The days come that I will send a famine in the land: not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the word of the Lord" (Amos 8. 11).

That old Hebrew prophet was a far-sighted man. He knew that the course of history could end only in one way. The continued ignoring of God would at last lead to almost complete ignorance of His Word. The prophets of old had great reverence for much of the written Word as they had it in their day. There was much less than we have now but it became the rule of life by which they lived and the infallible authority on which they based their claim to speak. Some of the prophets added to the words of the Book for the benefit of those who were to come after them. Amos, the herdsman, who spoke and probably wrote the words quoted above, was one of these and in his denunciation of the rampant evils in his own lifetime we see a vivid picture of the condition of world society to-day.

"When the Son of Man cometh," asked Jesus of His disciples, "shall he find faith on the earth?" His words upon other occasions leave us in no doubt as to His answer to His question. In the wondrous wisdom of the Divine Plan, His return to earth in the power of His second coming was to wait until the world was near to self-destruction because its own wilfulness and selfishness. By then the world would have mostly rejected God and turned away from His Word. Jesus might readily have said that the Son of Man would not come until faith had been almost extinguished in the earth. So it has been. Events in the political, commercial and social spheres of the world for nearly a century past have so abundantly fulfilled Biblical prophecy that many believers have little doubt that the end of the Age is upon us, It is the time of God's intervention in the affairs of the nations. During this same period there has been a steady decline in religious belief and an increasing ignorance of God's Holy Word.

It is clear from surveys and quiz programmes that elementary knowledge of the Bible is much less common than it was a century ago. Younger people are less likely to recognize Bible names than a generation ago. The majority of people to-day are appallingly ignorant of the basic facts of Christianity, the nature of the Christian life, and the contents of the Word of God..

The Hebrew prophets in their day found themselves faced with a situation such as this and never hesitated to draw public attention to the fact and to denounce it; but they also never failed to go on to the remedy. They did not interpret their mission as one of condemnation only. They set themselves up as teachers of the Word that had become almost universally despised, and out of that Word they brought all the assurances and the warnings that God had caused to be written concerning the inevitable consequences of continuing in a wrong course. They declared, on the authority of that Word, the way to be taken. If men changed their course, instead of disorder and unhappiness, they would be peaceful and prosperous with the happiness of any people who recognize the Word of God.

The prophets' teaching was positive, even to the verge of dogmatism. There is no doubt or indecision in what they had to say. They were men who had already learned well the principles of the Word and applied the principles to the practical problems of life and knew how they worked. It was on that account they were able to stand before the people and speak, as did our Lord at a later date, "as one having authority, and not as the scribes".

The reason that we enjoy today so clear a view of God's purpose, particularly in its prophetic features of the Time of Trouble and the Kingdom that follows it, is because these men were so clear in their understanding and so definite in what they committed to writing. The work of the Holy Spirit in their hearts and minds has given us a sharp, well-defined understanding of God's purpose. "Other men laboured, and you have entered into their labours ". The question is what are we going to do about it?

To teach was the primary commission given to the Church. Those who are filled with the Spirit and thoroughly familiar with God's Word are teachers within the Church. Such must show that they have the gift of teaching and clearly understand God's purpose in mankind's creation and His desire for their ultimate happiness. These are not only diligent students of God's Word but have learned to apply it to their lives. They are ready to tell the things of God to those who will listen and are seeking to know more about what God is doing and is going to do in His Kingdom of righteousness. There is a need to help others to know the meaning of full consecration to God and a full realization of their calling in Christ. The message should, then, be built very largely around definite expository teaching of Bible themes.

None who are prepared to listen need be excluded from our evangelistic efforts. God is inviting and selecting the Church to work with Christ in the world's redemption in the Age to come. The message is to be preached to those most likely to respond, who already have a measure of Christian belief and who want to learn more. Such will be glad to learn that everyone is to have a full and fair opportunity to have life and to accept Jesus as their Saviour, those who perhaps have never heard of Him.

It is important that the way is seen as being hard. The tendency of this modern age is to make all things very easy for everyone. Whether it is in labour saving devices in the home, information technology for every conceivable subject, or a State welfare system that lifts all personal responsibility from the shoulders of John Citizen and makes those interests the responsibility of the State. The universal appeal is "take this, it is easy". God's way is not like that, and the Christian way is not easy. Our message should stress the fact that its acceptance will cost something. The life into which it leads and the benefits it brings will be found well worth the cost; but there is a price. Some may think those who take their stand on the Lord's side will be preserved from all physical harm in the evil day or that the Church will be "gathered home to escape the trouble coming on the earth." Whatever the truth in that understanding of God's Word, it is quite immoral and unscriptural to hold out that kind of inducement for people to accept Christianity and Christ. The early Christians certainly had no such bait held out to them. They accepted Christ knowing full well it might very easily mean wild beasts in the arena, or the stake in later days..

Our task, then, is to relate the understanding of Scripture and of the Divine Plan that is ours to the state of present day knowledge and the pageant of current events, so that those who seek a fuller understanding may continue to progress. In so doing, we shall be using our energies and abilities and resources to the best advantage, like the man in the parable who by the more judicious use of his "pound" eventually gained ten pounds. It would seem that his endeavours resulted in his attainment of qualifications for future administration to a higher degree than those of his fellows.

We are acquainted with the weak-in-faith brother who surveys the empty chairs and proclaims that the meeting will be a failure. So it will be with those who feel that Jezebel has slain all the prophets and pulled down all the altars and only we few are left. The Lord may well show us those whom he has kept, of whom we knew nothing. It remains true that there is a famine of the Word of the Lord in the earth, and if we are anything like the first disciples whom we claim to take for our examples, "we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard."

The Christian is a traveller, his life is a journey, heaven is his goal and his road lies through a wilderness. How earnestly and devoutly ought he then to pray "O send out thy light and thy truth that they may lead me and bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy dwelling!" For surely "the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the ways of life". The word of God discovers us to our errors; it shows us where we lost our way, and how we may find and recover it again. If we take this "lamp" in our hand, it will not only enable us to see the right course, but it will also direct us in every step, and guide our feet aright in the path of holiness and peace. Only let us apply our heart to the Word of life and walk with God, then we may sing His praises as we pass through every trouble, and we shall sing them for ever.

(Abridged from an article by AOH in 1950)