Whether learning a language, playing a musical instrument, or maintaining physical fitness, we all understand the truth of the old adage: use it or lose it! Benefits received can disappear through constant neglect. Vacation days often expire before year-end; enjoy them while you have the opportunity. This “use it or lose it” philosophy is expressed in Amos 8 by the prophet’s announcement of a coming “famine on the land—not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD… They shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it” (v 11-12). God’s people were content to regulate their lives apart from His revelation. They failed to appreciate the blessing of having God’s Word to guide them, so now they will lose this privilege. And the loss will be catastrophic. Their situation will be so dire that the only adequate analogy is a desperate famine. This could never happen in our day, could it? We have God’s completed revelation in the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. What a privilege! Yet millions have no time for the Scriptures. “So many Bibles, so many Bibles,” observes D.A. Carson—”and so little thoughtful reading of them.” Before long, the Word of God is forgotten, or even despised. “And all the while, a growing hunger for something wise, something stable, something intelligent, something prophetic, something true. And the hunger is not satisfied.” For ancient Israel, the two kingdoms would be taken into captivity, and there would be four hundred years of silence before the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. In those centuries, no prophet appeared. The Word of God ceased. Amos could see that Israel’s fate was already sealed. Like summer figs and grapes, the “fruit” was ripe for picking. The long season of divine patience is finally over. Seeing no repentance, God declares, “The end has come upon My people Israel.” There is a dramatic wordplay here, as the words for “ripe” and “end” sound very similar in the Hebrew language. Harvest songs will become funeral dirges as foreign invaders complete their slaughter (v 1-3). Yet God’s judgment will be perfectly just, as Amos insists. Business practices were dishonest and especially hurtful to the poor, for merchants boosted prices while skimping on quality and quantity. Driven by greed, they could hardly wait until the worship services were over so they could get on with their profit-making. Not only is God displeased, He “will never forget any of these deeds” (v 4-7). The terrible day of judgment is at hand (v 8-14). For further meditation: