Clawing hunger that ate you up from the inside could make the most upstanding man beg like a mongrel in the street and bite you just as bad.”
–Jesse Storm (Last Stand at Redwood)
“I have known exhaustion, pain, long vigils, hunger and thirst, going without meals, cold and lack of clothing.”
–2 Corinthians 11:27 (Phillips)
———————————-
8.7 — The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob: surely I will never forget any of their works.
.8 — Shall the land not tremble for this, and everyone mourn who dwells in it? All of it shall swell like the River, heave and subside like the River of Egypt.
.9 — “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord GOD, “that I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in broad daylight;
.10 — I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on every waist, and baldness on every head; I will make it like mourning for an only son, and its end like a bitter day.”
Suffering is coming for Israel. It needed not happen. First of all, they could have obeyed. Second, they could have repented. Instead they flaunted, mocked, and ignored God. “God’s oath that He will never forget Israel’s evil deeds need not disturb us, because it was made to an absolutely unrepentant nation… God does not forget or pass over the sins of the unrepentant.” (Cohen) Israel had special privileges, therefore they had special obligations. Lloyd Ogilvie states, “He will not forget what His people had done to distort the privileges of being chosen and called to be His people.”
Look at the judgment: the people will tremble and mourn at the calamity coming because of their perverted sins. It will come like a flood to overwhelm them. Darkness will come and this will add to the fear and anxiety bringing utter ruin and confusion. Their hypocrisies had “made a mockery of the true meaning of the festivals…so the day of light would become a day of darkness.” (Craigie) No longer will they feast, but mourn and lament over their situation. “God threatened to make the land so barren, dead, or unproductive that the people would mourn as parents mourn over the death of an only son.” (Garner) This is not only the end of the family line, but the end of a nation. Matthew Henry relates, “If they will not tremble and mourn for national sins, they will tremble and mourn for national judgments.” The light of His countenance would be hidden from Israel. “One cannot celebrate light and live in darkness.” (Craigie)
.11 — “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord GOD, “that I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.
.12 — They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD, but shall not find it.
.13 — In that day the fair virgins and strong young men shall faint from thirst.
.14 — Those who swear by the sin of Samaria, who say, ‘As your god lives, O Dan!’ and, ‘As the way of Beersheba lives!’ They shall fall and never rise again.”
“Terrible are the judgments of God to those that sleep in security.” (Henry) We see a great catastrophe ready to take place; it is not of physical suffering but of spiritual. There will be a famine from God’s Word. To those who did not wish to hear God’s Word, God proclaims they shall have their desire granted–He will stop speaking to them. As G. Campbell Morgan states, “The Bible becomes a sealed book when man turns from God. The result is famine of hearing the Word of God.” There will be a growing desire for “food” but none shall be available.
The words found in Deuteronomy did not hold any meaning for the people, “So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did you fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.” (8:3, NKJV) Ultimately, it is God’s word that made life possible. He spoke at the beginning to create, listen, but now the people do not hear His voice. Peter Craigie explains, “The coming famine of the word could culminate in the starvation of the spirit…when the spirit dies within a person the carcass is of little value.” The people did not listen to God when He spoke, they would not receive the words of the prophet and receive the Word. Note here, the word is not taken away, but the ability to hear it.
Why starve when spiritual food is available? Food is available, yet what do they do? They turn to the false religions. Famine will cause the youth to give loyalty to false gods. They will find substitutes for spiritual hunger or as Ogilvie calls it, “nutritionaless food.” The people refused to listen, they refused to practice the proper meaning of the feasts and that “to feed upon the divine word is to obey the divine will.” (Craigie)
It is too late, as they do not hear God, God will not hear them. “When your terror comes like a storm…then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.” (Proverbs 1:27,28, NKJV) The Living Bible is blunt, “Some day you’ll be in trouble, and I’ll laugh! Mock me, will you?—I’ll mock you!” (Proverbs 1:26) The people will stagger like drunks, they will fall and not get up. “That means no light in the darkness, no nourishment for the soul, no direction for making decisions, no protection from the lies of the enemy.” (Wiersbe) We are to walk in the light. Jesus proclaimed, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6, NKJV)
Listen while there is still time. Hear the word of the Lord. Repent–obey–follow after Him. Do not be like those who the Master sent away saying, “Depart, I never knew you.”
———————————-
8.7 — The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob: surely I will never forget any of their works.
.8 — Shall the land not tremble for this, and everyone mourn who dwells in it? All of it shall swell like the River, heave and subside like the River of Egypt.
.9 — “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord GOD, “that I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in broad daylight;
.10 — I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on every waist, and baldness on every head; I will make it like mourning for an only son, and its end like a bitter day.”
Suffering is coming for Israel. It needed not happen. First of all, they could have obeyed. Second, they could have repented. Instead they flaunted, mocked, and ignored God. “God’s oath that He will never forget Israel’s evil deeds need not disturb us, because it was made to an absolutely unrepentant nation… God does not forget or pass over the sins of the unrepentant.” (Cohen) Israel had special privileges, therefore they had special obligations. Lloyd Ogilvie states, “He will not forget what His people had done to distort the privileges of being chosen and called to be His people.”
Look at the judgment: the people will tremble and mourn at the calamity coming because of their perverted sins. It will come like a flood to overwhelm them. Darkness will come and this will add to the fear and anxiety bringing utter ruin and confusion. Their hypocrisies had “made a mockery of the true meaning of the festivals…so the day of light would become a day of darkness.” (Craigie) No longer will they feast, but mourn and lament over their situation. “God threatened to make the land so barren, dead, or unproductive that the people would mourn as parents mourn over the death of an only son.” (Garner) This is not only the end of the family line, but the end of a nation. Matthew Henry relates, “If they will not tremble and mourn for national sins, they will tremble and mourn for national judgments.” The light of His countenance would be hidden from Israel. “One cannot celebrate light and live in darkness.” (Craigie)
.11 — “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord GOD, “that I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.
.12 — They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD, but shall not find it.
.13 — In that day the fair virgins and strong young men shall faint from thirst.
.14 — Those who swear by the sin of Samaria, who say, ‘As your god lives, O Dan!’ and, ‘As the way of Beersheba lives!’ They shall fall and never rise again.”
“Terrible are the judgments of God to those that sleep in security.” (Henry) We see a great catastrophe ready to take place; it is not of physical suffering but of spiritual. There will be a famine from God’s Word. To those who did not wish to hear God’s Word, God proclaims they shall have their desire granted–He will stop speaking to them. As G. Campbell Morgan states, “The Bible becomes a sealed book when man turns from God. The result is famine of hearing the Word of God.” There will be a growing desire for “food” but none shall be available.
The words found in Deuteronomy did not hold any meaning for the people, “So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did you fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.” (8:3, NKJV) Ultimately, it is God’s word that made life possible. He spoke at the beginning to create, listen, but now the people do not hear His voice. Peter Craigie explains, “The coming famine of the word could culminate in the starvation of the spirit…when the spirit dies within a person the carcass is of little value.” The people did not listen to God when He spoke, they would not receive the words of the prophet and receive the Word. Note here, the word is not taken away, but the ability to hear it.
Why starve when spiritual food is available? Food is available, yet what do they do? They turn to the false religions. Famine will cause the youth to give loyalty to false gods. They will find substitutes for spiritual hunger or as Ogilvie calls it, “nutritionaless food.” The people refused to listen, they refused to practice the proper meaning of the feasts and that “to feed upon the divine word is to obey the divine will.” (Craigie)
It is too late, as they do not hear God, God will not hear them. “When your terror comes like a storm…then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.” (Proverbs 1:27,28, NKJV) The Living Bible is blunt, “Some day you’ll be in trouble, and I’ll laugh! Mock me, will you?—I’ll mock you!” (Proverbs 1:26) The people will stagger like drunks, they will fall and not get up. “That means no light in the darkness, no nourishment for the soul, no direction for making decisions, no protection from the lies of the enemy.” (Wiersbe) We are to walk in the light. Jesus proclaimed, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6, NKJV)
Listen while there is still time. Hear the word of the Lord. Repent–obey–follow after Him. Do not be like those who the Master sent away saying, “Depart, I never knew you.”