The Famine for the Word of YHWH

The Famine for the Word of YHWH
By
James Scott Trimm

The prophet Amos warned us:

11 Behold, the days come, says the Adonai YHWH, that I will send a famine in the land: not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of YHWH.
12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east: they shall run to and fro to seek the word of YHWH, and shall not find it.
13 In that day shall the fair virgins and the young men faint for thirst--
14 They that swear by the sin of Shomron, and say, As your Elohim, O Dan, lives: and, As the way of Be’er-Sheva lives--even they shall fall, and never rise up again.
(Amos 8:11-14 HRV)

So what is the solution?  If you are a truth seeker today, where can you find sustenance?  Yah has in fact provided a solution for his people.

In the Torah we read that Pharaoh had a pair of dreams which is magicians were unable to interpret:

1 And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and behold, he stood by the river.
2 And behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, well favored and fat fleshed, and they fed in the reed grass.
3 And behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill-favored and lean fleshed, and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river.
4 And the ill-favored and lean fleshed kine, did eat up the seven well favored and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke.
5 And he slept, and dreamed a second time. And behold, seven ears of grain came up upon one stalk, rank and good.
6 And behold, seven ears, thin and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them.
7 And the thin ears swallowed up the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream.
8 And it came to pass in the morning, that his spirit was troubled. And he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof. And Pharaoh told them his dream, but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.
(Genesis 41:1-8 HRV)

But Yosef was able to interpret the dreams, saying:

25 And Yosef said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one. What Elohim is about to do, He has declared unto Pharaoh.
26 The seven good kine are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.
27 And the seven lean and ill-favored kine, that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind, they shall be seven years of famine.
28 That is the thing which I spoke unto Pharaoh: what Elohim is about to do, He has shown unto Pharaoh.
29 Behold, there come seven years of great plenty, throughout all the land of Egypt.
30 And there shall arise after them, seven years of famine. And all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine shall consume the land.
31 And the plenty shall not be known in the land, by reason of that famine which follows, for it shall be very grievous.
32 And, for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice, it is because the thing is established by Elohim: and Elohim will shortly bring it to pass.
33 Now therefore, let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.
34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint overseers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven years of plenty.
35 And let them gather all the food of these good years that come, and lay up grain under the hand of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it.
36 And the food shall be for a store to the land, against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt: that the land perish not through the famine.
(Genesis 41:25-36 HRV)

Thus there were seven years of plenty, in which, under Joseph’s direction, grain was stored up so that there would be grain yet available in the seven years of famine.

From this we may make a midrash concerning the famine for the word.

Human history may be divided into two periods, the biblical period is represented by seven years of plenty.  The post biblical period is represented by seven years of famine.  During the period of plenty, YHWH’s Word was being stored up in the Scriptures, so that we could draw from it during the period of famine.  As we read in the Talmud:

Our Rabbis taught: Since the death of the last prophets, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachai, the Holy Spirit [of prophetic inspiration] departed from Israel; yet they were still able to avail themselves of the Bat-kol.
(b.San. 11a also b.Sotah 48b & b.Yoma 9b)

Likewise we read in the Zohar:

R. Jose discoursed on the verse: “And on the vine were three branches, and it was as though it budded and its blossoms shot forth.” (Gen. 40:10) ‘How little’, he said, ‘do men care for the glory of their Master or pay heed to the words of the Torah! At first prophecy was vouchsafed to men, and through it they knew the glory of Elohim. When prophecy ceased, they had a bat-kol,but now they have nothing but dreams.
(Zohar 1:238a)

Although we live in a period of famine for the Word of YHWH we need not starve for His Word, for it has been stored up for us for such a time as now, that we might have plenty in a time of famine.

Of course there are those who twist and “Gentilize” the word by applying Greek methods of understanding to the Scriptures.  There are those who will subtract from the Word, taking away the Torah, the “Ceremonial Law” and removing whole books from the Word.  And there are those who will add pagan customs and practices etc. to the Word.

But if we apply Jewish understanding to the original Hebrew and Aramaic texts of the Scriptures in continuity with Second Temple Era Judaism, we will find plenty of nourishment even in this time of famine.