A Famine for the Word

Behold, the days are coming, says my Lord, Jehovah,

that I will send a famine on the land,

not a famine of bread or a thirst for water,

but of hearing the words of the Lord.

They will stagger from sea to sea,

and from the north even to the east.  Men will desperately go about,

seeking the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.

Amos 8:11–12

We live in such a time.  Turn on the TV or radio; search on the internet; go to a bookstore.  Where do you hear anything that has truly come from God?  It is very, very rare.  Typically, what we find is human ideas taught as gospel, and God’s people would do better just to turn it all off.

Jesus taught that it is what comes from God that builds up his people and that nothing can prevail against it (Mt. 16:17–18).  It was for good reason that Paul called his revelation from Christ “the word of life”, for it is the only thing that can keep God’s children alive and strong in spirit.  But in the present state of things, God’s children are living on crumbs and are, spiritually speaking, emaciated.

I have heard that when people reach a point of starvation where they are near death, they must be fed small amounts of food and drink in order to recover, even if they crave more.  Even food that is otherwise healthy can kill them if they eat too much of it because their bodies cannot handle it.  So it is now with God’s beloved people.  They have been starved for the word of life for so long that they cannot bear to hear much of it.  May God help us to “discern the body”, lest we overfeed his starving children and do them more harm than good with the good food we have been given.

And pray that He will continue to give us our precious daily bread, the word of life that keeps us spiritually alive and healthy, and that we will always have an appetite for it.

“When No One Can Work”

For I know your many transgressions and your countless sins,

you who vex the righteous man by taking a bribe

and push aside needy people at the gate.

That is why the prudent man stays quiet in such a time, for the time is evil.

Amos 5:13

When righteous men rejoice, there is great glory,

but when wicked men arise, a man is hidden.

Proverbs 28:12

Jesus said that the time would come when God will no longer lead His servants to reach out to the world with His Son’s gospel.  He said, “I must work the works of the One who sent me while it is day.  The night is coming when no one can work” (Jn. 9:4).  I have told you many times before that children of God do not HAVE to do anything other than what God wants them to do.  God’s will is the Bible for the wise.

Many believers feel obligated to “spread the word” because this is in the Bible:

Mark 16

15. Jesus told them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

Some believers call that “the great commission”, and they say that it applies to every one of God’s children.  That is nonsense, of course, for what Jesus says applies only to the ones he says it to.  Besides, “The night is coming when no one can work” is also in the Bible.  Who does that apply to?  God’s will is the Word for the wise.

If God’s people feel obligated to proclaim the gospel perpetually because of Mark 16:15, they can never stop working, even when the time for it is past because Mark 16:15 will still be there.  But they who are led by the Spirit are the true children of God (Rom. 8:14), for they will know it when the time for evangelizing the world is over.

Moreover, if God’s people feel obligated to proclaim the gospel forever because of Mark 16:15, they will certainly fall into a spirit of strife and will quarrel with the world instead of helping them if they keep on after the night comes that Jesus spoke of.  And it will not be the world’s fault.  It will be the fault of those who continue to proclaim the gospel after it is no longer God’s will for them to do so.

We have sent out many millions of gospel tracts and many thousands of recordings and books in an effort to shine the light that has been given to us.  And we now have a significant presence on the internet, too.  But as this world devolves farther into sin, the time is drawing nearer when God will say, “No more,” and then we will stop.  God’s will is the guide for the wise.

A Hidden Gem

O Jehovah, I have heard your message, and I am in awe.

O Lord, restore to life in the midst of the years the one you created!

In the midst of his years, make him known.  In wrath, remember mercy.”

Habakkuk 3:2

Occasionally while translating the Old Testament, we come upon prophecies overlooked by other translators, such as the one above.  There are many of them.  The apostles had nothing but the Old Testament with which to work, but the holy Ghost opened their eyes to those holy scriptures to see the Son in them, and they preached the Son wherever they went.

Here, Habakkuk is moved by the Spirit to pray that the Father will make the Son known “in the midst of his years”.  And how did the Father do that?  He did that by sending him to the cross, and when He did, the Son dreaded the agony and pleaded with God to find another way to save mankind.  He said, “Abba (that is, Father)!  All things are possible with you.  Take this cup away from me!” (Mk. 14:36).  But even this plea of the Son was prophesied in another oft overlooked prophecy found in Psalm 102:24, and this time, God’s answer to the Son when he prayed that prayer is included:

Psalm 102

24. When I said, “O my God, don’t offer me up in the midst of my days,” you said, “Your years are throughout all generations.

25. In the beginning, you established the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.

26. They will perish, but you will continue, and all of them will grow old like a garment.  Like clothing will you change them, and they will be changed.

27. But you will remain the same, and your years will have no end.

28. The sons of your servants will dwell, and their seed will be established, in your presence.”

There are very many such gems in the Old Testament which foretell the Son’s coming and his work to save us.  God has hidden them, but if we diligently search for them, we will find them, and it is a glorious feeling when we do.  Solomon said it: “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, and it is the honor of kings to search it out” (Prov. 25:2).