“They spoke against God, saying, ‘Can God spread a table in
the wilderness? True, he struck the rock, and water gushed out, streams
flowed abundantly, but can he also give us bread? Can he supply meat for his
people?’" Psalm 78-19.20
These verses are speaking of the nation of Israel when they
wandered in the desert. God had been sending a food called manna for a long
time but the people were tired of it. They wanted meat to eat instead. God said
he would send meat, but even Moses asked God where he would get meat for these
thousands of people. Then God sent a wind that blew quails into their camp and
they ate.
These are dark times in the world. Not only are we living
through a pandemic that has turned the world upside down, but there is strife
and violence within the nations. Because of global warming, we could be facing
another disaster: famine.
If this happens in Western nations, where we have had plenty
of food to eat all our lives, violence will fill the land. People will kill
even their own neighbors for food. I pray this won’t come to pass, but as
Christians we need to fortify ourselves by asking God to strengthen us and also
by believing He will feed us if there is ever a shortage of food. There are
also many stories in the Bible of God feeding his followers when they needed it.
God has shown us he will take care of his children during a famine.
When there was a famine in
the land, God fed Elijah. “Then a revelation from the LORD came to
Elijah: “Leave here, turn eastward, and hide yourself by the
Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan. And you are to drink from
the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
“So,
Elijah did what the LORD had told him, and he went and lived by the Brook of
Cherith, east of the Jordan. The ravens would bring him
bread and meat in the morning and evening, and he would drink from the
brook. Some time later, however, the brook dried up because
there had been no rain in the land.” 1 Kings 17:2-7
God then sent Elijah to a
widow whom he knew would feed him. “Then the word of the LORD
came to Elijah: “Get up and go to Zarephath of Sidon, and stay
there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” Verse
8
“So Elijah got up and went
to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering
sticks. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a
cup, so that I may drink.” And as she was going to get it, he
called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread.”
But
she replied, “As surely as the LORD your God lives, I have no bread—only a
handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. Look, I am gathering a
couple of sticks to take home and prepare a meal for myself and my son, so that
we may eat it and die.”
“Do not be afraid,” Elijah said to her. “Go and
do as you have said. But first make me a small cake of bread from what you
have, and bring it out to me. Afterward, make some for yourself and your
son, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The
jar of flour will not be exhausted and the jug of oil will not run dry until
the day the LORD sends rain upon the face of the earth.’ ”
So,
she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and there was food every day
for Elijah and the woman and her household. The jar of flour was not exhausted
and the jug of oil did not run dry, according to the word that the LORD had
spoken through Elijah.”
Notice how the widow obeyed
and even served the prophet first? God sent Elijah to her because he knew her
faith was great. She is a shining example for us.
When Jesus had been with
crowds of people for days, he felt sorry for them and fed thousands of them with
just a few fish and a little bread.
In the book of Isaiah it is asked, “Who of us can dwell with
a consuming fire?
Who of us can dwell with everlasting flames?”
(The context is seeing God in his glory when he comes again.)
The answer is:
“He
who walks righteously
and
speaks with sincerity,
who
refuses gain from extortion,
whose
hand never takes a bribe,
who
stops his ears against murderous plots
and
shuts his eyes tightly against evil—
he
will dwell on the heights;
the
mountain fortress will be his refuge;
his
food will be provided
and
his water assured. Your eyes will see the King in His beauty
and
behold a land that stretches afar.
Your
mind will ponder the former terror:
“Where
is he who tallies? Where is he who weighs?
Where
is he who counts the towers?” Isaiah
33:14-18
Evil people can terrify us, but remember who
made the earth, food, water and animals.
We will see the King in His beauty and wonder why we were afraid.
