Amos 8:11Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The Lord Almighty once warned the people of Israel with a dire prophecy: 'I will send a famine upon the earth, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a thirst to hear the words of the Lord.' This teaches us that while physical hunger weakens the body, spiritual famine directly impacts the soul. The very punishment once threatened to befall them now appears to be voluntarily embraced by us. Despite God’s immense care for us, we often overlook His guidance as revealed in Scripture and through our teachers. Therefore, I urge you to cast aside all lethargy, to awaken your spirits, and to devote all your efforts to the salvation of your souls.

Hence, he proclaims, when Samaria is laid waste, and the Babylonians set fire to the towns, even if someone wishes to discern the will of God and understand how to seek His forgiveness to escape His wrath, there will be none to instruct them. He declares, I will bring upon them the famine of the divine word, so that no prophet will be found, even as they traverse from east to west and from north to south (Ezekiel 3:26); for those who once scorned the Lord's word, should they later yearn for it, will not be able to accept it rightly (Ezek. 3:3). The turbulent waters symbolize the vast multitude of the Jews, who fell into chaos, becoming like the waves of the sea when agitated by strong winds. Additionally, at the time of Christ's crucifixion, the sorrowful Jews experienced a famine for God’s word, lacking a prophet, a true teacher capable of clarifying the dense Mosaic law and unveiling the mysteries concealed in scripture, having rejected Christ, who proclaimed, ‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever’ (John 6:51, 33). They also remembered that in another instance He spoke through Isaiah: ‘Behold, my servants shall eat, and you shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, and you shall be thirsty’ (Isaiah 65:13). It is indeed true that ‘the Lord does not allow the righteous soul to perish in the flames, but He will bring low the life of the wicked’ (Proverbs 10:3), without offering them the divine word that ignites the yearning for virtue, for as the Savior Himself declared, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’ (Matthew 4:4).

The affluent may be spiritually impoverished and consumed by greed, yet those who earnestly pursue the Lord will lack no good thing (Ps 33:11). This teaching encourages us to disregard earthly riches, emphasizing the fleeting nature of material abundance. Wealth is transient, akin to a wave tossed about by the winds, constantly shifting and unstable. In this context, David may be addressing the Israelites—people granted adoption, worship, and promises, along with their ancestors (Rom. 9:4-5). They became impoverished through their trespasses against the Lord; however, those who genuinely seek Him will not find themselves lacking any good. How, then, did the Israelites become poor and starved? They gave up the Bread of Life, leading to a famine for nourishment. By transgressing against the Source of living water, they found themselves thirsty, facing the repercussions of this thirst. This, however, does not refer to a physical hunger or thirst, but rather to a yearning for the sacred words of the Lord (Am. 8:11).

The Lord God announces that a famine shall afflict the land, not for bread or water, but for hearing the divine word. They will traverse the land and will seek the word of the Lord but will not discover it. On that day, the lovely maidens and young men, swearing by the idols of Samaria and proclaiming ‘Your God lives,’ will be parched. Because of this, they will fall and be unable to stand up again.

The term ‘water’ is absent in the original Hebrew, replaced with ‘purification,’ which we’ve interpreted as ‘sin,’ stemming from the Hebrew ‘asamath’ meaning ‘idol,’ the source of all wrongdoings. Historical accounts from the Latins, Greeks, and other nations highlight that nothing is more excruciating than hunger, often compelling the starving to resort to consuming one another, demonstrating brutality that goes against human nature, with parents not hesitating to harm their own children, and husbands tearing apart their wives whom they once cherished. If such barbarity arises from physical hunger, what ought to be said of spiritual starvation?

This hunger, intertwined with profound thirst, befell the Jews at the resurrection of the Lord, who had neither the heavenly bread nor the living water that flowed from the womb of Jesus. They have lost the law, and the prophets remain silent; they wander the earth, from sea to sea, from the British Ocean to the Atlantic, looking for the word of God but unable to find it. We pose a question to the Jews: What does this signify for the day when they will long for the hearing of the Lord’s word, especially since they possess the Scriptures and adhere closely to the text?

This foretells a famine of spiritual enlightenment, a true understanding of Christ, and recognition of His suffering and resurrection. They search for the word of the Lord in vain, having rejected it, embodied in the prophets, and manifested in the beginning with the Father, who was made flesh and dwelt among us (John 1). At that time, the pure maidens and young men, representing the faithful and teachers, will experience thirst. The maidens symbolize the synagogues, while the faithful denote the spiritual leaders. Their emptiness reflects the curses found in Deuteronomy concerning the people of Judah (chap. 27-29).

These leaders swore allegiance to the idols of Samaria, claiming ‘Your God lives, Dan,’ in Judah, where Paneas is located, and where the service of the golden calf was conducted, stating ‘the way to Bathsheba lives,’ a journey made more arduous by the kings of Judah. Because of these actions, they will fall and not be elevated again, meaning they will not return to their previous state. The Lord sends a famine across the land for those who are wise in earthly matters, a famine not of bread or thirst for water, but for hearing the word of the Lord, as spiritual teachings grow scarce in churches due to the people’s sins.

They drift ‘from sea to sea,’ from the most bitter waters to another sea, not seeking rivers and springs offering refreshing waters, but instead wandering from one bitter source to another, desiring to move east but unable to find it due to straying from the clear path. The virgin souls, whom the apostle refers to as pure and undefiled, will become rare, as he wrote to the Corinthians: ‘But I betroth you to one husband, to present a pure virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ’ (2 Corinthians 11:2-3).

If all maidens were virtuous, it would not be stated that ‘the good maidens shall wither,’ but it contrasts the virtuous ones with those who lack oil for their lamps (Matthew 25). The good maidens are those who possess the light of virtue and enter into fellowship with the Bridegroom. The maidens will suffer due to their inability to find the word of the Lord, as a lack of teaching in churches leads to the decay of chastity, purity, and all virtues, since they do not partake in the divine word. He who consumes this sustenance and is filled with it will resonate with Solomon’s words: ‘The righteous eat to their hearts' content, but the souls of the wicked go hungry’ (Proverbs 13:26).

David, in his elder years, declared, ‘I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread’ (Psalms 36:25). Yet, how many martyrs have perished in persecutions from hunger, needing bread and physical sustenance? This refers to the true bread from heaven; whoever partakes of it will find neither hunger nor thirst. However, when the maidens are famished, those young men who once conquered the world will also be in want, for they swear by the idols of Samaria, symbolizing heretics, as stated by the same prophet: ‘Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria’ (Amos 6:1).

Heretics disparage God’s church, clinging to false doctrines, raising themselves against the knowledge of God, and dividing His people, proclaiming, ‘We have no portion with David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse’ (2 Samuel 20:1). Therefore, whoever swears by the sin of Samaria, declaring, ‘Your God lives, Dan, and the way to Bathsheba lives,’ shall fall and will be unable to rise again. The tribe of Dan could not find an inheritance within the borders of the Jews, as recorded in the book of Judges (Judges 18), and the term ‘Dan’ signifies ‘judgment.’ Bathsheba, interpreted from the accent differences, means ‘the well of oaths’ or ‘the well of abundance’ and ‘sevens.’ Likewise, heretics in the farthest reaches of Scripture will experience thirst, disregarding God’s judgment, attempting to find the road to Bathsheba, which belonged to the tribe of Judah, aiming to replicate the multitude of church ordinances, yet claim to be nourished and satisfied. They are admonished by Paul’s words: ‘Behold, you are full, you are rich’ (1 Corinthians 4:8).

They invoke the name of the Lord, yet once they have stumbled, rising again will elude them, as they hold idols as their gods. Conversely, those willing to repent, who do not declare, ‘Your God lives, Dan, and the way to Bathsheba lives,’ will surely resonate with Jeremiah’s declaration, ‘The fall will not be restored; the one who turns away will not be converted’ (Jeremiah 8:4).

Thus, when the Prophet Ezekiel is told to hear the sacred scroll, it is not said to him, “Drink,” but rather, “take and eat” (Ezekiel 3:1). This phrase implies the necessity of discussion and comprehension, or, metaphorically, chewing and swallowing. Yet, we must approach the words of the sacred text with an orderly method, reflecting upon them so that, recognizing our transgressions, we can turn away from further wrongdoings.