The Story Of Joseph Part 28--Egypt's "New Normal" Economy

 Genesis 47: 13-26

Joseph has become the lord of all the land of Egypt when he interpreted Pharaoh's dream, in order to prepare during the seven years of super-plenty for the following seven years of severe drought. 

Then he was also in charge of doling out the food to the people. So he was the one who made sure everyone had enough to eat. This is how he did it.

(13) Now there was no food in all the land, because the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. 

This means that no food could be grown, no crops could be planted, no harvest of any kind of foodstuffs at all, there was just no water to irrigate the fields, the Nile must have been at an all-time low.

(14) Joseph gathered all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan for the grain which they bought, and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. 

While the people's finances held out they could still buy the grain that Joseph had stored up, and they apparently had several years of finances. I wonder how many years of finances people today have stored up for a non-"rainy day."

(15) When the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, "Give us food, for why should we die in your presence? For our money is gone." 

Now all their money was gone, what could they do now since the drought is still raging in the land and they still can't plant.

(16) Then Joseph said, "Give up your livestock, since your money is gone." (17) So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses and the flocks and the herds and the donkeys; and he fed them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. 

These people were honest citizens, they didn't expect to get something for nothing, they had no sense of entitlement at all, and wanted to pay something for the food they needed. So Joseph told them they could pay with their animals. So he bartered with them exchanging their livestock for grain. This kept everyone honest.

(18) When that year was ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, "We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent, and the cattle are my lord's. There is nothing left for my lord except our bodies and our lands. 

These people are still not able to provide for themselves, and all their money and animals already belong to Pharaoh, so all they have left to pay with is their properties they own, and their own selves. They still don't want something for nothing.

(19) "Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we and our land will be slaves to Pharaoh. So give us seed, that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate." 

So they are willing to give up their lands and even their own freedom in order to get food to eat, so they won't starve to death. Still no sense of entitlement. They are still honest people.

(20) So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for every Egyptian sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. Thus the land became Pharaoh's. 

Now all the property and fields and lands of the whole country now belong to Pharaoh, because the people sold them for food.

(21) As for the people, he removed them to the cities from one end of Egypt's border to the other. 

Now that the people were slaves to Pharaoh, he needed to know where they were to command them, so Joseph took them out of the rural areas into the cities where his servants could keep an eye on them. 

Remember this when the governmental authorities start to involuntarily move the rural population to ever more crowded cities, so that the cameras can keep track of each person. Control is what they crave, and we need to recognize this.

(22) Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh, and they lived off the allotment which Pharaoh gave them. Therefore, they did not sell their land. 

The priests were already on the dole, so they always were given their food in payment of their religious services to Pharaoh.

(23) Then Joseph said to the people, "Behold, I have today bought you and your land for Pharaoh; now, here is seed for you, and you may sow the land. (24) At the harvest you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four-fifths shall be your own for seed of the field and for your food and for those of your households and as food for your little ones." 

Now that the seven years of drought are about to end, Joseph is instituting the new normal. The people are not free any more, they're slaves of Pharaoh, and Pharaoh will take care of them now. So Joseph is giving them seed to plant in the fields that now belong to Pharaoh; so whenever anything will grow to harvest, then they must give a 20% tax to Pharaoh, and the rest can be used by them for seed to plant the next season, and for food for them and their families. This looks like a good deal for the people.

(25) So they said, "You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's slaves." 

This looks so good to the people that they are saying, "Thank you so much for making us your slaves!" They have given up their freedom for slavery, because they didn't think they could take care of themselves any more. It's like being in prison, you can't do anything for yourself, but you will be cared for and get enough food to eat every day. Is it worth it?

(26) Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt valid to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh's. 

So it became the law in Egypt that all the people would pay a 20% tax of all their income to the king, and the government would take care of them. Only the religious institutions were exempt from taxes, because what they earned was from the government, anyway. 

God had brought these conditions onto the people of that whole geographic area (Egypt and Canaan). So God showed Joseph how to save the lives of many people in that area so that they wouldn't starve to death; including his own family. 

God also put this story into His written Word so that we could learn from it. These people had no way to grow their food for this extended time, so, even though they were able-bodied, they were still helpless to take care of themselves. That is why they were so willing to give away their property, possessions and freedom, and become slaves. 

I see today that the government is reducing as many people as they can into this mindset, to think that they cannot earn anything for themselves, so they have a right to be supported by others who can earn wages and make wealth. 

And today government officials are even going so far as to consider if thieves and looters are stealing others' property because they "need" it before charging them with theft. I think this is ridiculous and evil, and only encourages more people to do wrong against their neighbor. 

We as Christians are God's people, and He has given us the ability to make wealth for ourselves so that we can enjoy His prosperity and share with others. 

See Deuteronomy 8: 18; "But you are to remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth ..." God gives each one of us the ability to create wealth.

And II Thessalonians 3: 10-12; "If anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, ... Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread;" we are each to work to earn our own living, not mooch off of others.

And Ephesians 4: 28; "He who steals should steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need." We are never to take for ourselves what someone else has earned. We are instead to work to make our own living, to have something to share with someone else who may be disabled or diseased or otherwise unable to work, sharing of our own volition. 

When people who are able-bodied refuse to do physical labor, or people who have intelligent minds refuse to use them to create wealth, then they are shirking their responsibility to take care of themselves and their families, choosing instead to be a leech and a parasite on the society in which they live. This is evil and a detriment to their whole culture. 

God's people need to think God's way and realize that they are royal children of the King, and are expected to give benefit to their society and lift it up to higher standards; for the benefit and prosperity of their whole nation. 

O my Father, You gave us this story of Joseph making a "new normal" for Egypt not as an example for us to follow, but as a warning to be aware of the trap of enslavement. The Egyptian people truly were helped by Joseph's management of the economy, but that is because it was Your way to save lives, especially to save the lives of Joseph's family. You arranged this to let Israel grow into a great nation without the attractions and seductions of the gross immorality happening in Canaan. 

And today it is a good example to recognize when our "powers that be" in the world are attracting and seducing people into modern-day slavery. 

My Father, please wake up and open the eyes of Your people today, to see what is going on, and to realize what each of us can do to either fight against the evil or to promote Your good that You have programmed into this Earth for us to enjoy. 

O Father, teach us how we can go out to the whole world, speaking Your wonderful Truth in the face of destructive deceptions; and to find all of Your unborn babies who are searching for You, even if they don't realize it is You they are looking for. Father, I didn't know that I was looking for Jesus when I searched for Truth, and You found me! Let all of Your children come to the birth, and grow us all up to the maturity of the full stature of the body of Christ. 

For every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will profess that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer and Messiah, the Lord God Almighty, King over the whole World and all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus! 

The Story Of Joseph Part 27--Israel Officially Settles In Goshen

 Genesis 47: 1-12

Joseph had sent the wagons to carry his father and all his household to Egypt from Canaan, so he could take care of them, and make sure they didn't starve. 

He had the authority, as the king's vizier, to determine where to let them live, and gave directions to Judah to lead them into the Goshen area of the land of Egypt.

(1) Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said, "My father and my brothers and their flocks and their herds and all that they have, have come out of the land of Canaan; and behold, they are in the land of Goshen." 

Now Joseph is making everything legal and official, and informs the king that his family has arrived. 

(2) He took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. (3) Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" So they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers." (4) They said to Pharaoh, "We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now, therefore, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen." 

Then Joseph chooses five of his brothers to introduce them to the king, and they did what Joseph had told them to do, answering politely with their occupation as shepherds.

(5) Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you. (6) The land of Egypt is at your disposal; settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land, let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know any capable men among them, then put them in charge of my livestock." 

Now Pharaoh is officially welcoming Joseph's family, and granting them as much property as they need in the very best district of his nation. Joseph is already the lord over the whole country, so he is granted to settle them in the most prosperous and lush part of the whole land. It's now legal and in the records. 

And Pharaoh even tells Joseph to hire his family members who have the skills to manage Pharaoh's own herds and flocks. This is continuing God's blessing on Joseph that everything he does succeeds.

(7) Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 

Now Joseph introduces Pharaoh to his father Jacob, and Israel gives a blessing over the king. It is always the greater who blesses the lessor, and Jacob is obviously the elder of the two. And also, God has given Abraham His blessing with which to bless his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob, so Israel has God's blessing to bless Pharaoh. Through this blessing, the whole world will ultimately be blessed (Genesis 18: 18).

(8) Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many years have you lived?" 

Pharaoh is impressed with his extreme age, and asks him how old he is.

(9) So Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning." 

This sounds like he is not considering this long length of life to be anything to boast about, claiming that he's not famous for anything, and has not even attained what his ancestors have. Is this humility?

(10) And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from his presence. 

We are told again that Jacob blessed Pharaoh, so he left him with a blessing, and probably never did come into his official presence again.

(11) So Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had ordered. 

Now everything is signed, sealed and delivered, to make their home in this beautiful, lush and safe land; the best of the whole nation, and the best in the whole world that God determined for them to have at this time. Now they will be able to grow in God's spiritual greenhouse, to multiply in numbers and maintain their faith to worship God.

(12) Joseph provided his father and his brothers and all his father's household with food, according to their little ones.

Joseph was in charge of all the resources in the land, so he was able to provide for his extended family with all the grain and foods they would need, according to the size of each family; so everyone received enough; they all could prosper here. 

There were still more years of famine ahead, but the children of Israel would not have to spend their resources to buy food, Joseph provided for them from the king.

Tomorrow we will see how Joseph dealt with the rest of the citizens of Egypt. 

O my Father, You have told us this story so that we could see how you take care of all the details for us. The children of Israel were special in Egypt because they were Joseph's family, and Pharaoh appreciated and loved him. As long as this king's line were ruling in Egypt, the Hebrews were respected and honored. 

Father, this was the greenhouse You prepared for Your chosen ones. You have moved Heaven and Earth to provide the safe, nurturing environment they needed to grow strong both physically and spiritually. And You gave them all the time they needed to do this in this protected space. 

My Father, You always provide everything we need, whether it is physical, material, financial; or mental, psychological, emotional; or moral, ethical, and spiritual. You give us every advantage and opportunity to be healthy and do the right thing, every time. Please teach Your children that You have already given us everything we need to make the righteous and prosperous decisions, every time. 

O Father, grow Your children, and grow Your family, as You grew Israel in Goshen. Help us to seek Your face and to follow Your ways in all that we do in every area of life, whether at church or at home or at work or at leisure; when arising and retiring, going out and coming in. Send us out into the whole world, to tell every living person how much You love us all. Bring all of Your babies to the birth, and grow us all to maturity, to attain the full stature of the Son of God. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over the World and all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus! 

The Story Of Joseph Part 26--Going To Goshen

 Genesis 46: 28-34

Jacob/Israel is bringing his whole clan from Canaan to Egypt, sight unseen.

(28) Now he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out the way before him to Goshen. 

So, he sends Judah ahead to find Joseph, to get directions to the district they're to settle in. This means that Judah, not Joseph, will be leading the whole clan into the district that they will be living in.

(29) Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; as soon as he appeared before him, he fell on his neck and wept on his neck a long time. 

I wonder if Joseph decorated his chariot for this momentous moment. It is a very emotional meeting; Joseph has not seen his father since he was seventeen, and now they're finally reuniting! No wonder he wept on his neck a long time! 

(30) Then Israel said to Joseph, "Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive." 

This doesn't mean that Israel wants to die right away, it only means that he has completed the most important item on his "bucket list" so he's not waiting for anything else. And now that he's moved, he's starting a whole new life chapter!

(31) Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, "I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and will say to him, 'My brothers and my father's household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me; (32) and the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock; and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.'  

Joseph tells his brothers that he will prepare for their meeting with the king so that everything will go well.

(33) "When Pharaoh calls you and says, 'What is your occupation?' (34) you shall say, 'Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,' that you may live in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is loathsome to the Egyptians." 

Goshen is the best area in all of Egypt, with the most fertile soil and the most lush grazing for their sheep and cattle. In telling the people that they are shepherds, the other Egyptians who already live in Goshen will probably move out, so they will have the whole lush area all to themselves. 

God's Greenhouse for growing His chosen people. 

O my Father, You are so precise about Your plans for us. You knew that Jacob's family were very fragile and vulnerable while they were still few in number. So You brought them into Goshen so they could safely and healthily grow into the nation of Israel You intended. 

My Father, You also have the same preciseness in Your plan for me, too. Please help me not to waste any of this time I am waiting on You, and to take the steps You set my feet upon to follow You. 

O Father, use me, use all of Your children, to share with everyone in the world in all the ways You enable each of us to communicate. Let every living person hear how much You love us all, and want us all in Your own family. Cause every spiritual embryo to come to the birth, and grow Your children to maturity, to reach the full stature of the Son of God. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, the Lord God Almighty, King of the World and all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus! 

 

 

 

 

The Story Of Joseph Part 25--Jacob Moves To Egypt

 Genesis 46: 5-27

When Jacob set out with his clan, he came as far as Beersheba and offered sacrifices there; and that night God encouraged him in a dream not to be afraid to go, because He would grow his family into a great nation in Egypt. 

Jacob is finally putting into practice his growing awareness that he really is a Prince with God (Israel)!

(5) Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob and their little ones and their wives in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry them. 

Pharaoh was very considerate to send wagons in which to carry Joseph's aged father and all the wives and little children all the way from Canaan to Egypt.

(6) They took their livestock and their property, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and came to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him: (7) his sons and his grandsons with him, his daughters and his granddaughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt. 

Jacob gathered and packed up everything they had, all their belongings, their animals, and every member of his extended family: his sons and daughters, his grandchildren, and even some great-grandchildren that had been born. The whole clan just uprooted and began the journey to Egypt. 

(8) Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, Jacob and his sons who went to Egypt: ...

Verses 8-27 list all twelve of Jacob's sons, his daughter Dinah, and all of their children and grandchildren. 

(27) ... All the persons of the house of Jacob, who came to Egypt, were seventy. 

If you wish, you can read this list, but I don't think it necessary to duplicate it here. The only comment I would like to make here, is that they were already beginning to intermarry with the Canaanites, as Simeon had a son, Shaul, by a Canaanite woman (46: 11). So, I don't wonder why God wanted them in the Goshen neighborhood, the hot-house of Egypt. 

There they will not have the temptation to be seduced by the idolatrous peoples who lived in Canaan. They will not be as tempted by the Egyptians, who didn't practice human sacrifice. 

And they have grown numerous enough to dilute the DNA enough to not have intermarriage between too close relations. Every generation experiences microscopic breaks in the DNA and the RNA, and the human race was damaged when Adam disobeyed, but the damage was not very extensive until many, many generations had been born. 

Abraham and Sarah were half-brother-and-sister (the same father but different mothers; Genesis 20: 12), and Isaac and Rebecca were first cousins once removed (Isaac's father Abraham was brother to Nahor, Rebecca's grandfather; Genesis 24: 15), which was still acceptable, so early in the genetic history of our race. 

But by the time this family had become a nation, 400 years later, it was time for the Law God gave Moses to forbid marriages between close family members such as these. 

That is also why there are laws today that forbid marriages between relatives, because intermarriage with close relatives multiplies the damage in our DNA and RNA and produces children who have anomalies and rare diseases and conditions. 

God is not as concerned with the genetic dangers, though, as much as He is to the moral and spiritual dangers that were extant in Canaan, even back then. 

God wants us to be like Him, so that we can have good, happy and prosperous lives here on Earth, and then to live with Him as His own family forever. He made the human race to be His children, but He wants us to want to love Him back. He does not want puppets, He wants sons and daughters. 

O my Father, You always know what is best for us, in every situation at every time. You know how weak we are, and You will protect us from what we would not be able to resist. So You moved this group of chosen people out of the strong temptations that would have assailed them into the warm cocoon of Goshen. 

O Father, send out Your children into all the world to share with everyone how much You love us all, and will protect us from danger that can destroy us. You are not willing for any of us to perish or be destroyed, because You sent Your Son to save us from all that. Please use us to bring all of Your babies to the birth into Your family, and to grow up and mature into the full stature of the Son of God as His body. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus! 

The Story Of Joseph Part 24--Jacob's Promise From God

Genesis 46: 1-4

Jacob trusted the Lord God with his children when he let his sons take Benjamin with them to Egypt, and God rewarded this step of faith by encouraging him in the knowledge of Joseph's being alive, and his ascendancy to being the Egyptian king's vizier, to be lord over the whole nation of Egypt. 

So now Jacob, being more the Israel (Prince with God) than ever, he is acting on this new information, trusting that it is true. 

(1) So Israel set out with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 

Israel is offering worship to God, to thank Him for the good that He is doing for him in his old age, to be able to see his favorite son again, and to remove all the doubt and despair he had been feeling. Then he camps there for the night.

(2) God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, "Jacob, Jacob." And he said, "Here I am."  

And now Jacob is having a dream.

(3) He said, "I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. 

God tells him that He is taking him out of Canaan, out from all the seductive cultures that surrounded his family there. Egypt will be the hot-house where God will grow Israel's family into a whole nation.

(4) "I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will close your eyes." 

God promises that He will be with Israel while they are in Egypt, that Jacob will live the rest of his life there, and that Joseph, his favorite son, will be with him when he dies. He will have a peaceful going into the next plane of existence, Sheol, the place of the dead. And his body will be carried back to Canaan for burial, because Canaan is the land that God will give to the nation that he will engender. So his body will be laid to rest in their own land, not Egypt. 

Egypt will only be temporary, and God will grow and strengthen this fledgling nation to be strong and capable to take possession of their land. 

Israel entered Egypt a family; in time they will leave as a nation. 

O my Father, Your plan was to take Abraham, whose great faith in You when he was the about only one who knew You then, to make his line into a whole nation, through his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob. Now at this point in the plan, You are taking Jacob and all of his whole family into Egypt, out of all the attractions of the Canaanites around them, to grow them into the great nation Israel in the sanctuary of Goshen, the most prosperous neighborhood in Egypt. 

And Father, You are also working out Your plan for me, even the little I will be able to do for Your Kingdom, You are working out in my life. Father, keep me in Your arms, close to Your heart, that my heart will beat in sync with Yours, and I will accomplish Your will as Your hands and feet. 

O Father, send out all of Your children into all the world to tell every living person of Your love for all of us, and how they can be born into Your family, also. Let every person in every nation hear and understand. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus! 

The Story Of Joseph Part 23--Jacob Becomes Israel

 Genesis 45: 16-28

Joseph was finally satisfied that his brothers had grown enough to accept their father's love for Benjamin, and to realize that Jacob did love all of his sons, but in different ways. As all parents do. 

Then when he finally came to the point of honestly revealing to them who he really was, the release of all the pent-up passion that Joseph had for his brothers came out in such a flood of emotion, that the whole neighborhood around Joseph's house could hear it. 

And now that Joseph has revealed himself, his personal servants didn't have to keep it a secret any more, and could tell Pharaoh's servants, too, who informed the king.

(16) When the news was heard in Pharaoh's house that Joseph's brothers had come, it pleased Pharaoh and his servants.  

Since Joseph is so much loved and highly regarded by Pharaoh and his servants, they were glad for him to have his brothers come.

(17) Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Say to your brothers, 'Do this: load your beasts and go to the land of Canaan, (18) and take your father and your households and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you will eat the fat of the land.' 

Now Pharaoh himself is telling Joseph to do what Joseph wanted to do with his family, to bring them all to Egypt, so they would no longer be estranged from him.

(19) "Now you are ordered, 'Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father and come. (20) Do not concern yourselves with your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.'" 

So the Pharaoh is doing his thing and giving orders, telling his servants to provide these things; and telling Joseph to tell his brothers that he'll give them everything they need, so pack light. 

(21) Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them wagons according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. (22) To each of them he gave changes of garments, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of garments. (23) To his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and sustenance for his father on the journey. (24) So he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, "Do not quarrel on the journey." 

So Joseph gave them all the proof they will need to convince their father, and, knowing his brothers, cautioned them to not quarrel on the journey! He knew that their mothers quarreled and the boys learned that from them.

(25) Then they went up from Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. (26) They told him, saying, "Joseph is still alive, and indeed he is ruler over all the land of Egypt." But he was stunned, for he did not believe them. 

This is quite a development after decades believing Joseph is dead, no wonder he's incredulous. This is why Joseph sent so much with them. To convince him that not only is he alive, but he is the lord of Egypt they've been dealing with.

(27) When they told him all the words of Joseph that he had spoken to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 

Jacob is experiencing all the depression and doubt of decades falling away! He finally has hope again, and grows tremendously in his faith and trust in the God he's been holding on to all his life.

(28) Then Israel said, "It is enough; my son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die." 

Jacob is now more Israel as he trusts God more, and decides to take action on this new information he believes is true.  

God told Jacob, the Deceiver, that he was a Prince with God, when he was on his way back from Padan-Aram to Canaan with eleven of his twelve sons, when they were still small (Genesis 32: 28). And he has been struggling for so many years to accept that concept. 

Now he is finally realizing the full impact of how God has seen him already, and is now taking action to move on this increased faith.

So it looks like they will be moving from Canaan to Egypt.

O my Father, You will move Heaven and Earth to grow Your children. You took all the time that Jacob needed, even to sustaining his life and health into extreme old age. Nothing is impossible with You. 

My Father, I know Your love for me is just as real and practical as Your love for Jacob/Israel. You know each of us individually, and You love us each as You made us. You know that we all need to grow up in our faith, and You give each of us all the time we need to grow. So, Father, help me not to waste any of the time You are giving to me, so that I will grow into the mature Woman of God You made me to be, and grant me to have a godly influence on my children and grandchildren, as my flesh has gotten in my way so often. 

O Father, grow all Your children up in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, until we all together reach the full stature of the Body of Christ, as His body parts. Complete Your heavenly Temple of which we are the living stones. 

Send out all Your children, Father, to reach every living person in the world; that they may all understand how You love us all, and have already sent Your Son to be our Savior, meeting all of our most fundamental needs, and all the peripheral needs, too. You have given us abundant life, to enjoy both here and forever. Please bring all Your babies to the birth into Your family, and grow us all up to be Your sons and daughters, to inherit all the glory and blessings of Your abundance. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus! 

 

 

 

 

The Story Of Joseph Part 22--Joseph Reveals His Identity

 Genesis 45: 1-15

The sons of Israel have come from Canaan to Egypt for the second time to buy food. The famine is still ongoing, and Joseph is done testing his brothers. He has learned that they have treated his little brother differently than they treated him, and are feeling guilty for what they did to him. And he is so joyful to have his family back, that he can hardly contain himself. 

Now here's the big moment.

(1) Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried, "Have everyone go out from me." So there was no man with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 

JOSEPH MADE HIMSELF KNOWN TO HIS BROTHERS! Now we will see how he did it.

(2) He wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard of it. 

Joseph must have really been screaming-crying in finally releasing his pent-up passion for his family.

(3) Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. 

Then he just comes out with it, to the shock and surprise of his brothers, who realize that this brother they were so mean to now has the power over them to destroy them!

(4) Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come closer to me." And they came closer. And he said, "I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. (5) Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. (6) For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. (7) God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the Earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. (8) Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 

Joseph gives his brothers his own viewpoint on what has happened and why; that God was the one who sent him to Egypt, not his brothers, so that he could save a lot of people from starving to death. So he doesn't want them to blame themselves. God is the one who made Joseph the ruler in Egypt by giving him grace in Pharaoh's eyes, so that he would be able to do this.

(9) "Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, "God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. 

Now he tells them to go get their father Jacob, and bring him down to Egypt, too.

(10) "'You shall live in the land of Goshen, and  you shall be near me, you and your herds and all that you have. 

Goshen is the best neighborhood in all of Egypt, the high-dollar district, as far from the slums as you could get. There they will be near Joseph, and the family can be together again.

(11) "'There I will also provide for you, for there are still five years of famine to come, and you and your household and all that you have would be impoverished."' 

Joseph says that he will be able to take care of them, as they could otherwise starve to death in Canaan because the famine will last another five years.

(12) "Behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth which is speaking to you. 

He tells them to believe their own eyes, that it really is him, their long-lost brother Joseph, telling them these things.

(13) "Now you must tell my father of all my splendor in Egypt, and all that you have seen; and you must hurry and bring my father down here." 

Then he tells them to hurry back to get their father, and explain to him that Joseph has all the wealth and authority to take care of them.

(14) Then he fell on his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. (15) He kissed all his brothers and wept on them, and afterward his brothers talked with him. 

And he hugged and kissed them all, and finally they were able to carry on a conversation with him.

If you remember, back when they first sold him to the caravan heading for Egypt, they were so blindly jealous of him that they couldn't even say a positive word to him. Now 22 years have elapsed, and they've had time to reconsider what they did, and realize what it did to their own father; and to treat his little brother who was in the same position he had been in as being Jacob's favorite, better, to accept the situation, and that Jacob loved them, too.

I wonder what Joseph would have done if his brothers had had the same attitude toward Benjamin that they'd had toward him. But, of course, God was working in their attitudes and relationships, and they all had their own families now, too, so they all had a little more wisdom with their increased age and experiences. 

And God had kept Jacob alive, too, to witness the reunification of his family, and to see his beloved, lost son again. 

O my Father, You are so good, and so wise, and so patient with us. You teach us Your patience when You let us wait on You to build in us the character qualities of Your dear Son. Sometimes it takes us a long time to learn, as You made Joseph wait so many years for his brothers to come to the point where they would be ready to reunite with him. 

My Father, You have had me waiting on You for many years, also. I wonder when You will break things loose for me, to be able to fulfill my dreams to serve You. Strengthen me to continue to serve You in the small ways I have been, as I grow in patience and longsuffering, developing Christ's character as a member of His body. 

O Father, send out Your children to witness to our neighbors and our cities and our nations, to demonstrate to the world Your love to counteract all the hatred being spewed out from our enemy. Wake up Your people, to see what is going on around them, and to understand the truth of what it means, so they will choose to respond in a righteous manner. Bring a great Awakening, and a huge revival, Father, so huge that the media cannot ignore it. 

And send out Your children as Your messengers and missionaries to tell the world of Your love in Your Son. Bring every child to the birth in Your family, and fill Your great house with all of Your uncounted progeny. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!