Jeremiah 42:16 Then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die.
One of the ways God works to wake up people to their need and sin is thru a famine. God uses any and all means to awake people to their sinful conditions and bring them back to Him .People thru history have recognized the hand of God in nature and natural disasters. Those in Bible times and even up to the 19th century people groups such as the American Indians have recognized God controls natural events and disasters. The American Indians would perform dancing and sacrifices to appease the Great Spirit god so they would be healthy, safe etc. They had many gods even as those in Bible times. When Paul was bitten by the snake the native people saw this as retribution by God (Acts 28:4), but when Paul had no bad effects from the snake they believed him to be a god.
In Abraham’s day there was a severe famine in the land and