A Famine in the Land

God has given us His word to reveal His will and guide us through this life. This is an incredible blessing! Yet too often, His word is neglected and ignored – mostly by the world at large, but we can do this too. What happens when we neglect the word of God? We have a description in our text.

The Necessity of God’s Word (v. 11)

• This passage compares God’s word to food – both sustain us (physically vs. spiritually); the New Testament also compares God’s word to food (1 Peter 2:1-2; Hebrews 5:12-14); it causes growth
• A spiritual famine works like a physical one – we become weaker and weaker over time; eventually leads to death
• We must never neglect God’s word – it is too important; we use it to reach the lost (1 Thessalonians 1:8); we use it to build up one another (Acts 20:32); we study it to grow stronger ourselves (1 Peter 2:2)

First Result: Confusion (v. 12)

• Once the people realized that “something” was missing, they tried desperately to find it – God’s word shows us the path to take (Psalm 119:105); too many people want to follow their own path (Proverbs 14:12)
• The religious world is filled with people seeking for purpose and direction, but not looking in the right place – they look to their emotions, which is dangerous (Jeremiah 17:9; 10:23); they look to religious leaders, yet there are many false teachers (1 John 4:1); they look to society, yet most will be lost (Matthew 7:13-14)
• They may be very zealous in this – but zeal without knowledge of God’s will is useless (Romans 10:1-3)

Second Result: Falling Away (v. 13)

• This passage talks about young men and women falling – physically, they should have been the strongest; this famine has the potential to affect everyone; there is a real possibility for any Christian to become unfaithful (Hebrews 3:12-13)
• The knowledge of God’s word helps us from being led astray (2 Timothy 3:13-14) – the church has been set up to help as well (Ephesians 4:11-16); this is why we need to emphasize the word of God (cf. Acts 20:27; 2 Peter 1:10-13)

Third Result: Lack of Respect for Bible Authority (v. 14)

• Without God’s word, the people were acknowledging false “gods” as being equally legitimate – when we forsake the Bible, every other way begins to seem equally valid; as a result, many think it does not matter what we believe or practice; yet the Bible shows us otherwise
• We need to respect the authority of Christ (Matthew 28:18-20) – this is the basis for evangelism and discipleship; we are to do all things by His authority (Colossians 3:17); His will is expressed in His word (1 Corinthians 2:10-13); the Scriptures equip us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
• If we want a solid foundation, we must hear the Lord’s word and do it (Matthew 7:24-27, 21-23)

Conclusion

• God’s word is essential for our spiritual well-being – it helps us to avoid confusion, keeps us from falling away, and shows us why we must respect God
• We are blessed to have the written word of God that we can read and study anytime – let us not squander this blessing by neglecting it, either in our personal lives or as a church