Not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord

Amos 8:1-14

A basket of ripe fruit,” I answered. Then the Lord said to me, “The time is ripe for my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “the songs in the temple will turn to wailing. Many, many bodies—flung everywhere! Silence!”

The Lord has sworn by himself, the Pride of Jacob: “I will never forget anything they have done. “Will not the land tremble for this, and all who live in it mourn? The whole land will rise like the Nile; it will be stirred up and then sink like the river of Egypt.

The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign Lord,  “when I will send a famine through the land—not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.

People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.

Those who swear by the sin of Samaria— who say, ‘As surely as your god lives, Dan,’ or, ‘As surely as the god of Beersheba lives’— they will fall, never to rise again.

People like to think their 'little' sins too small for God to notice. But he sees everything: greed and sharp practice; short weight and sub-stand goods. And the poor, who always comes off worst, is his special concern.

Why?

Song in the temple will turn to wailing,  for their worship without God and righteousness.

God remembers what people have done, for they did evil and selfish for themselves. Their sins are great and many.

Not a famine of good or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. God's word is our guide of life and light in our way.

When God's day is coming searching for word of the Lord, they will not find it. The time of salvation ends.

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從賣菜，賣糧的情形來描述異象。看到成熟的果子，第二次說結局到了，結果到了。留心體察神的心意，我們從許多地方可以體察到明白神的心意。尋找就尋見。

作生意的人就想很快賣掉。我們心中看重什麼就看到什麼?我們若看重學業、金錢、照顧家庭等，從世俗的眼光來看。讓我們有一天分別出來，安息日分別出來好好親近神！重世俗的人期待安息日趕快過去，要做生意，這些人以安息日為累贅，人在教會，心卻繫在外面的事。人是否守安息日是最好檢驗方式。神比一切重要，即使收入減少，神也會補足。

神可以改變天象，天氣。人員人為照著日期，就可以有收穫，神可以叫雨降在地上，也可以叫乾旱臨到地上。整個法則都靠不住。人若不依靠神，一切努力都會是一場空。

安息日在提醒我們神放在首位，神一定會供應我們。

臨時要找神的話，神已經收回，卻尋不著。1)動機有問題：因為飢餓、乾渴。只是手段，利用。所以找不到。2)方法錯誤：用自己的方法，找不到神，找牛犢等起誓。

思考一個問題，我心裏有神嗎？是否看重生命的主宰?

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How?

Be aware and turn our target to the Lord, for our life should honor the name of the Lord. For God loves us.