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Amos is often referred to as one of the ‘minor’ prophets.  I think that this title is unfortunate because some might conclude that his prophecy was less important than those from the ‘major’ prophets.  Paul reminded his readers that all prophecy is God inspired and so we must conclude that the writings of Amos are equally as important as any other portions of scripture.  It is true that he was a shepherd from Tekoa, an occupation deemed to be one of the lowest on the social status totem pole.  But it is another example of how God uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things.  Amos certainly made some interesting statements.

              The prime target of his prophecies were his contemporaries.  The nation was in a sinful state and Amos was called to advise the nation that judgement was coming.  But his prophecies should also be regarded as words from the Lord for us.  In Chapter eight verse eleven we read this:

“The time is surely coming,” says the Sovereign LORD, “when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread or water but of hearing the words of the LORD.

              We live in a time and place where the scriptures are available in multiple formats, hard copy, digital, audio books, etc. Commentaries abound, study guides and video lessons can easily be acquired.  Yet there is a famine in the land when it comes to ingesting the word of the Lord.  I believe Amos was inspired to use the word ‘famine’ because the people of his day were very familiar with the harsh reality of famine and its impact.  Famine was not a problem with the source that is the land, it was a problem with the environment. For example, not enough rain, plant eating pests such as locusts, etc.

              Our famine of the word is not a problem with the source.  The word has never been more available. Our problem is with our environment, first a worldly culture that has no interest in the word or despises it because its words are uncomfortable.  But even within the Christian community there is a famine for the word.  With rare exception our Christian culture lacks a hunger for more of the word, a desire to grow in the knowledge of the word, which is directly related to the knowledge of God the Father and his son Jesus who is our Saviour.

              These are the days of lent. Would you dare to pray for a renewed hunger for his word? Would you commit to dealing with that hunger? Our problem is not the source our problem is ourselves.

Pastor Dave