Benjamin Came (Gen. 43:3-5)

Read Genesis 43:3-5.

There would be no relief from the famine and hunger unless Benjamin came.

"Benjamin" means "son of my right hand."  For mankind to be delivered from the ravages of sin, Jesus Christ (God's Son Who sits at the right hand) had to come.  Now, your soul hunger is met and you do not have to be consumed by sin.  Jesus satisfies!  He is the Bread of Life.

Born In Time For Famine (Gen. 41:50)

Read Genesis 41:50.

If you knew that seven years of horrific, unprecedented famine were coming soon, might you put off having children until after?  Such responsible adults would reason this way:  "Why put my children through that?  Why not give them every advantage?"

Joseph doesn't think that way.  He doesn't and won't live in fear because he knows Who God is, what He is like and what He has said.  When you know these things, there is a confidence.  You can rest in the One who knows every detail.  You don't have to bear the weight of accounting for every contingency.

The Seven Seals (Rev. 6:1-17; 8:1) (Part 4)

3. THIRD SEAL > famine, inflation

^“When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, 'Come.' I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard something like a

voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, 'A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three

quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.'” (Rev. 6:5-6)

The first thing mentioned is that the rider of the black horse holds a pair of scales. What is the purpose for a scale? A scale is used to determine price, value, weight or volume. Then it is your judgment call – Will you pay the price the scale has determined?

Without realizing it, you do this each time you fill up your vehicle with gasoline. The average price of gasoline in the Pittsburgh area, as of April 9, 2016 was $2.188 per gallon.¹ If you don't think the price at the gas station is low enough, you move on to another station. You will buy gasoline; it is only a matter of what you are willing to pay.

In the scales mentioned here, the commodity isn't gasoline but food. Talk about inflation! The verse says that a denarius would buy one quart of wheat (small amount, higher nutrition) or three quarts of barley (higher amount, lesser nutrition). You'll agree with me, right, when I say that's not a whole lot? By the way, a denarius is the equivalent of a day's wage (Mt. 20:2).

“If you consider the context of the first century A.D., it is clear that John predicted a very dramatic increase in the price of wheat. A person reading the Book of Revelation in the first century A.D. would have read that a denarius would buy only enough wheat to make 1.5 to 1.875 one-pound loaves of bread instead of 25 loaves of bread . . . This would represent between a 1333% and 1667% increase in price!”²

When there is scarcity (famine) there will also be starvation.

Total number of people that die every year from hunger3	7,665,000
Total number of people who died of hunger today	21 thousand
Percent of world population considered to be starving	26 percent
Time between deaths of people who die from hunger	3.9 seconds
Total number of people who do not have enough to eat	945 million
Percent of world’s hungry that live in just 7 main countries	65 percent

Here is the kicker:  While people will experience unprecedented, skyrocketing inflation and increased starvation during the Tribulation, luxuries will still be accessible to the rich but not to the poor.  That's what is meant by“Do not damage the oil and the wine.”

1http://then.gasbuddy.com/GB_Price_List.aspx?cntry=USA#us_cities (accessed 4-9-16)

2http://www.prophecyproof.org/2011/02/revelation-66-the-end-times-cost-of-food-part-1/ (accessed 4-9-16)

3These statistics were taken from http://www.statisticbrain.com/world-hunger-statistics/ (accessed 4-9-16).

How God Provides (1 Kin. 17:1-16) > Part 7

Among the many ways God can provide, we have mentioned three.  He can provide unconventionally, illogically and miraculously.  Not only does God have the capability to provide, but He delights in doing it.  No matter what the "famine" experiences are before us, God says He will provide.  God has unlimited creativity, since He "is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think..." (Eph. 3:20). 

Let’s bring our "famines" to God.  Let's not leave the issue until we have settled -- fully settled -- that He will provide.  Let's not have it in our heads only but also in our hearts.  Our response for today:  “Yes, Lord, I believe You can provide and will provide.”

How God Provides (1 Kin. 17:1-16) > Part 6

God provided unconventionally and illogically for Elijah, but God also provided miraculously (1 Kin. 17:12-16).  This is the filter through which we usually interpret this story.  Is there anyone who doesn't want God to do a miracle for you?

For the widow and her son, there was no shortage of water.  Elijah asked for a cup of water and the woman went to get it.  While there was plenty of water, there were no pancakes to spare.  Flour and oil, both of which were needed to make pancakes, were in short supply.  Then came the miracle.  Through Elijah's mouth, God promised a more-than-sufficient supply if the widow would obey.  The bowl of flour would not be exhausted and the jar of oil would not be emptied until the promised rain fell. 

God cared for the widow, her son and Elijah, but He also cares for you.  God promised in Philippians 4:19, "...my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."    Your needs matter to Him!  God's not intimidated to play His supernatural card.  Sometimes it's hard to convince ourselves, "Yes, I believe that."  Our heads nod up and down in agreement; however, every now and then our hearts need fencing in.  Why not impose a restraining order on our doubts?  Believe that God not only has the capability to provide, but He has the interest to do so.  He's watching out for us right now.

How God Provides (1 Kin. 17:1-16) > Part 5

Not only does God provide unconventionally for His people, but He also provides illogically (1 Kin. 17: 7-11).  God sent His servant, Elijah, to a pagan city to receive care and nourishment from a widow idolater.  Does that make sense to you?  Oh, and the woman was so poor she literally didn't have two sticks to rub together at home.  She couldn't sustain herself and her dependent son, let alone host a guest for breakfast.

Such was the situation in which God provided for Elijah.  The already-burdened widow took on a heavier load.  Here is a statement we need to understand:  God has logic, since there is nothing He does not know, but that doesn't mean He's obligated to act logically.  He has no need of counselors, yet He does things that make earthly wise men scream, "What?!"  Isaiah reminds us that there is a world of difference between God's thoughts and ours.  "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isa. 55:9).

God's preferred methods of providence are baffling at times.  When He doesn't make sense, and there will be times when He doesn't, that is not the time to walk away.  Indeed, "God works in mysterious ways" (William Cowper).  Isaiah 28:21 mentions that God will "do His task, His unusual task" and "work His work, His extraordinary work."  Job 9:10 reminds us that God "does great things, unfathomable, and wondrous works without number."

What we struggle against is human logic.  "God, the widow isn't supposed to provide for me; I'm supposed to provide for her."  Had Elijah's logic replaced God's Word, Elijah could've remained a starving prophet without a country and the widow at Zarephath might never have experienced a miracle.  May we learn to become okay with being unable to predict or explain God's provision.  It's more exciting just to embrace what He provides.

How God Provides (1 Kin. 17:1-16) > Part 4

The first way God provides for His people -- He provides unconventionally (1 Kin. 17:2-6).  God sent Elijah to a secluded place called Cherith.  Cherith means "cut away" or "cut off."  What a wonderful lesson:  When we are separated from the normal means of provision, when we are cut off, it is only that we are set up.  What appears to be a punishing isolation becomes God's provision.  If Elijah didn't survive at Cherith, he never would've made it to Zarephath.  Remember, it was at Zarephath that the miracle of the flour and oil occurred.  Elijah needed to experience the miraculous for himself before he could involve others.

What unconventional means God used to provide for Elijah!  The cutting away experience at Cherith was one thing, but the ravens?  Ravens were considered unclean, according to Leviticus 11:15.  God used detestable, abhorrent scavengers to airmail bread and meat to Elijah twice each day.  How much more unconventional can you get?

If God can be that creative providing for Elijah, He can be creative meeting our needs today.  Since all knowledge, wisdom and power belong to Him, imagine the combinations He can create!  For instance, Proverbs 13:22 says that "the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous."  I'm not sure how all that works, but I'll take it.  Don't forget that God delivered daily bread (a.k.a. manna) to Israel for forty years and supplemented it with all-you-can-eat barbecque (a.k.a. quail).  "Who has known the mind of the Lord?" (Rom. 11:34).  Let us put aside our preconceived ideas of how God "must" provide.

How God Provides (1 Kin. 17:1-16) > Part 3

From today's verses, we discover how God provides for His people during difficult times.  Perhaps we will never live through a literal famine, but we will have what I call "famine experiences."  They include but are not limited to job loss, large bills that overwhelm you, long-term unanswered prayers, loss of a loved one, and stubborn circumstances.  During such times we wonder, silently if not aloud, "How will God get us through?"  Today's story shows us three ways, among many, that God provides for His people.

Tomorrow we will look at the first way that God provides.  Today, identify your "famine experience."  Where in your life are you "starving" or lacking?  Do you believe God can provide?  Do you believe He will?

How God Provides (1 Kin. 17:1-16) > Part 2

In the last post I suggested famine could strike America.  The following is excerpted from an article called "Famine in America? Why 99% of the U.S. Is in Danger of Starvation."  You can find the article here.

          "Nearly everyone recognizes that the U.S. may be in for very hard times in the near

future. Some economists are predicting financial collapse as catastrophic as the

Great Depression. With a significant number of people now living in cities, far

away from their food sources, one may be left to wonder if the degree of famine

this time around may result in the starvation of the roughly 240 million Americans

who are incapable of growing their own food.

        The idea isn't as farfetched or alarmist as it may seem at first glance. At the turn

of the 20th century, more than fifty percent of the American labor force earned a

living through direct involvement in agriculture, but this number decreased to just

2% by the year 2000. Even more frighteningly, only .8% of Americans are involved

in the industry full-time.

        This transition is a distressing one indeed. While demographic shift from rural to

urban lifestyles may seem like a blessing to many who loathe the hard labor

associated with rural, agrarian life, it may spell disaster for those who are struggling

through life in the Big City, hundreds or even thousands of miles from their food

sources.

        During the Great Depression, formerly wealthy executives stood in line for hours

waiting in ragged clothes for a hand-out of hot soup, while the rural "poor" went

about life as usual, barely noticing the Depression. Survivors of the Depression who

lived in agrarian regions often joked that they were "too poor to notice the stock

market crash", but they were, in fact, better off than the majority of inner-city workers

in that they never went hungry. As a result of this, the one-half of Americans with

access to their own home-grown foods were exempt from the horrors of the Great

Depression.

       Now imagine that, instead of 50% of the population suffering from the woes of

an economic collapse, it was the 99.2% who are not involved in agriculture full-

time. The comparison makes 1929 look like a walk in the park. Worse still, our

food transportation services are now fully dependent on massive amounts of petroleum

for transport, and the distances of food transportation have increased from tens

of miles to thousands, which makes the modern grocery network look even more

fragile by comparison."

 

That article was written in November, 2008.  The author did a great job helping us see that, indeed, we are vulnerable to famine.  With that in mind, we are ready to delve into today's Bible story.  The backdrop for the story is, to no one’s shock, famine.  Unless we identified with the famine, we could miss the passage's impact.

How God Provides (1 Kin. 17:1-16) > Part 1

Psalm 37:25 declares that the righteous will not be forsaken and their children will not beg for bread.  That's easy to quote and embrace when times are good.  What about bad times, times of famine?

Famine is a disaster we normally don't associate with America.  We might experience temporary food supply interruption, but we don’t know enduring food shortage.  Each year we gather to a feast called Thanksgiving to reflect upon the fact that God's faithfulness didn't fail us.  Year by year we repeat this tradition and the result never changes.  The pattern is set:  "Great is Thy faithfulness" (Lam. 3:22-23).  Join me in declaring, "We are a blessed people!"

Perish the thought, but what if we weren't blessed -- at least not the way we're accustomed to?  What if there was a famine in America?  How would we respond?

 

Tomorrow, tune in to read how famine could strike America.