Israel’?
The Bible tells us how to avoid trouble and sin. Romans 6-23 tells us “… the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”. Peter tells us in 2 Peter 3:9:
“The Lord is … longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
To sum up then, we need to sincerely seek God and his salvation and to repent. This is only possible with the ever available help of the Holy Spirit.
For our present life, we now consider a most wonderful portion of scripture in Psalm 91 where we read of how God looks after us if we seek him and find him.
Psalm 91 should be read with the following notes.
In verse 1 the secret place of the most high is under the shadow of the Almighty, where we should be for our own wellbeing.
Verse 2 advises us to rely on God as our refuge and our fortress and to put our trust in him.
Verses 3 & 4 promise deliverance from the evils of this life and that his truth (in the Bible) shall be our protection against evil.
Verses 5, 6 &7 tell us not to be afraid of the troubles of this life. Verse 7 is especially reassuring.
Verse 8 looks forward to the second advent where, as believers we will be safe from destruction.
Verses 9 to 13 is where the Psalmist departs from narrative to address the believer/reader personally, and I quote:
“Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall be no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.”
These verses 9 to 13 detail God’s protection for believers against evil, illness, accident and against hostile wild life.
Verse 14 to the end is where God himself talks to the Psalmist about the believer/reader and I quote :
“Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.”
No further explanation of these last verses is needed. The whole Psalm is full of reassurances and clearly spells out in detail what God will do for those in this life who seek him and believe – He will be found by them. In the words of a popular song “We will never walk alone” again.
