400 Years of Silence Larry W Peebles March 6, 2020 20.07
This was something I could not have imagined. The place was not recognizable. In 2009 my wife and I made our second ministry trip to Kenya. On this trip we took a day to recover from the long journey from the USA and to adjust to the time change. We visited one of Kenya’s famed wildlife parks just outside Nairobi to see the animals. This trip brought back memories of our previous camera safari, where we saw and photographed many of the big animals of the African plains—the elephant, giraffe, rhino, cape-buffalo and lion. In addition there were the usual zebras, gazelle, impala and water bucks too numerous to count.
However, we were cautioned this year was a drought year, and we might not view many animals. We were not prepared for what we saw. While we did well on the safari and saw many of the animals we had seen before, the drought was so severe we also saw many carcasses of dead animals. The stress of the heat and lack of water left many of the waterholes dry, and many animals died. Though we visited the same park as the previous trip, the place did not look the same.
This drought covered a large portion of east Africa, and people were also dying from famine. Much of Kenya is an agricultural economy, where corn and rice are staple crops. It felt like the animals, the people, and the land were cursed because the heavens were shut up and there was no rain. In the conference we led while we were there, we prayed and shouted for rain. Modest rain began before we left, and bigger rains came shortly after we arrived back in the United States. I believe our shouts were heard. The crisis was averted, but the memories of death still linger.
We saw severe drought again on our last trip in 2019. People and animals were dying. The planted corn in the fields was shriveled and useless. The national news each day was the debate in the Kenyan Parliament on how much corn to buy from China to keep the people alive. In our meetings each day we honored the presence of God, welcomed Him into the city, and prayed for rain. He spoke to my wife to publically prophesy rain was coming in the two cities we visited. Although it was not in the weather forecast, rain began in the first city before we left, and rain started in the second city shortly after we left. The drought was broken, and God got the glory. He still controls the wind and the waves (Matthew 8: 24-27).
Amos was a sheep-breeder turned prophet at a time when Israel’s economy was booming. Years of prosperity had allowed the people to drift away from God. They had everything they needed-who needed God? Religious practices had replaced true worship. The discipline from God designed to get their attention and bring them back to Him was of no effect. The nation was ripe for judgment because of hypocrisy and spiritual indifference. Amos came to bring a severe warning that the nation should repent and return to God before more severe consequences came.
From Amos 8:11- “Behold the days are coming says the Lord God, that I will send a famine on the land. Not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.” Amos, speaking as a prophet of God, predicted a day when a drought worse than the lack of water, and a famine worse than the lack of food would come. It will be a drought and famine of the lack of a word from the Lord. There is the written word of God (Gr.-logos), which we have canonized and call The Holy Bible, and there is the current word of God (Gr.-rhema), which is a “now” word God speaks into the hearts of believers or through the prophets for the current and specific situation. Amos is speaking here of the rhema word from God. He said the day would come when God would not speak to the people or through the prophets, and it would be worse than a famine or a drought. The consequences would be severe.
Malachi spoke similarly. In Malachi 4: 5-6- “Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” The reference to Elijah the prophet refers to John the Baptist, who many likened to the second coming of Elijah. From the days of the last prophet Malachi (430 B.C.) until the coming of John the Baptist, there was no word from God, a period called “the 400 years of silence”.
This was an extended period of drought. Silence is a curse and a terrible price to pay when a relationship goes bad. The form and practice of religion grew, but the true worship of God and the relationship with God dwindled. The people were not prepared for the coming of their Messiah. John had much work to do when he arrived to announce the coming of Jesus, but the people were hardened to the message.
When God withdrew His hand and voice from amongst Israel, unprecedented upheaval resulted. The Medo-Persian Empire already had control of Israel in Malachi’s time. The Greeks under Alexander the Great took control in 333 B.C., followed by the Egyptians in 323 B.C. The Syrian Empire conquered in 204 B.C., and Epiphanes desecrated the Holy of Holies. This was the place in the temple where God’s presence dwelled, and only the high priest entered once a year after much preparation and cleansing from sin. In 63 B.C. the Romans conquered Israel, and Pompey also desecrated the temple by walking into the Holy of Holies. Caesar came into power in 47 B.C., and put Antipater, a descendant of Esau on the throne to rule the people. Antipater’s two sons were made kings of Galilee and Judea. The priesthood became political and was sold. It was no longer passed through the lines of Aaron. The Jews split into two factions, the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Pharisees became conservative zealots, emphasizing the strictest and most extreme interpretation and letter of the Law, while the Sadducees were more liberal along the lines of the Greeks. Israel was not recognizable. The land appeared cursed.
The word of God, both logos and rhema, is a blessing. Consider these seven benefits, although there are many more:
- Nourishment– His word is a food that nourishes our spiritual life. Hebrews 5: 12-14 speaks of the word of God enabling us to grow and move from milk to solid food. Jesus said “I AM the bread of life.” John 6:35.
- Cleansing– God’s word renews our minds and cleanses our heart. Romans 12:2- “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Ephesians 5:26- “sanctify and cleanse her
with the washing of water by the word [of God].”
- Guidance– God’s word lights our path and shows us the way to journey. Psalm 119:105- “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
- Strength and security– It gives us the strength to overcome tests, trials, and difficulties we encounter. Luke 6: 47-48- “Whoever…hears my sayings and does them…is like a man who build his house on the rock…which could not be shaken.”
- Fruitfulness– God promises success and spiritual fruitfulness to those who meditate on His word and obey it. Joshua 1:8- “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Psalm 1:1-3- “His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaves also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper.”
- Victory– God’s word alerts us to the enemy (Satan), and gives us a two-edged sword to defeat him. In Matthew 4:1-11, in response to temptation Jesus tells Satan three times “It is written…”. Hebrews 4:12- “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
- Discovery– When we study the word, we find God. God and His word are inseparable. What God says is. John 1: 1-2- “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He [Jesus] was in the beginning with God.” The Word of God is the person of Jesus, the Creator who spoke into being everything in heaven and in earth, visible and invisible (Colossians 1:16), and the One who holds all things together (Colossians 1:17). Acts 17:28- “In Him [Jesus] we live and move and have our being.”
How can we navigate through this life without His word? To quickly ignite your inspiration, read Psalm 119, as it is filled with the benefits of studying His word. God gave us life by speaking it into existence. His word is our life—our daily bread. Without His word, we are in a dry thirsty place, and famine is our destiny. The history of Israel is our example, but Amos’ warning is for today. The laws and morals of society must be based on the word of God, or the nation is doomed. The people must return to God, to the point that His word is necessary, studied, valued, and followed. If we do not listen and allow Him to speak to us, we lose position and standing when we cry out for help. Communication in a relationship must be two way. Silence is no communication, and is a curse. Individual and national blessings abound when God’s word is honored and revered.
