We are going to be looking at how Joseph managed the grain stores during the famine and how he increased the wealth of the king. We might feel a tendency to object to the king profiting from people's hard times, but if the situation in Egypt and in the surrounding territories had not been handled as it was, the nation would have fallen and untold numbers of people and animals would have perished. Before we finish today's study we are going to compare the famine of Egypt to the current situation in the world today and we are going to remind ourselves that the God who brought people and nations safely through the Genesis famine is the same powerful, almighty God who is going to bring people and nations through the crisis we're facing now.
"There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh's palace. When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, 'Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is gone.'" (Genesis 47:13-15) The famine drags on so long that people run out of money with which to buy grain. They come to Joseph and say, "Just give the grain away. If you don't, we'll all start dying soon."
But the grain isn't Joseph's to give away. The grain belongs to Pharaoh. For seven years prior to the famine he collected a 20% grain tax rather than the usual 10% grain tax. The grain is the property of the king and he doesn't intend to come out of the famine in worse financial shape than he went into it. If that happens then the entire nation is at risk of economic downfall or even invasion by its enemies, for if the economy collapses they won't be able to equip and pay their army. Joseph has to suggest an alternative solution to the people. "'Then bring your livestock,' said Joseph. 'I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.' So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys. And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock." (Genesis 47:16-17) This move preserves animal life in Egypt. The grazing land is growing more bare by the day and the people can scarcely feed themselves, much less obtain food for their animals. Trading the animals for grain puts food on the people's tables and puts the animals into Pharaoh's flocks and herds where they will be provided for out of the king's great wealth and storehouses.
"When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, 'We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. Why should we perish before your eyes---we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate." (Genesis 47:18-19) The people are going to become something like indentured servants or sharecroppers. They will give themselves in servitude to the king in exchange for being able to remain on the land and work the land. A major portion of what their fields produce will belong to Pharaoh, but the people will be able to keep enough to live on. Their lives will be preserved and so will the quality of the fields, for unworked fields tend to quickly become overgrown with thickets of brambles and briers. Even in a time when little else is growing, undesirable plants like weeds and thorns will grow. If the fields become overgrown during the famine it will be quite difficult to clear them once the famine is over and it will delay the fresh production of crops which in turn would prolong famine conditions in Egypt.
"So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh's, and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other. However, he did not buy the land of the priests, because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land." (Genesis 47:20-22) Pharaoh is now the supreme leader in a way he never was before---in a way he never could have been without the famine and without Joseph's wise management of the grain stores. But the Bible never says anything about Pharaoh behaving like a dictator. There's no indication he treated the people poorly. From everything we've learned about him, he appears to be a thoughtful and reasonable man, a man willing to listen to wise counsel, a man who has concern for others and who respects (though he may not worship) the God of Joseph.
If not for Joseph's wise management, Egypt would have fallen. Its people and animals would have starved to death. The tribes in the surrounding regions, such as Canaan, would have starved to death along with their animals. The people who were intended to become the nation of Israel would have perished along with their flocks and herds. But God had a plan in place for handling the famine long before the famine came to pass. God knew the famine was coming, He warned Pharaoh in two dreams about it, He placed a man in Egypt whom He gifted with the interpretation of dreams, and He made certain that the heathen king listened to and believed what Joseph had to say. Out of all the people who are spared during the famine, the majority of them are pagan idolaters, yet God lovingly and mercifully saves their lives. Why then should anyone doubt that God is willing and able to bring the world through the current crisis of our day? Will He not preserve and protect the United States and other countries where so many people honor His name? Will He not also, as He did in Egypt and among the Canaanite tribes, preserve the lives of those who do not even acknowledge Him?
Up til now we have not addressed the coronavirus situation or the panic and uncertainty that's come along with it or the economic downturn that the affected nations are experiencing. While it's normal to feel anxious when we see some bare shelves in the stores and when we hear about the growing numbers of those afflicted with the virus, we can keep a level head if we keep in mind that God is in control. Nothing about these circumstances has Him in a panic. He's not pacing the floors of heaven, wringing His hands and wondering what to do. Just as He had a plan in place for Egypt and the lands surrounding that nation, He has a plan for the problems of our own times. His plan for us was in place long before this situation ever came to pass. Due to the panicking and hoarding behaviors of some of the world's citizens, we are getting a taste of what famine must be like, and it's something we as Americans don't feel emotionally equipped to deal with. But God is equipped in every way to deal with all this and more. Nothing catches God off guard or takes Him by surprise. Just as He knew how to preserve the people and nations of Joseph's time, He knows how to preserve people and nations in our time. The God of the Genesis famine is the same God we serve today. He has lost none of His wisdom. He has lost none of His power. And, praise be to His holy name, He has lost none of His love and mercy.
No comments:
Post a Comment