Is prepping Biblical? The answer is both yes and no. The yes example that first comes to my mind is that of Joseph and the seven years famine.
Genesis 47:13 (CSB)
But there was no food in the entire region, for the famine was very severe. The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan were exhausted by the famine.
In Genesis 41, we read of Pharaoh’s dream of seven healthy looking, well-fed cows and seven sickly and thin cows. Then Pharaoh had a second dream of seven heads of grain which were plump and good and seven heads of grain which were thin and scorched by the wind. Pharaoh wanted to find someone who would be able to tell him the meaning of his dreams. Eventually, Joseph was the person who God spoke through to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams.
Genesis 41:16 (CSB)
“I am not able to,” Joseph answered Pharaoh. “It is God who will give Pharaoh a favourable answer.”
Joseph explained that the two dreams meant exactly the same thing. Seven years of great abundance were about to come throughout Egypt, followed by seven years of severe famine. Joseph had a plan though, throughout the seven years of abundance all the excess food was stored up in the cities. The seven years of severe famine followed but Egypt had enough food, not only for themselves but also for the whole region and they sold the surplus food to those who needed it.
The next Biblical account that comes to my mind is of Noah and the ark. God’s wrath was about to come on the earth because of all the wickedness.
Genesis 6:13-14 (CSB)
Then God said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to every creature, for the earth is filled with wickedness because of them; therefore I am going to destroy them along with the earth. “Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it with pitch inside and outside.”
God went on to explain every detail and measurement of the ark to Noah, His plan of flooding the earth, what He wanted Noah to do; to bring in a male and a female of every living creature, and every kind of food was to be gathered and brought into the ark along with Noah’s wife and family. Noah was chosen by God because he was a righteous man. Noah was forewarned by God of a global disaster. It took Noah many years to build the ark but he was faithful to God and got on with it.
In both of these accounts prepping is involved. Being prepared isn’t only about becoming physically prepared, it’s also about becoming spiritually and mentally prepared, and this is what I have been doing now for the last two plus years.
So, when is prepping not Biblical? When a person has greedy and selfish motives and when they store up treasures on earth! The following scripture shows us what God’s thoughts are.
Matthew 6:19-21 (CSB)
“Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
In this scripture Jesus was explaining what it means to live a righteous life on earth. God wants us to have a sincere heart. Jesus explains we should not stockpile money and possessions which will either rust away or be stolen. Jesus was saying, money and possessions are temporary but how you live your life as a righteous person with a sincere heart is eternal. Jesus is warning people not to depend on worldly wealth.
Matthew 6:24 (CSB)
“No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Proverbs 28:20 (CSB)
A faithful person will have many blessings, but one in a hurry to get rich will not go unpunished.
Joseph and Noah were faithful to God, and God gave them protection and sustenance in times of great distress. They both put God before anything and anyone else in their lives.
There is good prepping but there is also bad prepping. One is Biblical but the other is driven by greed and selfishness and is definitely not Biblical. There are definitely two kinds of preppers!
Onward Christian Soldiers 