Day 117

“When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come!” I looked, and behold, a black horse, and the one who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.” Rev 6:5-6 NASB.

A denarius was roughly a day’s wage, so the prices mentioned in this text represent a severe famine. A man would have to work all day to get enough wheat to feed himself. If he had a family to support he would need to buy the cheaper barley. Given the large size of families in those days, the children would likely die or be stunted by malnutrition.

Why does the text mention sparing the oil and the wine, which are less necessary for life than grain? In Asia Minor of the 90s this text would have connected with a hot issue. Wine trade at that time was more profitable than grain. The wealthy landowners of Asia were, therefore, switching production from grain to grapes.

So much of the land in the Province of Asia (which included the seven churches) was dedicated to producing olive oil and wine for profitable export. Meanwhile, the cities of Asia had to import grain all the way from Egypt or the areas by the Black Sea. So while landowners and shippers profited from their choice, the people in Asia had to pay higher prices for staple foods.

But the sparing of the oil and the wine could also be read as a token of God’s mercy in the time of judgment. Ancient Mediterranean warfare included destroying the standing crops in the fields, but not the vines and the olives trees (which take about 17 years to reach productive capacity). Destroying wheat and barley meant hardship for a year, but destroying vines and trees would result in enduring disaster.

While the judgments of God in our lives can be severe, they are for the purpose of redeeming us, not destroying us. It is not God’s purpose to prolong suffering, but to use difficulties to get our attention and bring us to a place that would be better for us. If everyone was more attentive to God’s call much of the injustice in the world also disappear.