God said that he would send a famine on the land of hearing the words of the Lord. The famine of hearing the words of the Lord would not arise because the people lost God’s Word and could not find it. God was going to cause this famine. Why on earth would God cause a famine of his word?
- Israel had rejected God’s Word. Amos 2:11-12; Amos 7:12-13.
- Because Israel had not listened when they had the opportunity, God was going to remove his Word.
The figure of a famine is appropriate in light of Deuteronomy 8:3: “Man shall not live by bread alone; but an lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
How would this famine of the word of God be achieved? This famine would be realized in that God would not send prophets to speak for him. This famine, in all likelihood, refers to the Intertestamental Period when there were nearly 400 years where God sent no prophet.
