DoublePortion_October2023_8.5x5.5_REV.indd
Then, due to the evil actions of Saul, David and his people endured a three year famine (2 Samuel 21:1). In modern history, a terrible famine took place in China between 1958 and 1962.As a part of their Great Leap Forward program, private ownership of land was outlawed.Workers being forcefully moved from fields to factories triggered the problem. A drought in 1960 exacerbated it. Eventually, 43 million people died. 2 As bad as it was, that devastation pales in comparison to the worldwide famine that will take place in the end times. Spiritual in nature, it will have nothing to do with food. As Scripture says, “‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord,‘when I will send a famine on the land. Not a famine for bread and thirst for water, But rather for hearing the words of the Lord’” (Amos 8:11). Early warning signs are an increasing disrespect for and rebellion against the Word of God currently underway. Death in a pot- Desperate for food, one of the prophets went into the fields in search of anything edible. It would not have been unusual to find edible plants such as mallow or asparagus. Coming back with vines and herbs, a servant cut them up and put them in a pot of stew. “The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out,‘Man of God, there is death in the pot.’And they could not eat it” (2 Kings 4:40). As it turned out, some of the plants were poisonous and would soon cause death among the school of prophets. As bizarre as this seems, it turns out that many poisonous plants are growing all around us. Despite their extreme danger, some may even produce a beautiful flower or bloom. Among those to avoid are Aconitum, Oleander, Brugmansia, and Azaleas. People with pets have to be particularly aware of this. In the case of livestock, common culprits include cocklebur, jimsonweed,
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