Joseph and the Famine

Story:  Joseph and the Famine

Passage: Genesis 47:13-31

Characters: Joseph, Jacob, their family 

Summary:  The famine got very severe even in Egypt.  People spent all their money, so Joseph asked for their livestock.  When they ran out of livestock, they sold their land and themselves to Joseph in exchange for food.  Joseph then established an annual national tax of 20% of the people’s crops.  This tax stayed in effect even after the famine.  Jacob settled in Goshen and his family prospered.  Jacob neared his death and he made Joseph promise to bury him in the promised land.  Joseph promised that he would not let his father be buried in Egypt. 

Notes:  This is an interesting story.  It basically shows the way the local government thrived during a crisis.  We have seen it in movies and in real life.  Central government generally gains power and wealth during a major crisis, and this story is no different.  While the country suffered at the hands of this incredible famine, Pharaoh gained all of the money, livestock, and land in Egypt.  Eventually, people could not afford food at all so Joseph made the price a proportion of their harvest.  If the people gave Pharaoh one fifth of their crops, they could have food.  This tax remained in effect after the famine had ended.  Apparently Pharaoh liked the idea of a tax!  The passage says that Jacob’s family grew and multiplied.  If you do the math, this one family was over two million people in 400 years.  This qualifies as growing and multiplying quickly in my mind!  Jacob knew he was dying and he also understood that Egypt was not his home.  I think he had a grasp on the fact that the world is not his home period, but at the same time, he knew he had been promised the land of Canaan.  His last request shows his faith in God.  Even though they were in a very comfortable place in Egypt, Jacob believed that God would indeed lead them back to the promised land and he was willing to avoid burial until it happened. 

Questions:  Did Jacob’s family get free food?  I’m assuming Pharaoh was doing alright during this famine.  Is that true?  Did the people willingly accept Joseph’s terms? 

Lessons:  This world is not our home.  We need to remind ourselves of that and trust that God will lead us to our real home eventually.  We should not get to rooted to this Earth.