If we did face a situation where we couldn’t race to the supermarket and get whatever we needed, how would we survive? What if we couldn’t get fresh fruit and vegetables daily? We see a very interesting Scripture in Leviticus 25 where God proclaims the principle of the Sabbath rest for the land every seven years. Every seventh year the land was to have complete rest. They were not allowed to plant any seeds. They were not allowed to harvest grain that grew by itself. They were not allowed to gather the grapes from their un-pruned vines. The food that grew of itself was to be available to all – servants, strangers and wild animals.
So how were they to survive without planting and harvest? God knew that they would ask this question. Let’s read in Leviticus 25:20-22, “And if ye shall say, “What shall we eat the seventh year? Behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase: Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years. And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.”
The children of Israel ate stored food for nearly three years. Obviously God knew that they could survive and keep healthy even on stored food. He promised them that if they would obey His laws, that there would not be “one feeble person among all their tribes.” Eating stored and sun-dried food was part of their lives.
Can you imagine how hard they would have to work? It is a tiring job to harvest and store enough for one year, let alone for three years! But I am sure that it would have been a wonderful time of shouting and rejoicing. They would also need to have lots of extra room to store all this food. We read in the Scriptures how the prosperous kings of Israel built storehouses for all their excess grain and wine and oil. Let’s look at scriptural examples:
► Obed-Edom’s sons looked after the “storehouse” of the tabernacle. 1 Chronicles 26:15-17.
► David’s overseer, Azmaveth was in charge of “the royal storehouses.” 1 Chronicles 27:25.
► David’s overseer, Jonathan was in charge of “the storehouses in the country, in the cities, in the villages and in the towers.” 1 Chronicles 27:25
► David’s administrator, Zabdi had charge of “the produce of the vineyards stored in the wine cellars.” 1 Chronicles 27:27
► David’s overseer, Joash, was in charge of “the stores of oil.” 1 Chronicles 27:28
► David gave his son Solomon plans for “the storehouses” of the house of God and for the “storehouses” of the dedicated things. 1 Chronicles 28:11-12.
► Solomon built many “store cities.” 1 Kings 9:19; 2 Chronicles 8:4,6,15
► Rehoboam “fortified the stronghold, and put captains in them, and store of victual, and of oil and wine.” 2 Chronicles 11:11.
► Jehoshaphat “waxed great exceedingly; and he built in Judah castles, and cities of store.”
2 Chronicles 17:12.
► Hezekiah gave orders for the people to bring in food for the priests and the Levites. As soon as the order went out, the Israelites gave generously of grain, new wine, oil, honey, and from the crops of their fields. They brought so much that “Hezekiah gave orders to prepare storerooms in the temple of the Lord, and this was done… Conaniah, A Levite, was in charge of these things…” 2 Chronicles 31:11-12 NIV.
► Hezekiah “had exceeding much riches and honor: and he made…. storehouses also for the increase of corn, and wine, and oil….” 2 Chronicles 32:28.
► Because the store cities and storehouses were so important for the survival of the people, when Benhadad came against the cities of Israel, he captured all the store cities of Naphtali. This strategy would cause the people to starve. 2 Chronicles 16:4.
► Ten men saved their lives by exposing food they had stored in the fields, “Do not kill us, for we have stores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the fields. So he refrained and did not kill them.” Jeremiah 41:8 RSV.
Of course, we are all familiar with the story of how God told Joseph through a dream to store up food for seven years!
► Genesis 41:36, “That food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine.”
► Genesis 41:56, “And the famine was over all the face of the earth: and Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians.” The storehouses became the survival of nations.
The Hebrew word that is used for the ‘store’ cities is ‘micknah’ which means ‘treasure’. Wow, that’s exciting. Their store of food that they put away became their treasure. Without it they would starve.
