(July 29, 2023) Brian Bell continues sharing his meditation in Amos… 

When I began looking at Amos it was for my own ‘personal’ study and I did not expect the Holy Spirit to lead my thoughts into what is now the third article and which is meant to be the ‘final’ in a short if unexpected series!

In this meditation I bring your attention to Amos 8:11 and 9:9-15 and encourage you to consider the –

Famine of God’s word
Chapter 8:11 reads ‘I will send a famine … not a famine of bread … but of hearing the words of the Lord.’

In writing his gospel account, Luke records the Lord Jesus as saying the following words in response to the temptation to turn a stone into bread… ‘The scriptures say people need more than bread to live.’

For those of us who live in more privileged parts of the world famine has not been our personal experience, but we will no doubt have seen the often harrowing images that come across our television screens.

Clearly famine has a very serious impact on the physical health and well-being of those affected by it. In these verses relating to the famine or lack of hearing God’s Word it may not seem to have consequences which are so easily seen.

Notice it is a famine of ‘hearing.’ People who experience a hearing loss may find it to be partial (my wife,  Eveline, has a partial loss) or complete which is caused by some physical deficiency and can also be attributed to ‘age degeneration.’

A loss of hearing can leave a person feeling frustrated and isolated as communication with others is made difficult. This is what a ‘spiritual famine’ does, it prevents us from hearing and benefitting from the life giving words God has spoken though His word. 

If you are familiar with the history of the world then you will have heard of the ‘dark ages.’  It was that period of history when men may have lived with a form of religious observance, but no reality of hearing God’s word to change their lives.

In 1517 a German monk named Martin Luther, who had come to a saving faith in Christ, nailed his ’95 Theses’ to the door of the Castle church in Wittenburg in Germany.

The 95 Theses would in time become the foundation of the Protestant Reformation when spiritual darkness was broken by the light of God’s word which became available in printed form freely enabling people to read it in their own language.

In the centuries which have passed since then, we saw the spread of the gospel message across the world, as missionaries ventured into as then unreached people places such as Africa, India and China. This endeavour of bringing God’s word to everyone still continues today throughout our world.

Let us also consider the –

Certainty of God’s judgment
Amos 9:8 ‘I, the Sovereign Lord, am watching this nation of Israel and I will uproot it and scatter its people across the earth… ‘

The subject of judgment is not one that we really ‘enjoy’ thinking about, yet we know it is necessary to maintain a just society. If a person commits a crime, justice demands a punishment ‘which fits the crime’ and the law, usually represented by a judge, will determine the judgment to be passed on the offender.

Like many of the prophets, Amos was bringing a message of judgment. The message which comes through very clearly is that God’s judgment, even if it is delayed, is certain.

We read in Genesis that God saw the intention of men’s hearts was only evil continually and He determined to bring judgment in the form of a flood.

While Noah and his family spent 120 years preparing the ark, a time during which when men still had opportunity to repent, the flood came as certainly as God said it would.

Romans 3:23 tells us that ‘All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ In Romans 6:23 we are told that ‘The wages is sin is death.’ These often quoted verses remind me that before a Holy God I am a sinner, under condemnation and fully deserving of God’s judgment.

None of us will escape the physical death of our natural bodies. The consequence of sin for my soul is eternal death which is separation from God in and for eternity. If judgment were all we had to look forward to it would be hopeless – praise God the story does not end here because we need to consider –

Extent of God’s mercy
The word ‘mercy’ is defined by theologians as ‘when we don’t get what we do deserve.’

The Lord gives Amos several statements, in effect promises to bring to the people which despite the certainty of judgment which was fully deserved are an illustration of the extent of God’s mercy –

Verse 8 – ‘… never completely destroy.’
Verse 9 – ‘… not one true kernel will be lost.’
Verse 11 – ‘… I will restore’ and ‘I will rebuild.’
Verse 15 – ‘… they will never be uprooted again.’

In the United Kingdom where I live there is a law known as The Royal Prerogative of Mercy. Only the sovereign (Queen or King) has the capacity to enact this law in favour of a lawbreaker. It is a law available to use on behalf of everyone, but not everyone will receive its benefits.

This is a simple illustration of what these statements Amos speaks convey to me. God Himself will enact His royal prerogative on behalf of His sinful people, but not everyone will receive its benefits because –

• Some of them will be literally destroyed by the enemy.
• Some will be lost and be taken into captivity.

But judgment once delivered will bring stability for their future and that can be seen today in the re-established state of Israel.

American Bible teacher J.R. Hudberg says… ‘God is not present in discipline and distant in blessing; rather He is active among His people at all times, both in consequence and in reward – the ultimate resolution is not restoration to prosperity, but restoration to a relationship with the God who chose them.’

The greatest act to demonstrate the extent of God’s mercy was carried was out at Calvary.

Speaking about the cross in 1 Corinthians 1:22-23, Paul describes how it was seen by the Greeks, Jews and Romans of his day, Bible teacher Stuart Briscoe says:-

‘Man cannot fix his own fallen nature, he cannot forgive his own sin and he cannot make himself fit for heaven. Not all will acknowledge this. Men devise systems of thought and belief designed to accomplish what only God is capable of accomplishing. What man cannot do, God has done – through the cross. To the Greek mind this was abject nonsense, to the Jew disgusting blasphemy, to the Roman the ultimate disgrace – and to modern man an unacceptable insult.’

I have been a Christian believer for 55 years and yet I must be honest and say in the words of the songwriter, Fanny Crosby…
‘Jesus keep me near the cross,
There a precious fountain,
Free to all a healing stream,
Flows from Calvary’s mountain.’

This is for me an act of everyday faith, not based on any goodness of my own.

Wealth of the five ‘alones’
For those who may not be familiar with the reformation to which I made reference, here are the Reformers Five Solas (a Latin word which means ‘alone’ or ‘only’) –

1. Sola Gratia – Grace Alone
2. Sola Fide – Faith Alone
3. Sola Christus – Christ Alone
4. Sola Scriptura – Scripture Alone
5. Sola Deo Gloria – Glory to God Alone

These five truths are still held dear to us as Christian believers while we live in a world in which the truth of God’s word is still being sounded forth although many may choose not to hear it.

This wealth reminds us of the famine of God’s word, the certainty of God’s judgment and reveal the extent of God’s mercy as demonstrated in Christ alone.

Songwriter/singers Keith and Kristin Getty (from my homeland of Northern Ireland) have put these thoughts into their song  In Christ Alone from which I quote verse one:-

‘In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light my strength my song,
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love what depths of peace
When fears are gone and strivings cease,
My comforter my all in all,
Here in the grace of God I stand.’

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Brian Bell is a diaconate member, Christ Church (Congregational) Abbots Cross, Northern Ireland, and a volunteer with Disabled Christians Fellowship Ireland. Brian describes himself as ‘grateful for the privilege and opportunity given me to serve my Lord.’
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