The prophet Amos was an old shepherd farmer who lived at a time when people were satisfied with the status quo. He was a contemporary of many of the Old Testament's major prophets, who lived 700 years before Jesus. Amos was from the southern kingdom of Judah, but he preached to the northern kingdom. The northern kingdom had wealth and prosperity, which led them to become resistant to a holy lifestyle. The people had cast off all restraint and had no desire to make sacrifices to God. Their altars were broken down. Amos says they were like a basket of fruit that was easily destroyed. It was a dark time in the history of God's people, and Amos saw destruction coming. He prophesied a shaking in the land."The time is 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" (Amos
8:11).
Does this sound familiar? It does to us. We are living in the kind of desperate times in America. As the prophet Amos said, we are in a famine of hearing the word of the Lord. Once again God's people are in need of voices of truth to arise and declare His holy precepts over our land. The worst thing that could happen to our nation would be for God to turn us over to ourselves. I believe we are very close to that happening unless we are willing to let the famine compel us to build an altar once again.
Amos saw God standing at the altar bringing forth judgment (see Amos 9:1). Because there was a famine in the people's hearts of the word of the Lord; calamity was coming. Satisfying their selfish desires had displaced their hunger for God. But God did not want to leave His people in this place of calamity.
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