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Commentary on Amos 8 verses 11–14
In these verses is threatened,
I. A general judgment of spiritual famine coming upon the whole land, a famine of the word of God, the failing of oracles and the scarcity of good preaching. This is spoken of as a thing at some distance: The days come, they will come hereafter, when another kind of darkness shall come upon that land of light. When Amos prophesied, and for a considerable time after, they had great plenty of prophets, abundant opportunities of hearing the word of God, in season and out of season; they had precept upon precept and line upon line; prophecy was their daily bread; and it is probable that they surfeited upon it, as Israel on the manna, and therefore God threatens that hereafter he will deprive them of this privilege. Probably in the land of Israel there were not so many prophets, about the time that their destruction came upon them, as there were in the land of Judah; and when the ten tribes went into captivity they saw not their signs, there were no more any prophets, none to show them how long, Psa 74:9. The Jewish church, after Malachi, had no prophets for many ages; and some think this threatening looks further yet, to the blindness which has in part happened to Israel in the days of the Messiah, and the veil that is on the heart of the unbelieving Jews. They reject the gospel, and the ministers of it that God sends to them, and covet to have prophets of their own, as their fathers had, but they shall have none, the kingdom of God being taken from them and given to another people. Observe here,
1.What the judgment itself is that is threatened. It is a famine, a scarcity, not of bread and water (which are the necessary support of the body, and the want of which is very grievous), but a much sorer judgment than that, even a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. There shall be no congregations for ministers to preach to, nor any ministers to preach, nor any instructions and abilities given to those that do set up for preachers, to fit them for their work. The word of the Lord shall be precious and scarce; there shall be no vision, Sa1 3:1. They shall have the written word, Bibles to read, but no ministers to explain and apply it to them, the water in the well, but nothing to draw with. It is a gracious promise (Isa 30:20) that though they have a scarcity of bread they shall have plenty of the means of grace. God will give them the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, but their eyes shall see their teachers; and it was a common saying among the Puritans that brown bread and the gospel are good fare. But it is here a threatening that on the contrary they should have plenty enough of bread and water, and yet their teachers should be removed. Now, (1.) This was the departure of a great part of their glory from their land. This made their nation great and high, that to them were committed the oracles of God; but, when these were taken from them, their beauty was stained and their honour laid in the dust. (2.) This was a token of God's highest displeasure against them. Surely he was angry indeed with them when he would no more speak to them as he had done, and had abandoned them to ruin when he would no more afford them the means of bringing them to repentance. (3.) This made all the other calamities that were upon them truly melancholy, that they had no prophets to instruct and comfort them from the word of God, nor to give them any hopeful prospect. We should say at any time, and shall say in a time of trouble, that a famine of the word of God is the sorest famine, the heaviest judgment.
2.What will be the effect of this (Amo 8:12): They shall wander from sea to sea, from the sea of Tiberias to the Great Sea, from one border of the country to another, to see if God will send them prophets, either by sea or land, from other countries; since they have none among themselves, they shall go from the north to the east; when they are disappointed in one place they shall try another, and shall run to and fro, as men at a loss, and in a hot pursuit to seek the word of the Lord, to enquire if there be any prophets, any prophecy, any message from God, but they shall not find it. (1.) Though to many this is no affliction at all, yet some will be very sensible of it as a great grievance, and will gladly travel far to hear a good sermon; but they shall sensibly feel the loss of those mercies which others have foolishly sinned away. (2.) Even those that slighted prophets when they had them shall wish for them as Saul did for Samuel, when they are deprived of them. Many never know the worth of mercies till they feel the want of them. Or it may be meant thus, Though they should thus wander from sea to sea, in quest of the word of God, yet shall they not find it. Note, The means of grace are moveable things; and the candlestick, when we think it stands most firmly, may be removed out of its place (Rev 2:5); and those that now slight the days of the son of man may wish in vain to see them. And in the day of this famine the fair virgins and the young men shall faint for thirst (Amo 8:13); those who, one would think, could well enough have borne the toil, shall sink under it. The Jewish churches, and the masters of their synagogues, some take to be meant by the virgins and the young men; these shall lose the word of the Lord, and the benefit of divine revelation, and shall faint away for want of it, shall lose all their strength and beauty. Those that trust in their own merit and righteousness, and think they have no need of Christ, others take to be meant by the fair virgins and the choice young men; they shall faint for thirst, when those that hunger and thirst after the righteousness of Christ shall be abundantly satisfied and filled.
II. The particular destruction of those that were ringleaders in idolatry, Amo 8:14. Observe, 1. The sin they are charged with: They swear by the sin of Samaria, that is, by the god of Samaria, the idol that was worshipped at Bethel, not far off from Samaria. Thus did they glory in their shame, and swear by them as their god which was their iniquity, thinking that could help them which would certainly ruin them, and giving the highest honour to that which they should have looked upon with the utmost abhorrence and detestation. They say, Thy god, O Dan! liveth; that was the other golden calf, a dumb deal idol, and yet caressed and complimented as if it had been the living and true God. They say, The manner, or way, of Beer-sheba liveth; they swore by the religion of Beer-sheba, the way and manner of worship used there, which they looked upon as sacred, and therefore swore by and appealed to as a judge of controversy. Thus the papists swear by the mass, as the manner of Beer-sheba. 2. The destruction they are threatened with. Those who thus give that honour to idols which is due to God alone will find that the God they affront is thereby made their enemy, so that they shall fall, and the gods they serve cannot stand their friends, so that they shall never rise again. They will find that God is jealous and will resent the indignity done him, and that he will be victorious and it is to no purpose to contend with him.
(Verse 11, 12) Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will send forth (Vulgate: send) a famine upon the land: not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the word of the Lord. And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. In that day, the fair virgins and young men shall faint for thirst. Those who swear by the guilt of Samaria, and say, 'As your god, Dan, lives,' and, 'As the way of Beersheba lives,' they shall fall and never rise again. LXX: Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine on the land: not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. And the waters shall be stirred up from the sea to the sea, and from the north to the east they shall go to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it. In that day, the fair virgins and young men shall faint with thirst, those who swear by the sin of Samaria and say: As your god lives, O Dan, and as your god lives, O Bersabee. And they shall fall, and not rise again. In Hebrew, there are no waters, and 'propitiatio,' which we translate as forgiveness, and in Hebrew is called 'Asamath', signifies idol: which is the beginning of sins. The old story tells, both in Latin and Greek, and of all barbarian nations, nothing is harsher than hunger, which often compels the besieged to feed on human flesh, and to act according to their cruel nature: so that even parents do not spare their young children, and the marital affection tears apart the limbs of the beloved wife who was once loved. If hunger of bodies causes this, what should be said about the hunger of souls? which on the day of the resurrection of the Lord oppressed the people of the Jews, and joined with the most burning hunger, the thirst of those who do not have the bread that descends from heaven, and those waters that flowed from the belly of Jesus. The Law has been taken away from them, and the Prophets have fallen into eternal silence: they move from sea to sea, and from the British Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, that is, from the West to the South, and from the North to the East, foreigners throughout the whole world, are unable to find the word of God. In what place shall we ask the Jews where they think that day signifies, in which they endure the hunger of hearing the word of God: especially when they read the Scriptures and follow the humility of the letters? To them we suggest that the predicted hunger is spiritual understanding, in which Christ is seen, the passion of the Lord is found and the resurrection is discovered. They go around the world and seek the word of the Lord, and do not find it: because they have denied the Word of the Lord, which was done in the hands of all the prophets, which was in the beginning with the Father, which was made flesh, and dwelt among us (John I). At that time, beautiful virgins and young men, both chosen and educated (for this is what 'Baurim' signifies), became scarce due to thirst. The beautiful virgins represent the synagogues, and the chosen ones represent the teachers of the people. When they became scarce, they taught that the curses of Deuteronomy were fulfilled among the Jewish people (Deut. XXVII, XXVIII, XXIX). These chosen ones and teachers swore by the idol of Samaria, namely the golden calves, and said: 'May your God, Dan, live in the borders of the land of Judah, where Paneas is now, and at that time the golden calf was worshipped there. And may your way, Bersabee, live, for they rarely traveled there due to its long and difficult journey, both the just and unjust kings of Judah.' And because they have done this, therefore they shall fall down, and shall not rise again, that is, they shall not regain the state which they had before. But the Lord sends famine into the land over those who are earthly-minded: and it is not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the word of the Lord, when because of the sins of the people the teaching fails in the Churches. And from sea to sea, that is, from the salty and most bitter waves to the sea they reach: not encountering rivers, not sweetest and various springs, but again flowing toward bitter things. And from the North to the East, desiring to abandon the North (which is the most harsh wind and is called the right one by the ignorant) and to reach the East, which they will not be able to find, because they do not travel in a straight path, but wander on winding paths, and not holding to the royal road, they are led astray by crooked windings. At that time the souls of virgins would fail, whom the Apostle calls incorrupt: and he desires them to possess eternal chastity, writing to the Corinthians: For I have espoused you to one man, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear lest as the serpent seduced Eve by his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted, and fall from the simplicity that is in Christ (II Cor. X, 2, 3). And if all virgins were beautiful or good, he would never have said that good virgins would fail; but he placed good virgins in contrast to bad ones, who are holy in body and spirit. There are five foolish virgins who did not prepare oil for their lamps (Matthew 23). But those are good and beautiful virgins who had the light of virtues and entered the bridegroom's chamber. But the virgins will fail because they will not find the word of the Lord. From this we understand that when there is no teaching in the Churches, chastity will perish, purity will die, and all virtues will depart, because they have not eaten the word of the Lord. Whoever eats it will be satisfied, as Solomon says: The righteous person satisfies his soul, but the souls of the wicked will be hungry (Proverbs 13:2). And David, who reached old age, freely sang: I was young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging for bread (Psalm 37:25). How many martyrs perished of hunger in persecutions and lacked the sustenance of these bodies? Therefore, about the bread that comes down from heaven, it is said that whoever eats it will neither hunger nor thirst. With the virgins failing, the young men will also fail, those who had previously conquered the world. And they will fail because they swear by the idol of Samaria, which we always understand to be in the person of heretics, as the same prophet says: Woe to those who despise Zion and rely on the mountain of Samaria (Amos 6:1). For heretics despise the Church of God and rely on the falsehood of their teachings, raising themselves against the knowledge of God, dividing His people, and saying: We have no share in David, no inheritance in the son of Jesse (1 Kings 12:16). If anyone swears by the sin of Samaria and says, 'As the Lord lives, Dan, and as the way of Beersheba lives,' that person will fall and will not rise again. Dan could not find a possession in the last borders of Judah, as it is written in the book of Judges (Judges 18), and it is interpreted as judgement. And Beersheba, due to the variation of accents, is translated into our language as 'well of the oath' or 'well of satisfaction' or 'well of the seventh.' Therefore, heretics at the ends of the holy Scriptures thirst, despising the judgement of God and desiring the way of Beersheba, which was in the tribe of Judah. And desiring to imitate many sacraments of the Church, they claim to be satisfied and filled. To them, the Apostle Paul reproaches: Already you are satisfied, already you have become rich (1 Corinthians 4:8), and they swear in the name of the Lord, who once fell because they regarded their idols as their god and will not rise again. But those who want to repent and do not say, 'As the Lord lives, Dan, and as the way of Beersheba lives,' will hear through Jeremiah: Can one who falls not rise again? Or one who turns away not return? (Jeremiah 8:4).
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SUMMARY
Amos 8:12 vividly portrays the severe spiritual judgment awaiting the Northern Kingdom of Israel: a desperate and futile search for the word of the LORD. As a direct consequence of their persistent disobedience, social injustice, and rejection of divine truth, God would withdraw His prophetic revelation, leading to a profound spiritual famine far more devastating than any physical scarcity of food or water. This verse underscores the tragic outcome when a people, having repeatedly spurned God's voice, are finally left without His guiding presence and life-giving instruction, despite their frantic efforts to recover it.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The verse employs several powerful literary devices to convey its stark message. Hyperbole is evident in the description of wandering "from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east," which emphasizes the exhaustive and universal nature of the futile search, implying that every possible avenue will be explored without success. Imagery is central, painting a vivid picture of desperate, restless movement ("wander," "run to and fro") across vast geographical expanses, evoking a sense of frantic urgency and ultimate futility. The contrast between the physical movement and the spiritual object of the search ("the word of the LORD") creates a poignant Irony: the people who once had access to God's word and rejected it will now desperately seek it, only to find it withheld. This also functions as a form of Poetic Justice, where the punishment directly relates to the crime of ignoring God's voice. Finally, the entire verse functions as a powerful Prophetic Warning, using vivid language to impress upon the audience the severe and irreversible consequences of persistent disobedience and spiritual apathy.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Amos 8:12 profoundly articulates the theological principle that God's revelation is not an inexhaustible commodity but a precious gift that can be withdrawn when persistently rejected. This spiritual famine is a severe form of divine judgment, demonstrating God's sovereignty over His word and His righteous response to human rebellion. It underscores the intrinsic value of hearing from God, not merely for intellectual understanding, but for life-sustaining guidance, moral direction, and spiritual nourishment. The absence of the word leads to spiritual disorientation and ultimate perishing, highlighting humanity's utter dependence on divine truth for true life and well-being. This passage serves as a stark reminder that God's patience has limits, and His silence can be a more terrifying judgment than any physical calamity, as it cuts off the very source of hope and restoration.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Amos 8:12 serves as a timeless and sobering warning for all generations, urging a profound appreciation for the accessibility of God's word. In an age where Bibles are readily available, and spiritual teachings abound through various media, it is easy to take this immense privilege for granted. This verse compels us to consider the spiritual consequences of apathy, indifference, or outright rejection of divine truth. If we consistently neglect, twist, or dismiss God's revealed will, we risk a hardening of our hearts and a diminished capacity to hear His voice, eventually leading to a spiritual desolation where, even if we desire to hear, the channels of communication may be closed. It calls us to cultivate a vibrant, active relationship with God, characterized by diligent study of His Scriptures, fervent prayer, and obedient living, ensuring that we remain receptive to His life-giving word. This passage challenges us to examine our own spiritual hunger: are we truly seeking God's word, or are we content with spiritual superficiality, risking a future where the very sustenance we need is no longer found?
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does "famine of hearing the words of the LORD" mean in Amos 8:11-12?
Answer: The "famine of hearing the words of the LORD" described in Amos 8:11 and illustrated in Amos 8:12 refers to a severe spiritual judgment where God withdraws His prophetic revelation and divine communication from His people. Unlike a physical famine of bread or water, this is a scarcity of God's guiding voice, His instructions, and His presence. It means that even if the people desperately seek to hear from God, there will be no prophets, no divine messages, and no clear direction, leaving them in spiritual darkness and disorientation. This judgment is a direct consequence of their persistent disobedience, injustice, and rejection of God's truth when it was readily available.
Is God's word ever truly "lost" or "unavailable" to believers today?
Answer: While the specific context of Amos 8:12 describes a unique prophetic judgment on ancient Israel, the principle of God's word becoming "unavailable" due to human rejection holds spiritual relevance. For believers today, God's written word, the Bible, is universally accessible. However, a "famine" can occur in a spiritual sense when individuals or communities neglect, ignore, or actively suppress biblical truth. This can lead to a hardening of hearts, a diminished capacity to discern God's voice, and a lack of spiritual nourishment, even if the physical book is present. As 2 Timothy 3:16-17 affirms, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." The challenge for believers is not finding the word, but actively engaging with it, obeying it, and allowing it to transform their lives, lest they experience a self-imposed spiritual drought.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Amos 8:12, with its stark depiction of a people desperately seeking the word of the LORD but unable to find it, finds its ultimate fulfillment and profound reversal in the person and work of Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, God's word often came through prophets, but in the New Testament, God has "spoken unto us by his Son" (Hebrews 1:1-2). Jesus is not merely a messenger of God's word; He is the Word made flesh (John 1:1, John 1:14). The spiritual famine that Amos prophesied, where people would wander aimlessly for divine revelation, is overcome by Christ, who declares, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12). He is the true bread of life, satisfying spiritual hunger (John 6:35), and the living water, quenching spiritual thirst (John 4:10-14). While Israel was left to wander without the word, Christ offers Himself as the ultimate revelation, the very embodiment of God's truth and presence, ensuring that those who truly seek Him will "find" not just a word, but the very source of eternal life and perfect guidance (Matthew 7:7-8). He is the final and complete Word, making any further "famine" for those who embrace Him utterly impossible.