Reflections on Genesis 47

 

Genesis 47 (Contemporary English Version)
1. Joseph took five of his brothers to the king and told him, "My father and my brothers have come from Canaan. They have brought their sheep, goats, cattle, and everything else they own to the region of Goshen." Then he introduced his brothers to the king,
   
2. (SEE 47:1)
   
3. who asked them, "What do you do for a living?" "Sir, we are shepherds," was their answer. "Our families have always raised sheep.
   
4. But in our country all the pastures are dried up, and our sheep have no grass to eat. So we, your servants, have come here. Please let us live in the region of Goshen."
   
5. The king said to Joseph, "It's good that your father and brothers have arrived.
   
6. I will let them live anywhere they choose in the land of Egypt, but I suggest that they settle in Goshen, the best part of our land. I would also like for your finest shepherds to watch after my own sheep and goats."
   
7. Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and introduced him to the king. Jacob gave the king his blessing,
   
8. and the king asked him, "How old are you?"
   
9. Jacob answered, "I have lived only a hundred thirty years, and I have had to move from place to place. My parents and my grandparents also had to move from place to place. But they lived much longer, and their life was not as hard as mine."
   
10. Then Jacob gave the king his blessing once again and left.
    
11. Joseph obeyed the king's orders and gave his father and brothers some of the best land in Egypt near the city of Rameses.
    
12. Joseph also provided food for their families.
    
13. The famine was bad everywhere in Egypt and Canaan, and the people were suffering terribly.
    
14. So Joseph sold them the grain that had been stored up, and he put the money in the king's treasury.
    
15. But when everyone had run out of money, the Egyptians came to Joseph and demanded, "Give us more grain! If you don't, we'll soon be dead, because our money's all gone."
    
16. "If you don't have any money," Joseph answered, "give me your animals, and I'll let you have some grain."
    
17. From then on, they brought him their horses and donkeys and their sheep and goats in exchange for grain. Within a year Joseph had collected every animal in Egypt.
    
18. Then the people came to him and said: Sir, there's no way we can hide the truth from you. We are broke, and we don't have any more animals. We have nothing left except ourselves and our land.
    
19. Don't let us starve and our land be ruined. If you'll give us grain to eat and seed to plant, we'll sell ourselves and our land to the king. We'll become his slaves.
    
20. The famine became so severe that Joseph finally bought every piece of land in Egypt for the king
    
21. and made everyone the king's slaves,
    
22. except the priests. The king gave the priests a regular food allowance, so they did not have to sell their land.
    
23. Then Joseph said to the people, "You and your land now belong to the king. I'm giving you seed to plant,
    
24. but one-fifth of your crops must go to the king. You can keep the rest as seed or as food for your families."
    
25. "Sir, you have saved our lives!" they answered. "We are glad to be slaves of the king."
    
26. Then Joseph made a law that one-fifth of the harvest would always belong to the king. Only the priests did not lose their land.
    
27. The people of Israel made their home in the land of Goshen, where they became prosperous and had large families.
    
28. Jacob himself lived there for seventeen years, before dying at the age of one hundred forty-seven.
    
29. When Jacob knew he did not have long to live, he called in Joseph and said, "If you really love me, you must make a solemn promise not to bury me in Egypt.
    
30. Instead, bury me in the place where my ancestors are buried." "I will do what you have asked," Joseph answered.
    
31. "Will you give me your word?" Jacob asked. "Yes, I will," Joseph promised. After this, Jacob bowed down and prayed at the head of his bed.
    
    

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    Jacob and his family became settled in Egypt and prospered. Soon after their arrival in the country they went to meet with Pharaoh. Jacob blessed Pharoah and Pharoah gave them land and the offer of having charge of his livestock. In God's covenant with Abraham He said that "I will bless those who bless you" (12:3 ) which extended also to his descendants. This was applied to Pharoah. He was kind and blessed Jacob and his family, and God blessed Pharoah. By the end of the famine, Pharoah owned everything in his country. The people used all their money to buy food, and when it ran out, they sold their livestock. When the livestock was gone they sold their land and even themselves into slavery. Once all of the land belonged to Pharoah and it was able to produce crops again, one-fifth of the harvests was to go to Pharoah. Joseph was the architect of these proceedings, proving to be a huge asset to Pharoah and serving as God's instrument of blessing to him.
    
    These accounts of God's dealings with the Israelites give us a picture of God's dealings with all people who covenant with Him to direct their lives. God has a purpose in the lives of all people and desires to bless all who covenant with Him in the fulfillment of that purpose. As with Jacob, our covenants with God may take us over rough road with difficulties involved, but the difficulties we have while in God's hands always have the assurance of His guiding hand to take us through the difficulties and to a good outcome. We do not avoid difficulties by refusing to covenant with God, and we do not have His guiding hand to take us through them to a good outcome.