Does The Bible Say Anything About Storing Food

By Daymond Duck

While teaching on Bible prophecy I often point out that Jesus mentioned that famine is one of the signs of the Beginning of Sorrows (Matt. 24:1-8). This usually leads into a discussion of the rise in food prices and the impact that natural disasters are having on food supplies. It is about this time that I am asked if it is okay to store food. Some people seem to have the impression that storing food is a sin, or at the very least, it demonstrates a lack of faith. This is a good reason to ask, “Does the Bible say anything about storing food?” Yes! It does.

In Genesis chapter six, God told Noah to build an Ark, board it, get his family to board it, put animals on it (verses 14-20), “And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he” (Gen. 6:21-22). Simply put, God intended to send a great natural disaster upon the earth (the Flood) so He commanded Noah to gather a variety of food and store it on the Ark for him, his family and the animals. Could God have spoken food into existence anytime Noah or the animals needed it? Of course, He could. But He didn’t. He commanded Noah to gather food and store it. Did God provide for Noah? Of course! He provided food for Noah to gather and plenty of time for him to gather it.

For those who may wonder if Noah sinned by obeying God and doing this, Paul said, “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith” (Heb. 11:7). Noah was obeying God and acting by faith when he built that Ark and put food on it.

In Genesis chapter forty-one, Pharaoh dreamed about seven fat cows and seven lean cows. He had a second dream about seven fat ears of corn and seven thin ears of corn. When he got around to asking Joseph to interpret his dream Joseph said, “What God is about to do he showeth unto Pharaoh. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt. And there shall arise after them seven years of famine’ (Gen. 41:28-30). This is a second story about God planning to send a natural disaster upon the earth. And to make that everyone understands that it was God would send this natural disaster the Holy Spirit said, “And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass” (Gen. 41:32).

Did God provide for His people? Yes! God blessed Egypt with bountiful harvests and more food than they needed for seven years. And Joseph said, “Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine” (Gen. 41:34-36). Pharaoh believed this was a good thing to do; he put Joseph in charge, and the food that God’s man stockpiled became a blessing to others and saved the lives of many.

It is important to understand that God often provides for His people before they have a need. He provided the seven fat years before He sent the seven lean years. He provided extra manna on the day before the Sabbath so the Jews could collect and store food to consume on the Sabbath (Ex. 16:5). He provided triple crops in the sixth year so the Jews could store plenty to eat while they let the land rest during the seventh year (Lev. 25:20-21). He even considers the ant wise because it stores food for the winter during the summer (Prov. 6:6-11; 30:24-25).

Natural disasters are increasing in frequency and intensity. This is a major sign that the end of the age is near. The good news is that the Rapture will be before Jesus breaks the third seal in the Book of Revelation that leads to worldwide famine (Rev. 6:5-6). The bad news is that no one knows the day or the hour of the Rapture or how far Christians will go into the natural disasters and famine before God removes His Church. When it comes to something like food it is better to be over prepared than under prepared. If we wind up not needing it, we won’t have any problems finding people who do. If the Rapture happens and we haven’t used it, that’s great. Others will benefit from it.

Prophecy Plus Ministries
Daymond & Rachel Duck
daymondduck@bellsouth.net
rachelduck@bellsouth.net