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Psalm 105:16
He called for a famine on the land. He destroyed the food supplies.
14He allowed no one to do them wrong. Yes, he reproved kings for their sakes,
15“Don’t touch my anointed ones! Do my prophets no harm!”
16He called for a famine on the land. He destroyed the food supplies.
17He sent a man before them. Joseph was sold for a slave.
18They bruised his feet with shackles. His neck was locked in irons,
Notice
The destroyed food supplies make God's rule over the land hard to soften: the psalm credits him with the famine itself.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What questions arise for you when the psalm says God called for the famine?
Write on thisWhat, if anything, does Joseph being sent ahead change in your reading of the famine?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Ezekiel 4:16Moreover he said to me, “Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem. They will eat bread by weight, and with fearfulness. They will drink …Both passages name God as the one who cuts off food supplies; Ezekiel describes bread rationed with fear in Jerusalem.
Isaiah 3:1For, behold, the Lord, GOD of Armies, takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah supply and support, the whole supply of bread, and the whole supply of water;Both texts attribute the removal of food supplies to God, with Isaiah naming bread and water in Jerusalem and Judah.
Genesis 41:54The seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.Both describe famine, while Genesis names Joseph's warning and records that Egypt still had bread.
Leviticus 26:26When I break your staff of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver your bread again by weight. You shall eat, and not be …Both passages describe God breaking the food supply; Leviticus details rationed bread that leaves people unsatisfied.
2 Kings 8:1Now Elisha had spoken to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise, and go, you and your household, and stay for a while wherever you can; …Both say that God called for a famine on the land; Elisha's warning specifies seven years.
Acts 7:11Now a famine came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction. Our fathers found no food.Both recount famine and the loss of food, with Acts naming Egypt and Canaan and the suffering there.
Ruth 1:1In the days when the judges judged, there was a famine in the land. A certain man of Bethlehem Judah went to live in the country of Moab with his wife and his …Both describe famine in the land; Ruth records one household's move without naming the famine's cause.
Psalm 104:15wine that makes the heart of man glad, oil to make his face to shine, and bread that strengthens man’s heart.Food sustains human life in both texts: Psalm 104 names bread's strength, while Psalm 105 describes food supplies destroyed.
Genesis 47:13There was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.Both describe famine destroying access to food; Genesis names Egypt and Canaan as lands exhausted by its severity.
Genesis 41:30Seven years of famine will arise after them, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land,Both describe famine undoing the land's food supply, with Genesis warning that Egypt's former plenty would be forgotten.
Haggai 1:10–11Therefore for your sake the heavens withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit.Both passages describe the loss of what the land supplies for food, with Haggai naming withheld dew and fruit.
Haggai 2:17I struck you with blight, mildew, and hail in all the work of your hands; yet you didn’t turn to me,’ says the LORD.Both attribute destructive loss to God; Haggai names blight, mildew, and hail striking the people's work.
Where this verse fits
Job loss or money fear. doubt. fear for the future.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The famine is real, and Joseph's chains are real. The psalm names God as the one who sent Joseph ahead, even through a slave's suffering.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).