“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “When I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, But rather for hearing the words of the LORD. “People will stagger from sea to sea and from the north even to the east; They will go to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, But they will not find it. Amos 8:11-12

Famine.

Most of us cannot imagine.
No food.
None to buy.
None to grow.
Desperation and hopelessness sets in.

We must have food to live.
We must have water to live.
We cannot survive more than a few days without them.
And it doesn’t take much depravation
To cause real problems in our biological system.

Amos declares a coming famine
For hearing God’s word.
The idolatry,
The rejection of God’s word and His prophets
Have resulted in a judgment.

Sometimes the most frightening thing
Is when God gives people what they ask for
And He withdraws.
People staggering, empty,
Searching in vain for what is no longer available.

Sow the seed.
Spread the Word.
Store it in your heart.
Teach it to your children.
Do all we can to protect against the famine.

Hate evil, love good, And establish justice in the gate! Perhaps the LORD God of hosts May be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

(Amos’s words were for the apostate Northern Kingdom.
They are still relevant for us in an ever more apostate culture.)

Hate is not the difficult part.
We don’t even struggle with the idea, “hate evil.”
We have trouble defining evil.

Therefore, we cannot rely on the media,
The arts, philosophy, financial status,
Popularity, politics, our hearts or any other source
To define evil.
God alone defines evil.

We must hate,
Avoid, stamp out,
Reject, scorn, separate from
Anything God says is evil.

Conversely,
We must love good.
Good as God defines it.
Good as it reflects God’s character.

We must love,
Seek out, emulate,
Promote, value, respect
Whatever God says is good.

If we do those things,
It will be easy to establish justice.

Our systems are not just.
Criminals are not punished.
Minorities are oversentenced.
Influence and money bend rules.

Because we love evil and hate the good.

For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel, “Seek Me that you may live. “But do not resort to Bethel and do not come to Gilgal, nor cross over to Beersheba; For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity And Bethel will come to trouble. Amos 5:4-5

Israel was disobedient, idolatrous, apostate.
God could have allowed them to continue
Ultimately facing judgment and wrath.
But He is gracious.

Seek Me, the LORD says.

Do not seek Bethel.
Jacob worshipped there.
Your family and your heritage
Are not the key to finding God.

Do not seek Gilgal.
God parted the Jordan there.
Do not wait for a sign before you seek God.

Do not seek Beersheba.
Even if you travel to the far south
You will not find God changing your location
Or your routine.

Jeremiah says, “You will seek Me
And you will find me
When you search for Me
With all your heart.”

God guarantees a successful search
If we undertake it
And stop settling
For Bethel, Gilgal and Beersheba.

Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. Amos 3:7

God is not obligated to reveal Himself
His plans
His ways
But He chooses to.

Amos says, “Surely.”
Certainly.
No question.
God reveals His secret.

In the Old Testament, He spoke through the prophets.
He warned of judgment.
He offered comfort.
He promised blessing.

In the Gospels, He spoke through Christ.
He warned of judgment.
He offered salvation.
He promised the Kingdom.

Now He speaks through Scripture.
He warns of judgment.
He offers hope.
He promises His presence.

If we want to know,
If we want to understand,
He has told us His secret.

Listen.
Read.
Know.
Act.

What a wonder!
What grace!
That God, the King, would take us into His confidence.

The question is
Do we care to know His secret?

Can two walk together, unless they are agreed? Amos 3:3

The answer is no.

They must agree on destination,
Departure, direction, speed.

The prophet challenges us to consider
Our walk with God.

Is it a walk with God?
Or are we walking,

Deciding for ourselves the destination
The departure time, the direction and speed of the journey.

God will not leave His way to join us.

And if we are not walking WITH God
We are walking AWAY from God.

There is no in between.