Monite Sanuali 30, 2023
Ko e Kelekele ta’efua
GENESIS 12:10
NOW THERE WAS A FAMINE IN THE
LAND. SO ABRAM WENT DOWN TO EGYPT TO SOJOURN THERE, FOR THE FAMINE WAS SEVERE
IN THE LAND.
SENESI 12:10
Pea na‘e faifai pea honge ‘a e
fonua; pea ‘alu hifo ‘a ‘Epalame ki ‘Isipite ke ‘āunofo ‘i he potu ko ia; he
na‘e mamafa ‘a e honge ‘i he fonua.
The word ra'av, translated here as "famine," is the general word for "hunger." God wasn't joking when he told Adam "cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life" (Gen. 3:17). He who ate the forbidden fruit would henceforth fight thorn and thistle, drought and fire, insects and floods, to bend the soil to his agricultural will. Yet the Lord knows how to transform a curse into a blessing, for famines also loom large in his plans of mercy. By a ra'au he brings Abram into Egypt to enrich him: Jacob into Egypt to reunite him with Joseph; Naomi into Moab to welcome Ruth into her family; and Israel to repentance under Elijah.
Jesus refers to the famine in the days of Elijah as exemplary of his people's stubborn refusal to hear God's Word, as well as his divine mercy to the Gentiles (Luke 4:24-26). To both Jew and Gentile, Christ says, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst" (John 6:35). During our most severe famines of body and soul, Christ alone is our salvation.
Heavenly Father, who satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with good things, satisfy and fill us with your Son.
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