Amos 8:7-14 - A famine of hearing the words of the Lord

8:7,8

Later on (Is 43:5; Jer 31:34) God speaks of remembering their sins no more. However, in Isaiah 43:27 God says “I consigned Jacob to destruction and Israel to scorn”, possibly a reference to the judgement that Amos is speaking of. So what are we to make of this? The key fact is that sin has to be faced up to. The world seems to take the view that either sin isn’t really sin, or it is not so bad, or that God will just overlook it. There is no Biblical support for such views. Sin must be faced up to. Either we can ignore it and then receive God’s just judgement, or we can repent and receive forgiveness. This is also why the punishment aspect of the cross is so important. On the cross God did not overlook our sin, but faced up to it fully, and the full punishment was laid upon Jesus. So through the cross justice has been fulfilled.

The reference to the Nile and the river of Egypt is to the rising and falling of the Nile, which was vital for crop growth in the region.

8:9-12

Verse 9 is possibly a reference to an eclipse. Eclipses were thought to be signs of the displeasure of the “gods”. So this “day” would be one of God’s displeasure with the nation. It would be a terrible day for the people. And if we find such thoughts abhorrent, we should remember that these events did actually happen. Israel was defeated by Assyria.

There would also be a famine, but a famine of the word of God. There was a gap of about four hundred years between Malachi and the birth of Christ. The Northern kingdom was without prophets for an even longer spell, with Samaria being pretty much a pariah as far as Jerusalem was concerned. One might have thought that such an apostate nation would not be overly concerned about not hearing the word of God, just as one would not expect our nation to be too concerned about such an event. However, people do not realise just how much good in society is dependent upon God’s goodness. We are not self-sufficient, and we do actually need someone beyond ourselves.

8:13,14

Even the young, both women and men, would faint because of thirst. And remember that this is a thirst for God’s word. People may imagine that they can manage without God, but eventually they are faced with reality that we cannot manage on our own. That is why the church must continue to offer out the word of God, even during times when it seems that few want to hear.

Dan was associated with idol worship, which is why this tribe is singled out here. Holding on to the worship of idols, a determination to live without God, is a sure road to destruction.