Austin Bible Church
Caused By Divine Discipline
High inflation is a divine warning that a nation is in serious economic trouble. Lev. 26:26.
“'When I break your staff of bread, ten women will bake your bread in one oven, and they will bring back your bread in rationed amounts, so that you will eat and not be satisfied.” (Leviticus 26:26, NASB)
Cash is necessary for economic problems even a recession or depression. Economic recession and depression is a test for the faith-rest principle. Bible doctrine was able to stabilize Abraham in Israel, but he got in a panic and went to Egypt where he got his wife into trouble in an Egyptian harem. Gen. 41; Gen. 44; Gen. 12:10.
“Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.” (Genesis 12:10, NASB)
Bible doctrine is the answer to economic problems. In 2 Chronicles 20:9, “evil” refers to pressure, the “sword” refers to military pressure, “judgment” refers to natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornados, etc., “pestilence” refers to disease, and “famine” refers to economic disaster.
“'Should evil come upon us, the sword, or judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You (for Your name is in this house) and cry to You in our distress, and You will hear and deliver us.'” (2 Chronicles 20:9, NASB)
The maturing edification complex of the soul will carry the believer in time of economic problems and is the basis for the restoration of the economy. Isaiah 37:30-31.
“"Then this shall be the sign for you: you will eat this year what grows of itself, in the second year what springs from the same, and in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. "The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward.” (Isaiah 37:30-31, NASB)
When you first see the warning signals on the horizon, you prepare for rough economic times. A period of grace always precedes national judgment. Psalms 33:17-20.
“A horse is a false hope for victory; Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness, To deliver their soul from death And to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.” (Psalms 33:17-20, NASB)
Economic recession or depression can be due to divine discipline to the nation. Psalms 105:16.
“And He called for a famine upon the land; He broke the whole staff of bread.” (Psalms 105:16, NASB)
When Bible doctrine was taught by Jeremiah, the inhabitants sniped at him, so a famine was sent as divine discipline. Negative volition in the Land towards Bible doctrine caused divine discipline to the nation. Jer. 11:22.
“therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, "Behold, I am about to punish them! The young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters will die by famine;” (Jeremiah 11:22, NASB)
One of the causes of economic problems is false teaching. Once in an economic downturn, false teaching amplifies it. God protects the believer in times of economic downturn. Jer. 14:13-16; Job 5:20.
“But, "Ah, Lord GOD!" I said, "Look, the prophets are telling them, 'You will not see the sword nor will you have famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place.'" Then the LORD said to me, "The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds.” (Jeremiah 14:13-14, NASB)
“"Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who are prophesying in My name, although it was not I who sent them—yet they keep saying, 'There will be no sword or famine in this land'—by sword and famine those prophets shall meet their end!” (Jeremiah 14:15, NASB)
“"The people also to whom they are prophesying will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and there will be no one to bury them—neither them, nor their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters—for I will pour out their own wickedness on them.” (Jeremiah 14:16, NASB)
“"In famine He will redeem you from death, And in war from the power of the sword.” (Job 5:20, NASB)
Approaches to Economic Problems
After the Fall, God cursed the earth causing vastly curtailed agricultural production. However, great prosperity can still be a reality in the cursed earth. An example was Abram in Genesis 13:2. Gen. 3:17-19.
“Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold.” (Genesis 13:2, NASB)
“Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. "Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return."” (Genesis 3:17-19, NASB)
However, earthly wealth is not the monopoly of the believer. Many unbelievers are very wealthy. The unbeliever will sense a coming famine or prosperity, but the believer puts it in true perspective.
In Genesis 41 through Genesis 44, there were two approaches to economical difficulty – storage and cash reserves. Storage was in Egypt and Egypt alone. The food was there as a reserve. There were also cash reserves. Gen. 41:45ff; Gen. 42:2; Gen. 43:2; Gen. 43:12; Gen. 44:1; Gen. 45:22.
“Thus Joseph stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure.” (Genesis 41:49, NASB)
“and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said, then there was famine in all the lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.” (Genesis 41:54, NASB)
“He said, "Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy some for us from that place, so that we may live and not die."” (Genesis 42:2, NASB)
“So it came about when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, "Go back, buy us a little food."” (Genesis 43:2, NASB)
“"Take double the money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was a mistake.” (Genesis 43:12, NASB)
“Then he commanded his house steward, saying, "Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man's money in the mouth of his sack.” (Genesis 44:1, NASB)
“To each of them he gave changes of garments, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of garments.” (Genesis 45:22, NASB)
In Exodus, the third approach to economic disaster is given - total dependence upon God for food and water. Water in Exodus 14:24-26 and Exodus 17:1-7, manna in Exodus 16:4, and quail in Exodus 16:13.
“At the morning watch, the LORD looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and brought the army of the Egyptians into confusion. He caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from Israel, for the LORD is fighting for them against the Egyptians." Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen."” (Exodus 14:24-26, NASB)
“"Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.” (Exodus 17:6, NASB)
“Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction.” (Exodus 16:4, NASB)
“So it came about at evening that the quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.” (Exodus 16:13, NASB)
This is a grace picture where God providing the necessities of life in a cursed earth to helpless and hopeless people without them deserving any of it. However, they were not content with what He provided in grace. They wanted more! Numbers 11.
In 1 Kings 17, the fourth approach to economic disaster is presented - Elijah was fed through miracles. He was relocated by a water supply which was very important. He was fed by ravens which portrayed the concept of hunting for your meat. He was fed by the widow woman of Zarephath. 1 Kings 17:8-16.
“Then Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son. "For thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the face of the earth.'"” (1 Kings 17:13-14, NASB)
In a moderate famine, meat was available in 1 Kings 17:1-7. In maximum famine, no meat will be available, but you can live without meat!
“The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook. It happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.” (1 Kings 17:6-7, NASB)
Even in the midst of prosperity, debt causes poverty. Neh. 5:2-3ff.
“For there were those who said, "We, our sons and our daughters are many; therefore let us get grain that we may eat and live." There were others who said, "We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our houses that we might get grain because of the famine."” (Nehemiah 5:2-3, NASB)
The term “corn” in Scripture generally refers to wheat or barley. Corn as we know it today was not raised in Palestine. In the wilderness, the food diet was simple. Actually the human body can live on very little. Storage of food is a bona fide principle in Scripture. Examples are the Joseph case in Genesis 41-44 and the ant case in Proverbs 30:25.
“The ants are not a strong people, But they prepare their food in the summer;” (Proverbs 30:25, NASB)
For the agricultural case, harvest was once a year, so this food had to last for at least one year. Canning of commodities is a form of storage and has always been done by thrifty homemakers. You get your corn, peaches, etc. in bulk. This is common sense or logical application. Preparation for difficult economic times means developing an appetite for every bona fide food known to mankind. 1 Tim. 4:4-5.
“For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.” (1 Timothy 4:4-5, NASB)
Every creature of God is good as a source of food for mankind. Nothing is ever to be refused. It is to be received with thanksgiving. You acknowledge it in prayer with a grace mental attitude. You mention the appropriate Scripture to set it apart. The phrase, “Give us this day our daily bread” is applicable here. “Give us today, the food we will need tomorrow” is the idea. Matt. 6:11.
“'Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11, NASB)