Famine of Hearing the Words of Jehovah
A recent survey of church members revealed, among other things, a fact that we should have known already; namely, that there is a gradual decrease, even among the saints, of hearing much preaching of the word of God. Suggestions ranging from shorter sermons, services to be more spontaneous, and informal types of meetings, while good in themselves, convey the big picture—that today’s Christian either feels quite adequately informed about the word of God, or doesn’t really find delight therein. Admittedly, preachers are not perfect on their oratory; but few have ever been perfect. There is a deeper reason for the empty pews and the darkened windows.
One ray of hope could lie in the fact that many of our members listen (we hope) to good radio sermons. But what they probably have not realized is that their absence from the assembly is slowly but surely having its effect in discouraging the local congregation. And when the local congregation dies back far enough, then the radio programs and all other concerted efforts, such as missions, homes for orphans, Christian education and the like, will fall for lack of support and demand.
Further proof that the love for God’s word has waned lies in the dilemma facing our Sunday schools. I doubt if we ever have had a better Quarterly lesson book, or an array of more timely lesson subjects from which to study. Yet many are tired of Quarterly, tired of the International lessons, and evidently tired of the Bible in general. Those who persevere and try to hold things together, lack the stimulation that is so pleasant when newcomers and newly born Christians join the class and are really hungry for words from God.
But we do live in blessed days, when God’s word is still plentiful and readily available. I say blessed days because, according to Amos 8:11. It will not always be so. “Behold, the days shall come, saith the Lord Jehovah, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water, but of hearing the words of Jehovah.” The meaning of the word for famine is “scarcity of food, shortage of grain.” So for there to be a famine of the word of Jehovah there will have to be some radical changes from the situation as we see it now.
We must not overlook, however, that this famine of hearing the word of Jehovah will be brought upon the land by God Himself. “I will send,” He says, taking the matter out of man’s hands and out of man’s timing altogether. And this is no new way for God to deal with man. He has closed the mouths of His prophets before, and has sent times when there was “no frequent vision.” In such time, men did that which was “right in their own eyes.” Many today have some strange ideas of what is right, when we hear them champion abortion, homosexuality, women’s lib, and the rights of criminals. Would you be willing to live and abide by what the courts of the land are calling right today? Even the Supreme Court of our nation has lost its moral equilibrium on many occasions.
There Is An Alternative
The answer to famine is to have a supply of food stored away for the lean years. God sent Joseph to Egypt in order that before the coming seven years of famine, he could guide them to save and thus provide life. (This, by the way, is a type of Christ, who is Himself the Word of God.) We can be feeding on the word, and committing it to memory, where it will never fail us. And it will be available to pass on to the next generation if we are willing to teach it. Parents are spending much money to educate their children, that they may have an abundant life in this world of affluence. But the one thing that is being overlooked is the Word. If we have it “laid up in our heart, that we might not sin against God,” we will also have it available to teach to our children when we “walk with them along the way, when we sit down, and when we rise up.”
Today, with most of the world at peace, with the economy booming, and men pleasure-mad, God’s word is not in very great demand. To the sinner it seems superfluous and outdated. But times will change. We have the Lord’s word for that. God will rise up and shake mightily the earth. There will be the removal of things that can be shaken. But through all this, God’s word, which can never be shaken, will endure and will again become the beacon of eternal life.
Robert Heid, in the Word and Work; Vol. LXXI, No. 5, May, 1977, P. 130
