5 When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he 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.” (Revelation 6:5–6)
The breaking of the third seal brings famine. It is fitting for the horse to be black to refer to ensuing death by starvation. The “scales” will be used by officials to apportion available food, the cost of which will be severely inflated. Everyone will need to cling to what they have. It will be a time where there is no sharing, no generosity, no humanitarian efforts. It’ll be every man and woman for themselves.
If you have the strength to work, one day’s wage will get you one paltry meal. Beyond that, “barley,” a cheaper but unsatisfying substitute, may allow you to stretch what you have just a bit. Certainly, the finer things like wine or oil will be under lock and key.
One can look no further than the story of the Samaritan woman to get an idea of the pain and anguish this rider will bring.
But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.” (1 Kings 17:12)
Of course, this story ends well, with God providing through Elijah. But the point is, during the tribulation, if you are not off the scene because Jesus has previously whisked you away, you will endure scarcity “the likes of which no one has known.”
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