International Monetary Fund (IMF) April 2024 report has this to say. The baseline forecast is for the world economy to continue growing at 3.2 percent during 2024 and 2025, at the same pace as in 2023. A slight acceleration for advanced economies—where growth is expected to rise from 1.6 percent in 2023 to 1.7 percent in 2024 and 1.8 percent in 2025—will be offset by a modest slowdown in emerging market and developing economies from 4.3 percent in 2023 to 4.2 percent in both 2024 and 2025.
The forecast for global growth five years from now—at 3.1 percent—is at its lowest in decades. Many people forecast there will be a global recession soon. However, in Nigeria, we are facing many economic crises. UK and Japan slipped into recession as consumer spending slowed last year, according to a world economic report.
Looking at these statistics is mind-boggling. So, I decided to study history to predict tomorrow. There is nothing new under the sun, if you can find history, you can create the future you want. I went to the Bible to study all the famines that occurred the responses given to them and the best response to give.
There are 13 major famines in the Bible and by extension 14.
These are the patterns I found.
1. RELOCATION
One of the ways people respond to famine in a location is by relocating to a place where the grass seems to be greener. However, in all the 14 cases of famine, this response is what many people did and it was the WORST RESPONSE.
I will tell you this, location is a covenant. Don’t ever move if you were not told to go. Let’s examine the examples starting from Abraham.
Abraham had an encounter with God where he told him he would give his descendants the land of Canaan after Abraham left his homeland. When famine came, Abraham didn’t ask God what to do, he did what everyone was doing – relocation.
Genesis 12:6 – 13
“6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring[c] I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.
9 Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.
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.
11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are.
12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.” NIV
Abram in Egypt
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. 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”
He met Abimelech and had issues with him because of his wife and after a while, he came back to the place where he encountered God. (Genesis 12)
This shows that he shouldn’t have moved in the first place.
It was Isaac’s time and he wanted to repeat history, God stopped him from going to Egypt and he stayed in Gerar, he met Abimelech again and had the same issue his father had. However, he planted in the land God showed him and reaped a 100 fold. Genesis 26.
Jacob’s time and it was Egypt who also had food. Egypt was there abroad then and Jacob by studying history understood he didn’t have to relocate to Egypt, rather he sent his sons to buy food and return. Why didn’t they plan to relocate? They later relocated playing into prophecy and that took them into slavery.
Ruth, Elimelech lost his life and his two sons from relocating without instruction. Ruth 1:1
DAVID
2 Samuel 21:1.
There was famine in Israel and David went to inquire of the Lord. He was told that Saul broke the covenant they had with the Gibeonites. The Gibeonites were supposed to serve them while they protected them. But Saul killed them. So David went to ask them what to do to atone for the deaths. They asked for 7 men from Saul’s lineage and they sacrificed them, and the famine left.
ELIJAH
2 Kings 17 & 18.
Elijah stopped the rain and was fed by ravens and the Zarephat woman. The word of the Lord made the difference.
ELISHA
2 Kings 6: 24 – 33, 7 The word of the Lord made the difference and changed the situation abruptly. See, these are famine responses people gave. 2. Praying. When it is famine, the first response is to seek the Lord.
Some famines can’t go away, but God will give you a way of escape. Some came as a result of sin, God will tell you what to do. in Joel, that was what they did when the locust ate up their farms. They fasted and sought the Lord. Seeking the Lord is key, I believe this is why David was a man after God’s heart. Always inquiring from the Lord.
If you are experiencing personal or nationwide famine, seek the Lord. His word makes all the difference.
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