Starvation Prov. 10: 3 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
There is a statement here about the Lord’s dealings with the righteous and with the wicked as it concerns their food supply. The Lord doesn’t starve righteous men to death and yet he will starve out the wicked, because the Lord will cast away their substance.
Famish means to starve, kill or destroy with hunger.
Notice this is not a doctrinal promise for us to claim, although some probably have and I will if America goes under. For instance, Paul was certainly righteous and yet he suffered hunger 2 Cor 11:27. So a righteous man, particularly in the New Testament, can suffer hunger and some have certainly starved to death at the hands of their captors in war. However, at the Lord’s hands, the righteous will not famish. None of the disciples starved to death even though all but John were martyred. The beggar in Lk 16 died hungry and covered with sores [contrary to Ps 37:25] but his death was not the Lord’s doing; it was the rich man’s doing. You know that Lazarus was righteous; the Lord took him to Abe’s bosom.
Thus, the proverb is a truth concerning God’s dealings with the righteous and the wicked. God isn’t going to starve out his people when they are living right [Matt 6:25-34] but he will starve out those who are living wickedly [Lev 26:20, 22, 26, 29; 2 Ki 6:26-29]. The trouble is that America is living wickedly and yet we are still living high on the hog. I don’t know how much longer that can last. If the Lord starved out the Jews for doing what we are doing, it certainly seems likely that he will pull the plug on our food supply [and our money].
Several things to learn from this passage:
- First, the country may go down, but God can still take care of us – 1 Ki 18:2-5; 1 Ki 17:6, 9
- Second, countries facing famines are likely under the judgment of God – Eze 5:12, war famine and pestilence were sent by the Lord
- Third, countries facing famines need God or God’s men [not governments] – Gen 41:34-38
- Fourth, God can bring a famine just to move someone – Gen 12:10; 47:4
- Fifth, during the famine of the tribulation some righteous will starve to death because of the antichrist – Rev 13:17; 6:6; 7:16-17
- Sixth, yet even in the tribulation, God will feed some of his saints with manna – Rev 12:6; Is 33:16
So, live as close as you can to the Lord and trust God… and hope the rapture comes before the famine!!