Signs of Famine

2 Kings 6:24- 7:5

The king of Syria had "besieged" Samaria. Cut them off. There was nothing going into Samaria, nor coming out.

This lead to a famine that overtook the land.

When Satan sets a besiege against us and our church, it is not a frontal assault, but he has set up camp around us, to cut us off. This speaks of separating you from your source, where things start drying up. It stops both the inflow and the outflow.There is nothing flowing in or out. The Holy Spirit is not getting in, there is no ministry going out. This leads to a spiritual famine.

There are signs, indications of famine in the natural that parallel in the spiritual realm.

In this story, the famine was so great that they began to sell and eat unthinkable items.

One was a donkey’s head, which sold for 80 pieces of silver.

The donkey is a stubborn animal, and they were eating a donkey’s head. One of the things that people develop in times of spiritual deprivation and famine is a stubborn mentality.

In fact, as was the case here, that’s what they were feasting on.

But, it always costs you when you have a stubborn mentality.

One of the worst things that could possibly happen is for you to develop a spirit of stubbornness.

The second sign is seen in their selling, buying and eating doves dung. The dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

Dove's dung is not where the dove is, but where the dove WAS.

A sign of spiritual famine is people seeking dove's dung... where the Holy Spirit WAS, not where he is. Always looking backward... looking at the past, instead of seeking to be where the Holy Spirit is moving today. Living off of yesterday's blessing or move of God.

The third sign of famine is seen when the king is walking on the wall and a woman cries out for help. She and her neighbor made a pact in which they would eat one another's children. They had eaten this woman's child already and now her neighbor had hidden her son.

The kings response was: " If the Lord do not help you, how can I help you?"

What I see here is that when there is a spiritual famine, there is a sense of desperation that leaves those in leadership feeling helpless.

How many church leaders and pastors do we see discouraged and quitting because the inflow of life has been cut off, leaving them stressed and depressed with a feeling of helplessness?

Another aspect seen here is that in times of famine, "spiritual cannibalism." People begin to chew on one another, to devour them.

Yet another aspect is seen in the covenant between these two women. They promised to work together to survive, to provide for one another. Yet, one was willing to eat her neighbors son, but not to give up her own.

When there is spiritual famine, people want YOU to be responsible, but THEY ARE NOT WILLING. They want others to get the out of the mess, but they are not willing to do their part.

This is a huge sign of famine in the church today.

They want you to give, to work, to sacrifice... but they are unwilling to do their part to bring the famine to an end.

They will vote "yes" to certain activities, but they will back out.

They want you (or others) to do, what they themselves are not willing to do.

The last sign is seen in chapter 7, verse 2.

When the man of God says that the famine would end tomorrow... the kings right hand man said, "even if the windows of heaven were to open, this thing you speak could not happen."

This speaks of the unbelief that God's people have.

One of the most troubling things I see in this passage is that in the famine, it is not recorded that one person sought God. Not one prayer is offered. No one calls for a prayer meeting or a fast. The people were content to live in the condition of famine.

How often we see this in the church today! When an individual or a church are in a state of spiritual famine, they become inward focused... concerned with self, our church, not others... there is no outflow of what has been given to us. No ministry!

And when we become inward focused, we become upset with God because we don't see him moving... but God is still moving... we just cannot see it because we are focusing on "our house" and not looking outwardly. Notice in this story, the move of God, the provision was taking place outside the city gates... in the camp of the enemy!

This speaks clearly to me that to get out of the spirit of famine, we must get outside of ourselves and reach beyond our walls! God is already working out the answer, the deliverance... but it will become ours when we believe enough to leave our camp and go into the camp of the enemy!