A Famine in the Land | Amos 8:11-14 | J. Allen Mashburn

The prophet Amos prophesied during the final days of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. It was a time of great military power. It was a time of great economic prosperity. It was a time of peace, joy and happiness for most of the people. Amos comes to them with a message of condemnation. His message to them is one of judgment and condemnation. His message exposes the true spiritual condition of the nation. They are wealthy and they are powerful, but they are spiritually destitute. They are enjoying peace, safety and prosperity, but they are in the midst of a spiritual drought and do not even recognize it. Amos preaches to them a message that lifts the lid off their hypocrisy. This message lets the people of Israel know that a time of terrible judgment is coming upon their land. He wants them to know that a destructive famine is about to fall on their land. When I read the book of Amos, I can see a lot of parallels between the conditions in Israel then and the condition of our world today. It is true that we are not as prosperous as we once were, but we are still richer than 99% of the rest of the world’s population. In the midst of our peace, our prosperity and our endless pursuit of personal happiness, we are in the midst of a spiritual drought and we do not even recognize it. Let’s notice the lessons that Amos teaches us in these verses, because they have something very important to say to us! Whether we know it or not, we are in trouble and this passage has some much needed warnings for us today.