Genesis 47:1-31: "1 Then Joseph went and told Pharaoh, and said, 'My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and indeed they are in the land of Goshen.' 2 And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. 3 Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, 'What is your occupation?' And they said to Pharaoh, 'Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.' 4 And they said to Pharaoh, 'We have come to dwell in the land, because your servants have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.' 5 Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, 'Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.' 7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, 'How old are you?' 9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, 'The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.' 10 So Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh. 11 And Joseph situated 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 commanded. 12 Then Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father's household with bread, according to the number in their families. 13 Now there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. 14 And Joseph gathered up 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. 15 So when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, 'Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For the money has failed.' 16 Then Joseph said, 'Give your livestock, and I will give you bread for your livestock, if the money is gone.' 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys. Thus he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year. 18 When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, 'We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our herds of livestock. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands. 19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh; give us seed, that we may live and not die, that the land may not be desolate.' 20 Then Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh's. 21 And as for the people, he moved them into the cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end. 22 Only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had rations allotted to them by Pharaoh, and they ate their rations which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their lands. 23 Then Joseph said to the people, 'Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. 24 And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. Four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.' 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 servants.' 26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, except for the land of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh's. 27 So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly. 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob's life was one hundred and forty-seven years. 29 When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, 'Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.' And he said, 'I will do as you have said.' 31 Then he said, 'Swear to me.' And he swore to him. So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed."
This evening's reading relays the narrative of Jacob and his sons settling in the land of Egypt, and the increase of the famine that caused them to be there. Joseph makes Pharaoh a very wealthy man. It was because of the dream of Pharaoh that Joseph knew about the coming famine, and was able to prepare for it. However, the famine lasted such a long time that not only did the bread run out in Canaan, but it also ran out in Egypt. When in did, the people of Egypt did not have anything to eat, therefore they were forced to give all their money to buy food, so that the Pharoah had everyone's money. Having given all their money to Pharoah for bread, they had nothing with which to buy food to eat, so Joseph agrees to exchange bread for their livestock, so Pharaoh had everyone's livestock. Then, having given up all the livestock they could spare, they didn't have any thing to buy bread, so Joseph agrees to buy their land in exchange for bread, so that Pharoah, now owned all the land. So Joseph made Pharaoh a very rich man, because he had all the money, all the livestock and all the land of Egypt.
Joseph was then able to even supply workers to work the fields of Pharaoh, that is, the people who sold their land. They would be allowed to work the land, and would be allowed to keep 4/5 of was grown from the seed that Joseph gave them. They only had to give Pharaoh 1/5 of what was grown on his land by their hands.
This is more than just an informative narrative about Joseph's dealings with the Egyptians during the famine. This whole pericope, including Jacob and his whole family settling in the land of Goshen, and the indebted servitude of the people of Egypt, sets up the Exodus. For eventually it would be the Jews, who would grow into a large nation, that would end up in slavery and working in Pharaoh's fields, and building his cities. The sad thing about all of this, is that Joseph, a Jew, sets up Pharaoh to be a very wealthy man, and by all of his dealings with the people, does great things for Pharaoh. But, a Pharaoh arises who does not remember all that Joseph did for Egypt, and Joseph's kindness is repaid with harsh labor and enslavement.
Today, through this reading, we stand poised at the cusp of our Lord God's deliverance. He reveals to us how He sets things up for us, so that He may deliver us, just like He delivers the Israelites from slavery and bondage. He delivers us from the slavery and bondage of sin and death. Our Lord is not slow in fulfilling His promises, as some would count slowness, but instead is patient, waiting for all things to be fulfilled in their proper time, so that we might have a more abundant harvest.
God be with you!
Deacon Dulas
Joseph was then able to even supply workers to work the fields of Pharaoh, that is, the people who sold their land. They would be allowed to work the land, and would be allowed to keep 4/5 of was grown from the seed that Joseph gave them. They only had to give Pharaoh 1/5 of what was grown on his land by their hands.
This is more than just an informative narrative about Joseph's dealings with the Egyptians during the famine. This whole pericope, including Jacob and his whole family settling in the land of Goshen, and the indebted servitude of the people of Egypt, sets up the Exodus. For eventually it would be the Jews, who would grow into a large nation, that would end up in slavery and working in Pharaoh's fields, and building his cities. The sad thing about all of this, is that Joseph, a Jew, sets up Pharaoh to be a very wealthy man, and by all of his dealings with the people, does great things for Pharaoh. But, a Pharaoh arises who does not remember all that Joseph did for Egypt, and Joseph's kindness is repaid with harsh labor and enslavement.
Today, through this reading, we stand poised at the cusp of our Lord God's deliverance. He reveals to us how He sets things up for us, so that He may deliver us, just like He delivers the Israelites from slavery and bondage. He delivers us from the slavery and bondage of sin and death. Our Lord is not slow in fulfilling His promises, as some would count slowness, but instead is patient, waiting for all things to be fulfilled in their proper time, so that we might have a more abundant harvest.
God be with you!
Deacon Dulas
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