Signs Of Famine Series

One of the worst things that could possibly happen, is for you to develop a spirit of stubbornness. And a spirit of stubbornness is a sign of Spiritual famine. Do you know how I know? Because the Spirit and Word of God does not produce stubbornness, but sensitivity!

A person feeding on God’s Spirit and Word will be sensitive to the direction and the directives which the Lord is declaring. But a stubborn mentality, and a spirit of stubbornness will keep you in the death grip of famine, and will soon deplete any chance of recovery, restoration, and renewal.

2. The second thing we see, is that they were selling dove’s dung. Now, there was a plant, or a root, called dove’s dung in Bible days, but that is not what is being talked of here. This is talking about.....dove’s dung! As sickening as that may seem, that’s what they were doing.

Now the dove is a type of the Holy Spirit. But the dove’s dung is not where the dove IS, but it’s where the dove WAS. So when people are in a Spiritual famine, they begin to focus on where the dove used to be. They begin to talk about how the dove USED to be there. Some people’s testimonies are nothing more than a celebration of dove’s dung. They are living off of the dove’s past presence.

3. Next, the king hears a woman call out in a plea of desperation, to which he replies, "If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help thee?" Now I see something here that I also believe is evidence of Spiritual famine in a church: There’s a sense of desperation that leaves those in authority and leadership feeling helpless.

When the king spoke to this woman about the Lord helping her, he was not making a faith-filled statement. He was stating that he was helpless to minister to her, and if the Lord didn’t do it, she would be out of luck! How many church leaders have been discouraged and quit, because the inflow of new life was cut off, leaving them stressed and depressed, and with a feeling of helpless-ness?

4. Look at this twofold dilemma, and yet another evidence of famine. The barnfloor was empty, and the winepress was dry. The barnfloor was where the wheat was kept, and this meant "no harvest." They had lived off of the past harvest, but there was no present harvesting being done.

When a church is in a famine, a sign is the status of the barnfloor. When there is no harvest being brought in, it is a sign of a famine. Also, the winepress was empty, which is a type of the fresh flow of the Spirit. Now, I’ve already talked about that with the dove’s dung, so I won’t spend a lot of time there. But if there was one area in this passage that gripped me, it was when the Lord said to me: "The barnfloor is barren, and the winepress is dry."

5. The famine was so bad, that they not only were eating donkey’s heads and dove’s dung, but people were literally killing, cooking, and eating their children. I see two things here. First, I see the depletion of the next generation. A decline in the youth is a result of Spiritual famine.

But not only that, secondly, we see that when there is a famine going on, and people are not feasting on the Word of God and Hid Spirit, they start chewing on each other. Paul’s admonition to the Galatians was not to consume one another by "biting and devouring one another," but to "Walk in the Spirit." The implication is that a sign of people not walking in the Spirit, will be chewing on their neighbors, and even their own families! It’s called Spiritual Canniballism!