[:en]SCRIPTURE: AMOS 8
“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. Men 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.” (Amos 8:11-12)
A BASKET OF RIPE FRUIT
God showed Amos a basket of ripe fruit to signify that Israel is ripe for judgment. The wealthy trampled the needy, cheated the measure with dishonest scales, cheapened their products and raised the prices to enrich themselves. That is why the day of reckoning had come. God was angry with them.
The forthcoming judgment will be earthquake (v. 8), eclipse (v. 9), funeral (v. 10) and famine of God’s word (vs. 11-12). God was taking away His Word to leave them hungry without spiritual nourishment.[:]