Bible Passages:
1 Kings 16: 19- 34 | 1 Kings 17 | Genesis 12: 10 | Genesis 26: 1-6 | Genesis 42: 1-2 | Genesis 41 | | Zechariah 14:8 | Matthew 10:29-31 | Ecclesiastes 11
Welcome to our two-part audio on Famine and Feast.
Today’s audio will be focused on famine and the next sermon will be focused on feast.
Before we start, let us pray.
Prayer
Father we commit this Bible session studies into your hand as we delve into what You have to say. Help us to hear your voice and to listen in Spirit and in Truth. We invite you Holy Spirit. Amen
I wanted to take the moment to introduce this famine and feast out of my observation with what I observed to be going on with the world today which is largely characterised globally as a cost of living crisis, mass unemployment and economic turbulence and hardship. I wanted to offer this prophetic insight which I was able to share with my local church group and wanted to share on my little space on the internet:
What is a famine?
Famines loosely are defined as extreme scarcity of food and want to stress this is not only extending to the global majority (water and food shortages) but also the so-called minority world (food banks and food supply chain issues), Conversely, droughts are defined as periods of dry weather injurious to crops.
What causes famine in the land?
According to 1 Kings 16: 19- 34:
19 because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord and following the ways of Jeroboam and committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.
20 As for the other events of Zimri’s reign, and the rebellion he carried out, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
Omri King of Israel
21 Then the people of Israel were split into two factions; half supported Tibni son of Ginath for king, and the other half supported Omri. 22 But Omri’s followers proved stronger than those of Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri became king.
23 In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned twelve years, six of them in Tirzah. 24 He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents[a] of silver and built a city on the hill, calling it Samaria, after Shemer, the name of the former owner of the hill.
25 But Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord and sinned more than all those before him. 26 He followed completely the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit, so that they aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, by their worthless idols.
27 As for the other events of Omri’s reign, what he did and the things he achieved, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? 28 Omri rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. And Ahab his son succeeded him as king.
Ahab Becomes King of Israel
29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. 30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. 31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. 32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.
Simply put: idolatry, lust and pride (and other forms of ungodliness). It became trivial to commit evil and sin, so he was punished.
1 Kings 17
Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe[a] in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”
Elijah Fed by Ravens
2 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: 3 “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4 You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.”
5 So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath
7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”
12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”
13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.
17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”
19 “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”
22 The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”
1 Kings 17
Elijah decreed: nor rain or dew for the next few years. Except at my word.
Question: Did God give Elisha authority to declare famine? Or simply put, is it saying until God tells me to say it is over?
I think its the latter to show God lives and He is in control.
In a famine God gives His people:
1. Instructions: Verse 2-3
Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, East of Jordan. This was a clear instruction to go to a specific location. It was a clear place.
2. Provision– You will drink from the brook and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.
God provided on time ( bread and meat in the morning and evening). Drank from the brook. Food and water provided, despite a famine and drought.
When He gives instructions: obey. Verse 5: Elijah want to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan and stayed there: Wait on the Lord and Elijah waited on the Lord.
Timings: 1 Kings 17: 7-24
How he uses vulnerable people?
- He directs them- Verse 9
- He brings hope in difficult situations- Verse 12
- He makes provisions- Verse 14
- He resurrects the situation- Verse 21
The resurrection of the boy shows we will resurrect again from everything that all us have lost will come back to life, but also more importantly points to Jesus and how he died and rose back to life.
What made the widow vunerable?
Well she was a widow and in those times, they would have likely depended on her husband. She had responsibiliites for herself and her son. She planned to eat and die- a statement of her hopelessness and didn’t want to be reminded of her sin (her past).
For every vulnerable person here (lone parents, widows, orphaned, care giving or in the care system, voiceless, in need of God’s help and mercy), I hope he provides and supplies all your needs and wants according to his riches in glory through Christ Jesus. I pray for every hopeless person, every broken person, the needy, the poor, the marginalised, the orphan, the abused, the voiceless and everyone that needs the mercy of God. Lord remember their faces and hear their cry and bless them. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Features of a Famine
Responses in a famine
1. Migration
Genesis 12: 10
Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.
So there was a flow to a different place, industry, area, set of skills, style of working: any form of change.
2. Staying where you are
Genesis 26: 1-6
Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. 2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring[a] all nations on earth will be blessed,[b] 5 because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.” 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
Especially when you’ve been obedient to the Lord and walking with Him. I can testify in when I went through my redundancy and thought about moving back in with my parents, God reminded me that he led me to this area and wanted me to stay. For some of you, this may be what God wants you to do.
3. Information Directed
Genesis 42: 1-2
When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?” 2 He continued, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.
Jacob had already lived through a previous famine.
In Abraham case, the movement was self directed, required wisdom and wise choices
In Jacob time, it required God’s instructions and it was important to obey
In Jacob second famine, it was information directed, but please make sure that the information is correct. There was truly grain in Egypt.
Responses in a famine
Genesis 41
Pharaoh’s Dreams
When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile, 2 when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. 3 After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. 4 And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.
5 He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. 6 After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—thin and scorched by the east wind. 7 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream.
8 In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.
9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. 10 Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. 11 Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. 12 Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. 13 And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was impaled.”
14 So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.
15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”
16 “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”
17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, 18 when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds. 19 After them, seven other cows came up—scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. 20 The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. 21 But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up.
22 “In my dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. 23 After them, seven other heads sprouted—withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. 24 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me.”
25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. 27 The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine.
28 “It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, 30 but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. 31 The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. 32 The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.
33 “And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35 They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. 36 This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.”
37 The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. 38 So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God[a]?”
39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”
Joseph in Charge of Egypt
41 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. 43 He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command,[b] and people shouted before him, “Make way[c]!” Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.
44 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt.” 45 Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On,[d] to be his wife. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt.
46 Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout Egypt. 47 During the seven years of abundance the land produced plentifully. 48 Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt and stored it in the cities. In each city he put the food grown in the fields surrounding it. 49 Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure.
50 Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. 51 Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh[e] and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” 52 The second son he named Ephraim[f] and said, “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”
53 The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end, 54 and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food. 55 When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do what he tells you.”
56 When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt. 57 And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.
1. Nature
Genesis 41: 1-6
a. Water
Nile- Central Source in Egypt (River)
Remember: drought is a period of dry weather. Famine can be caused by a drought
So what happens to a river in a drought? – Rivers dry up.
What happens to a river in a famine? Arid areas loses water to evaporation.
Egypt represents corporate systems, formal occupations, centres of finance and trade.
Central systems dry up.
But thank God we have a solution and His name is Jesus.
Zechariah 14:8: 8 On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.
Country closest to the Dead Sea: shares a border with Israel and Jordan.
Country closest to the Mediterranean: Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Egypt and Morroco.
Simply put, this is an imagery of Jesus flowing to everyone and his people.
b. Food
Cows- ugly and gaunt (undernourished)
Grain- thin and scorched by the East wind.
Expressions of the foodsupply, yet God still provides for humans and animals alike.
Matthew 10:29-31: Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.[b] 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
c. Air (Atmosphere)
Verse 6: East Wind
East Wind caused the grain to be thin and scorched.
Ecclesiastes 11: 4-5
4 Whoever watches the wind will not plant;
whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.
5 As you do not know the path of the wind,
or how the body is formed[a] in a mother’s womb,
so you cannot understand the work of God,
the Maker of all things.
Solution: Invest in seven ventures and also eight. Multiple streams of incomes.
For you do not know the disaster may come upon the Lord.
According to Ecclesiastes 11: 1-2
It says:
Ship your grain across the sea;
after many days you may receive a return.
2 Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight;
you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.
Solution: Ecclesiastes 11:6
It says:
Sow your seed in the morning,
and at evening let your hands not be idle,
for you do not know which will succeed,
whether this or that,
or whether both will do equally well.
Sensible investments when you’re young, resources and skills in your old age. So again multiple streams of incomes.
2. Leadership and Governance / Government
1. What is Pharaoh?
Pharaoh is a monarch of Ancient Egypt, ruling force of Egypt.
Why are they significant?
- They rule Egypt
What does Egypt represent in the Bible?
- Egypt represents finance, growth and livelihood as well as trade.
So God showed Pharaoh the economic condition: Genesis 41: 1 to 7
Cows: sleek and fat and ugly and gaunt | opposites
Corn: healthy and good and thin and scorched | opposites
2. People
There were a spectrum of people( spritual and natural)
Wise men of Egypt. People with knowledge. Diviners.
But no one could interpret it.
3. Joseph
Interpreter of dream- verse 13
and was correct- verse 28
Gives glory and credit back to God
Not only did he intrepret and explain but he gave a solution.
Solution:
Discerning and wise men: His features and traits: Verse 33.
Commissioners over the land (created jobs): Verse 34
Take a fifth of the harvest during the seven years of abundance.
Solution is economics.
Kondratieff said that economic activities rise and fall over time.
Some say economic cycles last about 6.5 years within recessionary period averaging 0.9 years and expansionary periods is 5.3 years
So Joseph knew the economic cycle through interpreting Pharoah dream.
Prophetic insight:
We are in a famine and it will last 3 years, so if your redundancy started at the end of 2023 then your famine ends in 2026, if your famine started in 2024, then it ends in 2027.
He will provide especially if we turn our hearts back to God and repent, he will have mercy on us. He will provide.
Some of us are not in a famine, He has provided a feast.
And for those who migrate and move to different countries and regions, do not forgot the Lord Your God.
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