Genesis
chapter 47 begins with Joseph interceding before Pharaoh on behalf of
his family. Joseph explains their desire to dwell in the kingdom.
“He
chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh“.
When Pharaoh asks their occupation, they answer as Joseph instructed
them, then humbly ask, “Please
let your servants settle in Goshen“.
Pharaoh answers Joseph, “Let
your father and brothers settle in the best part of the land“.
Next, Joseph brought his father, Jacob before Pharaoh. After being
asked just one question, we read , “Then
Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went from his presence“.
Here is another profound picture we must fully comprehend; as
believers we only have access to God because of our relationship with
Jesus Christ. Once we accept Jesus as our savior, He intercedes on
our behalf before The Father. We are not accepted or rejected based
on our accomplishments, we are given the best part of the kingdom of
God because of the righteousness of Christ. We will need to answer
only one question; as Jesus asked Peter, “Who
do you say that I am?“.
Interestingly, Pharaoh even tells Joseph, “any
of them with special ability, put them in charge of my flocks“.
Incredibly, God desires to use you and I to accomplish His will!
After
Joseph has his family safely taken care of, we read “both
Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. Joseph collected
all of the money that was to be found in the land“.
When all the money was gone, he said, “I
will sell you food in exchange for livestock“.
And when all the livestock was gone, the people said, “We
have nothing left except our bodies…buy us and our land in exchange
for food“.
So Joseph bought all of the land in Egypt for Pharaoh, “The
Egyptians one and all sold their fields… Joseph reduced the people
to servitude“.
Finally, when Joseph had all that they owned, he gave them seed for
the ground and declared, “But
when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other
four-fifths you may keep“.
And notice the reaction of the people, “You
have saved our lives. May we find favor in the eyes of the lord“.
They did not give this one-fifth grudgingly, they were overjoyed
that they were able to keep the other four-fifths because they
understood they only had it because it was given to them in the first
place. Another powerful lesson to us about our giving to God. All
that we have comes from God. In 2 Corinthians chapter 9, the apostle
Paul instructing the believers about giving, says, “Let
each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly, or
under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver“.
Giving to God is an act of worship, it also indicates where your
heart is. God does not look at the amount you give, He looks at your
attitude when you give. We ought to give with thankfulness.
The
chapter ends with Jacob calling Joseph to his bedside and has Joseph
swear that he will bury him with his fathers. “Do
not bury me in Egypt, but when I rest with my fathers, take me out of
Egypt and bury me where they are buried“.
Jacob is emphatic because he knows Egypt is not his home, it is just
a temporary home and he does not want Joseph to forget that point.
We too must remember our home is in heaven. We live here on earth
for a while, but we are citizens of heaven. 1 Timothy 6:12
encourages us to “take
hold of the eternal life to which you were called”
in order to keep life’s trials in perspective. Even to the end,
“Israel
worshiped God as he leaned on the top of his staff“.
Jesus is the staff of life. Just as all of Egypt came to one man as
the only source of life, in John 14:6, Jesus declares, “I
am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through Me“.
Amen!