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Article Archive |
2008
Hunger after Famine
by Jim Morris
“The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD,
“when I will send a famine through the land—
not a famine of food or a thirst for water,
but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD” (Amos 8:11).
Israel continually wandered from God. When she wallowed around in her sin long enough she would wise up and wish for relief. When she returned to God in repentance with all her heart then God would welcome her back. However, the Lord raised up the prophet Amos to warn Israel that a time was coming when He would not answer her prayers. She would experience an awful famine -- “the silence of God.”
The time of famine for the ten northern tribes of Israel came quickly. They finally fell to Assyrian invaders. Those who were not killed in war, famine or pestilence were integrated into their surrounding pagan cultures. They lost their identity as “God's people.”
The time of famine for the remaining two southern tribes came, too. In spite of living in close proximity to the House of God in Jerusalem they finally fell to Babylonian invaders. However, God raised up the prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel to teach the people in captivity so that a “remnant” remained intact as “God's people.” Jeremiah gave the people hope when he prophesied their return to Jerusalem in 70 years (Jeremiah 29:10).
Under the edict of Cyrus, the king of Persia, the Remnant began to return to Jerusalem. Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah orchestrated three returns that led to the rebuilding of the temple, the wall of Jerusalem, and the Remnant as “God's people.”
In Nehemiah chapter 8, we see the the hunger after the famine. The reading of God's word after the famine brought three clear responses from the people.
First, there was an “intellectual” response (8:1-8). The people wanted to hear God's word. They willing stood from daybreak to noon just to hear it. Ezra, Nehemiah and the Levites read from God's word making it clear and understandable.
Second, there was an “emotional” response (8:9-12). God's people mourned for their sins that caused God's silence. However, they were exhorted not to grieve but to be calm, enjoy and celebrate the grace of the Lord—their strength.
Finally, there was a “volitional” response (8:13-18). The people gathered to hear God's word more closely. They found in His word the practices that had been abandoned. Now they proclaimed their discoveries to the people of the land. They exhorted them to come, obey and celebrate the Lord according to His written word. “And their joy was very great.”
Look at the way America has wandered from God. Must there be a famine in the land for us, too? Why not celebrate the Lord according to His written word?
Jesus tells us, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6).
02-27-08
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