The Battle For the Breadbaskets
As we view current events may we pray for the peoples affected, that all the disheaval will be time limited, for the leading of God, for obedience and faithfulness to His Word and for the harvest of many, that laborers will introduce and offer Jesus, and that He will be accepted as Lord and Savior.
Breadbaskets -.
The breadbasket of a country or of a region is an area which, because of the richness of the soil and/or advantageous climate, produces large quantities of wheat or other grain. Rice bowl[1] is a similar term used to refer to Southeast Asia; and California’s Salinas Valley is sometimes referred to as America’s salad bowl.[2][3] Such regions may be the subject of fierce political disputes which may even escalate into full military conflicts.[4] (wikipedia)
Six of the leading breadbaskets of the world;
Central Black Earth region – Central Russia with wheat it’s primary crop
Southeast Asia – comprised of 10 nations, the Association of Southeastern Asian Nations (ASEAN) 5 of these 10 produce the majority of the world’s rice
Canadian Prairies – Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan are important in the world’s supply of grain. Canada’s breadbasket and province producing the largest amount of wheat is Saskatchewan.
China produces 20% of the world’s crop exports and 1/3 of the world’s fish.
San Joaquin Valley – California
America has long been considered the world’s breadbasket with a wheat belt, corn belt, and salad bowl. California is the USA’s single producer of the almonds, and accounts for 70% of the world’supply of almonds.
Brazil
Exports 5 of the world’s major crops with a northern and southern agricultural region. Cattle keeping is also big.
Ukraine is the breadbasket of Europe. 17% of the EU’s food is imported from Ukraine. 20% of of Russia’s food is imported from the Ukraine. When Ukraine was a part of the Soviet Union, 25% of the USSR food supply was grown in the Ukraine region. Much of the reason the Soviet Union was able to industrialize was a growth product of having the Ukraine as a breadbasket.
The Breadbaskets of the World
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-breadbaskets-of-the-world.html
The Battle of the Breadbaskets is Coming to a Head
https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/12/27/the-battle-of-the-breadbaskets-is-coming-to-a-head/
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Offering Jesus the Bread of Life
And they (Pharaoh’s imprisoned Butler and baker) said to (Joseph), We have dreamed dreams, and there is no one to interpret them. And Joseph said to them, Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me [your dreams], I pray you. And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph and said to him, In my dream I saw a vine before me, And on the vine were three branches. Then it was as though it budded; its blossoms burst forth and the clusters of them brought forth ripe grapes [almost all at once]. And Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup; then I gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand. When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, I also dreamed, and behold, I had three cake baskets on my head. And in the uppermost basket were some of all kinds of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds [of prey] were eating out of the basket on my head… on the third day, Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the heads of the chief butler and the chief baker [by inviting them also] among his servants. And he restored the chief butler to his butlership, and the butler gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand; But [Pharaoh] hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. Genesis 40:8-11, 16-17, 20-22 AMPC
Now,
SING ALOUD to God our Strength! Shout for joy to the God of Jacob! Raise a song, sound the timbrel, the sweet lyre with the harp. Blow the trumpet at the New Moon, at the full moon, on our feast day. For this is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob. This He ordained in Joseph [the savior] for a testimony when He went out over the land of Egypt. The speech of One Whom I knew not did I hear [saying], I removed his shoulder from the burden; his hands were freed from the basket. I am the Lord your God, Who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it. [God] would feed [Israel now] also with the finest of the wheat; and with honey out of the rock would I satisfy you. Psalm 81:1-6, 10, 16 AMPC
For,
IF YOU will listen diligently to the voice of the Lord your God, being watchful to do all His commandments which I command you this day, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you if you heed the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your beasts, the increase of your cattle and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading trough. Blessed shall you be when you come in and blessed shall you be when you go out. The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon you in your storehouse and in all that you undertake. And He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you. The Lord will establish you as a people holy to Himself, as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. And all people of the earth shall see that you are called by the name [and in the presence of] the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. And the Lord shall make you have a surplus of prosperity, through the fruit of your body, of your livestock, and of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord shall open to you His good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain of your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the Lord shall make you the head, and not the tail; and you shall be above only, and you shall not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you this day and are watchful to do them. And you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God, being watchful to do all His commandments and His statutes which I command you this day, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you: Cursed shall you be in the city and cursed shall you be in the field. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading trough. Cursed shall be the fruit of your body, of your land, of the increase of your cattle and the young of your sheep. Cursed shall you be when you come in and cursed shall you be when you go out. The Lord shall send you curses, confusion, and rebuke in every enterprise to which you set your hand, until you are destroyed, perishing quickly because of the evil of your doings by which you have forsaken me [Moses and God as one]. Deuteronomy 28:1-20 AMPC
And [Isaiah] said, Hear then, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary and try the patience of men, but will you weary and try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: Behold, the young woman who is unmarried and a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel [God with us]. [Isa. 9:6; Jer. 31:22; Mic. 5:3-5; Matt. 1:22, 23.] Butter and curds and wild honey shall he eat when he knows [enough] to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child shall know [enough] to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land [Canaan] whose two kings you abhor and of whom you are in sickening dread shall be forsaken [both Ephraim and Syria]. [Isa. 7:2.] …And these [enemies like flies and bees] shall come and shall rest all of them in the desolate and rugged valleys and deep ravines and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes and on all the pastures. And [because of the desolation brought on by the invaders] in that day, a man will [be so poor that he will] keep alive only a young milk cow and two sheep. And because of the abundance of milk that they will give, he will eat butter and curds, for [only] butter and curds and [wild] honey [no vegetables] shall everyone eat who is left in the land [these products provided from the extensive pastures and the plentiful wild flowers upon which the bees depend]. And in that day, in every place where there used to be a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels, there will be briers and thorns. With arrows and with bows shall a man come [to hunt] there, because all the land will be briers and thorns. Isaiah 7:13-16, 19, 21-24 AMPC
But God?!
… Where are we to get bread sufficient to feed so great a crowd in this isolated and desert place? And Jesus asked them, How many loaves of bread do you have? They replied, Seven, and a few small fish. And ordering the crowd to recline on the ground, He took the seven loaves and the fish, and when He had given thanks, He broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they gathered up seven [large provision] baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over. Matthew 15:33-37 AMPC
Oh Emmanuel, God with us! Praise Him!
The Lord of hosts–regard Him as holy and honor His holy name [by regarding Him as your only hope of safety], and let Him be your fear and let Him be your dread [lest you offend Him by your fear of man and distrust of Him]. And He shall be a sanctuary [a sacred and indestructible asylum to those who reverently fear and trust in Him]; but He shall be a Stone of stumbling and a Rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. [Isa. 28:6; Rom. 9:33; I Pet. 2:6-8.]
Yet,
.. I will wait for the Lord, Who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; and I will look for and hope in Him. Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and wonders [that are to take place] in Israel from the Lord of hosts, Who dwells on Mount Zion. Isaiah 8:10, 13-14, 17-18 AMPC
For,
.. I tell you, you are Peter [Greek, Petros–a large piece of rock], and on this rock [Greek, petra–a huge rock like Gibraltar] I will build My church, and the gates of Hades (the powers of the infernal region) shall not overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it]. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven. [Isa. 22:22.] Matthew 16:18-19 AMPC
And He said to them, The harvest indeed is abundant [there is much ripe grain], but the farmhands are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Luke 10:2 AMPC
Yes,
…pray to the Lord of the harvest to force out and thrust laborers into His harvest. Matthew 9:38 AMPC