“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 the hearing of the words of the Lord.” Amos 8:11
During the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness at the outset of his ministry, one of the answers that He gave to Satan was concerning the words of God. He said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God..'” (Matt. 4:4) There is in this statement the unveiling of the principle way by which God not only communicates to man, but by which He intervenes in the life in answer to faith. In another passage in the book of Amos, we find the same principle revealed, but in a slightly different manner. Amos writes: “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets.” (3:7) Here we discover that God’s way in dealing with men, working in their hearts, to bring them to faith, is by the word of the Lord. It is specifically declared here as being revealed to the prophets. However, from the earliest passages of the Bible, we find that the great Initiator, or Author of faith, uses His spoken word, not only to direct man’s attention to the eternal truths concerning God and His ways, but lays the foundation, the very basis, for man to believe God, whether it be by the revealing of Himself in doctrine, promises, or commandments. His word is both the unveiling of the “way” or direction that He would have man to go, but also, the very means, by which His power operates in the heart to save.
In the days of Samuel, there was a period when there was “no open vision” in Israel. It was a time when men did what was right in their own eyes to their detriment. But with the coming of Samuel, a prophet whom God had raised up, there came again the revelation of God to Samuel and the people, “…by the word of the Lord.” God revealed Himself again by His word. In essence, He SPOKE. In that word of God is the unveiling of truth, but also, the promise of power to believe and live according to it.
If the spoken word of God is essential for faith, as we read in Romans 10:17, “….faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God,” then how important is it that we HEAR the word of God? Note that in Amos’ day, the Lord said concerning the spiritual famine in the land, that it would concern “…the hearing of the words of the Lord.” There was not only the absence of the truth of the word, but the life-giving power of the word. It would be a time when the people would not “hear” the words of the Lord, the very basis for faith and knowing God. Faithlessness is the direct result of the neglect or refusal to hear the words of the Lord.
So then, in our day, this day in our “modern” age, have the ways of God changed? No. Cultures may change, and the world “evolve” into so-called sophistication and an attitude of the ability of man to save himself, but the word of the Lord never changes. This is why Isaiah would write, “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever.” (Is. 40:8) God can only be known by His spoken, and recorded word, for by that word He communicates His life to the sinner whom He saves, and the believer whom He sanctifies. Jesus’ words to Satan were so clearly powerful concerning this matter, “…man shall live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.’ So then, what is to be our attitude concerning the written word of God, the Scriptures? The Scriptures are the revealed, objective truth of God, according to which the living God quickens the seeking heart to believe.
Dear Father, Speak to us all. In Jesus’ name, Amen.