◄ Amos 8:13 ►
In that day the lovely young women--the young men as well--will faint from thirst.
Study Bible
In that day
This phrase often introduces a prophetic declaration, indicating a specific time of judgment or fulfillment of prophecy. It connects to the "Day of the Lord," a recurring theme in the prophetic books, signifying a time when God intervenes in history to judge and to save. Amos, a prophet during the 8th century BC, speaks to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, warning them of impending judgment due to their social injustices and idolatry.

the lovely young women
Young women, often seen as symbols of beauty and vitality, represent the future and hope of a society. In ancient Israel, they were also crucial for the continuation of family lines and community growth. Their mention here underscores the severity of the coming judgment, as even those who are typically full of life and promise will suffer.

the young men as well
Young men, like young women, symbolize strength and potential. They were the warriors and laborers, essential for the defense and prosperity of the nation. Their inclusion highlights the comprehensive nature of the judgment, affecting all demographics and leaving no one untouched by the consequences of the nation's sins.

will faint from thirst
Thirst here is both literal and metaphorical. Literally, it suggests a drought or lack of water, a common judgment in the Old Testament (e.g., Deuteronomy 28:23-24). Metaphorically, it represents a spiritual thirst, a longing for the word of God, which has been ignored or rejected (Amos 8:11-12). This thirst can also be seen as a type of Christ, who offers "living water" (John 4:10-14), contrasting the spiritual barrenness of those who turn away from God.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Amos
A prophet from Tekoa, a small town in Judah, who was called by God to deliver messages of judgment to the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

2. Israel
The Northern Kingdom, which had turned away from God, engaging in idolatry and social injustice.

3. Young Women and Young Men
Representing the vitality and future of the nation, their fainting from thirst symbolizes the spiritual and physical desolation due to God's judgment.

4. Thirst
A metaphor for spiritual deprivation and the absence of God's word and presence.

5. In that day
Refers to a specific time of divine judgment and reckoning for Israel's sins.
Teaching Points
Spiritual Thirst and Deprivation
Just as physical thirst can lead to fainting, spiritual thirst results from a lack of God's word and presence. We must prioritize regular engagement with Scripture to avoid spiritual desolation.

The Consequences of Turning Away
Israel's idolatry and injustice led to God's judgment. We must examine our lives for areas where we may be turning away from God and seek repentance.

The Importance of God's Word
The famine of hearing God's word in Amos serves as a warning. We should cherish and diligently study the Bible, ensuring it remains central in our lives.

Hope in Christ
While Amos speaks of judgment, the New Testament offers hope through Jesus, the living water. We are invited to find our spiritual satisfaction in Him.

Intergenerational Impact
The mention of young men and women highlights how spiritual neglect affects future generations. We must invest in teaching and modeling faith for the next generation.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the metaphor of thirst in Amos 8:13 relate to your current spiritual state? Are there areas in your life where you feel spiritually dehydrated?

2. Reflect on a time when you experienced a "famine" of God's word. What steps can you take to ensure you are regularly nourished by Scripture?

3. In what ways can the church today guard against the spiritual complacency that led to Israel's judgment in Amos?

4. How can the promise of living water in John 4:13-14 encourage you in times of spiritual dryness?

5. What practical steps can you take to ensure that the next generation is spiritually equipped and not left "faint from thirst"?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Amos 8:11-12
These verses describe a famine of hearing the words of the Lord, which directly connects to the thirst mentioned in verse 13, emphasizing the spiritual barrenness.

Isaiah 55:1-3
Invites those who are thirsty to come to the waters, contrasting the spiritual thirst in Amos with the satisfaction found in God's word.

John 4:13-14
Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman about living water, offering eternal satisfaction, which contrasts with the physical and spiritual thirst in Amos.

Revelation 7:16-17
Describes a future where believers will neither hunger nor thirst, highlighting the ultimate fulfillment of God's promise to satisfy His people.
Sermons
Soul FamineD. Thomas Amos 8:11-13
People
Amos, Dan, Ephah, Jacob
Places
Bethel, Egypt, Nile River
Topics
Beautiful, Faint, Fair, Feeble, Strong, Thirst, Virgins, Women
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Amos 8:13

     5746   youth

Amos 8:4-14

     8807   profanity

Library
Ripe for Gathering
'Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit. 2. And He said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The end is come upon My people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more. 3. And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence. 4. Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Thoughts Upon Worldly Riches. Sect. I.
HE that seriously considers the Constitution of the Christian Religion, observing the Excellency of its Doctrines, the Clearness of its Precepts, the Severity of its Threatnings, together with the Faithfulness of its Promises, and the Certainty of its Principles to trust to; such a one may justly be astonished, and admire what should be the reason that they who profess this not only the most excellent, but only true Religion in the World, should notwithstanding be generally as wicked, debauched and …
William Beveridge—Private Thoughts Upon a Christian Life

Jesus Raises the Widow's Son.
(at Nain in Galilee.) ^C Luke VII. 11-17. ^c 11 And it came to pass soon afterwards [many ancient authorities read on the next day], that he went into a city called Nain; and his disciples went with him, and a great multitude. [We find that Jesus had been thronged with multitudes pretty continuously since the choosing of his twelve apostles. Nain lies on the northern slope of the mountain, which the Crusaders called Little Hermon, between twenty and twenty-five miles south of Capernaum, and about …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Second Coming of Christ.
^A Matt. XXIV. 29-51; ^B Mark XIII. 24-37; ^C Luke XXI. 25-36. ^b 24 But in those days, ^a immediately after the { ^b that} ^a tribulation of those days. [Since the coming of Christ did not follow close upon the destruction of Jerusalem, the word "immediately" used by Matthew is somewhat puzzling. There are, however, three ways in which it may be explained: 1. That Jesus reckons the time after his own divine, and not after our human, fashion. Viewing the word in this light, the passage at II. Pet. …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Scriptural Predictions of an Apostasy.
Who has not wondered, as they read of the Savior's and the apostles' warnings of "false teachers," grievous wolves, delusive powers, and deceptive lights, what it all could mean? These things certainly are not without meaning. Jesus says, "And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they …
Charles Ebert Orr—The Gospel Day

A Serious Persuasive to Such a Method of Spending Our Days as is Represented in the Former Chapter.
1, 2. Christians fix their views too low, and indulge too indolent a disposition, which makes it more necessary to urge such a life as that under consideration.--3. It is therefore enforced, from its being apparently reasonable, considering ourselves as the creatures of God, and as redeemed by the blond of Christ.--4. From its evident tendency to conduce to our comfort in life.--5. From the influence it will have to promote our usefulness to others.--6. From its efficacy to make afflictions lighter.--7. …
Philip Doddridge—The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul

The Evening Light
This chapter is an article written by the author many years after she had received light on the unity of the church. It will acquaint the reader with what is meant by the expression "evening light." "At evening time it shall be light." "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: but it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light" (Zechariah 14:6,7). The expression …
Mary Cole—Trials and Triumphs of Faith

Second Great Group of Parables.
(Probably in Peræa.) Subdivision D. Parable of the Lost Son. ^C Luke XV. 11-32. ^c 11 And he said, A certain man had two sons [These two sons represent the professedly religious (the elder) and the openly irreligious (the younger). They have special reference to the two parties found in the first two verses of this chapter --the Pharisees, the publicans and sinners]: 12 and the younger of them [the more childish and easily deceived] said to his father, Father, give me the portion of thy substance …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Figurative Language of Scripture.
1. When the psalmist says: "The Lord God is a sun and shield" (Psa. 84:11), he means that God is to all his creatures the source of life and blessedness, and their almighty protector; but this meaning he conveys under the figure of a sun and a shield. When, again, the apostle James says that Moses is read in the synagogues every Sabbath-day (Acts 15:21), he signifies the writings of Moses under the figure of his name. In these examples the figure lies in particular words. But it may be embodied …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

Concerning Christian Liberty
CHRISTIAN faith has appeared to many an easy thing; nay, not a few even reckon it among the social virtues, as it were; and this they do, because they have not made proof of it experimentally, and have never tasted of what efficacy it is. For it is not possible for any man to write well about it, or to understand well what is rightly written, who has not at some time tasted of its spirit, under the pressure of tribulation. While he who has tasted of it, even to a very small extent, can never write, …
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

Concerning Christian Liberty
Christian faith has appeared to many an easy thing; nay, not a few even reckon it among the social virtues, as it were; and this they do because they have not made proof of it experimentally, and have never tasted of what efficacy it is. For it is not possible for any man to write well about it, or to understand well what is rightly written, who has not at some time tasted of its spirit, under the pressure of tribulation; while he who has tasted of it, even to a very small extent, can never write, …
Martin Luther—Concerning Christian Liberty

The Eighth Commandment
Thou shalt not steal.' Exod 20: 15. AS the holiness of God sets him against uncleanness, in the command Thou shalt not commit adultery;' so the justice of God sets him against rapine and robbery, in the command, Thou shalt not steal.' The thing forbidden in this commandment, is meddling with another man's property. The civil lawyers define furtum, stealth or theft to be the laying hands unjustly on that which is another's;' the invading another's right. I. The causes of theft. [1] The internal causes …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

This Doctrine Confirmed by Proofs from Scripture.
1. Some imagine that God elects or reprobates according to a foreknowledge of merit. Others make it a charge against God that he elects some and passes by others. Both refuted, 1. By invincible arguments; 2. By the testimony of Augustine. 2. Who are elected, when, in whom, to what, for what reason. 3. The reason is the good pleasure of God, which so reigns in election that no works, either past or future, are taken into consideration. This proved by notable declarations of one Savior and passages …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Of the Incapacity of an Unregenerate Person for Relishing the Enjoyments of the Heavenly World.
John iii. 3. John iii. 3. --Except a man be born again, he can not see the kingdom of God. IN order to demonstrate the necessity of regeneration, of which I would fain convince not only your understandings, but your consciences, I am now proving to you, that without it, it is impossible to enter into the kingdom of God; and how weighty a consideration that is I am afterwards to represent. That it is thus impossible, the words in the text do indeed sufficiently prove: but for the further illustration …
Philip Doddridge—Practical Discourses on Regeneration

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