Sermon

God’s Hand in the Land of Famine (Genesis 47:1-31)

Introduction

We’re almost through the book of Genesis. Only three more chapters left. This morning is Genesis 47:1-31; this text has glory in it. Because we're going to see God’s hand in the midst of sufferings, in this chapter, is the famine in the whole land. Now, let’s see how God is working through this passage.

I. God Provides Through Joseph (Genesis 47:1-11)

Again, Joseph acts in many wise ways in this chapter, and he does so both privately and publicly. So, we see that all his God-given wisdom and power are shown in this chapter. And I think this will be a blessing to us as we think about our own God-given vocation and work, whether that is in the home, raising the next generation of Christian disciples, God willing, or whether that is outside the home working to provide for the family.

Firstly, in verses 1-6, there is a continuation of the theme of the previous chapters of Joseph's engagement with his family. And basically, we see that the one put into the pit by his brothers is now the one who rescues his brothers and whole family from the pit. And that's what we see from the beginning of verse 1: Joseph brings them to Pharaoh, the most powerful man in the known world. And those brothers make a bold request to Pharaoh in verse 4. They said, "Let your servants settle in the land of Goshen." Goshen was located on the east of the Nile River; it had apparently remained fertile even during the famine and would provide for the family’s flocks and herds. So, Goshen is the richest land in the eastern Delta of Egypt. On other words, the brothers were asking to be settled in the best place of the best place. And this is really unique in salvation history. The land of Egypt, before it became a living nightmare, as it will soon be, was first a place of refuge for God's people.

And we see that Pharaoh responds kindly and graciously to this bold request. In fact, he goes so far as to say in verse 6, "If any of you or your brothers want to keep my livestock," a very important job, "you can do so." I think the reason Pharaoh said this is because he has watched Joseph be such a godly and trustworthy man. And there's a lesson for us. When a Christian has a clear, faithful walk in public, others will see that, and that will have all sorts of ripple effects, even for our family. That's what's happening in this audience with Pharaoh.

Anyway, it was a generous favour from Pharaoh, who was the most powerful ruler in the world at that time.  But it still sounds impossible to us. Yet where God is at work, nothing is beyond the realm of possibility.  Just as Joseph’s family was honoured as a result of Joseph’s faithfulness, so you and I are made recipients of God’s blessing through the work of Jesus Christ.  It is what the Bible calls “GRACE.”  We do not deserve or merit God’s favour any more than Joseph’s brothers earned Pharaoh’s favour. 

Then in verse 7, it says: Joseph then brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. This is incredible. What we see here is a humble Hebrew shepherd standing, not kneeling, in the presence of this mighty king. And astonishingly, we see “Jacob blessed Pharaoh.” And this reminds us of Abram’s encounter with Melchizedek in Genesis 14:17-20.  There, you may recall, Abram was blessed by Melchizedek, who is only later identified to us as a type of Christ in Hebrews 7:3.  As Hebrews 7:7 points out, it is always “the greater” who bestows blessing on “the lesser”.  So this tells us that as the representative of God, Jacob was assuming the role of superior over the earthly king.  And, as far as the record goes, Pharaoh amazingly admitted.

We see good things follow for Joseph's family, his brothers. They are settled in Egypt, and not only that, they have the best. They have the best of the land. This seems to be the favour from Pharaoh, but ultimately, what they received was the favour from God. It's such a tremendous gift that God has given to this family. In a time of famine, as we're going to see, this family has abundant food.

So, the first half was about the provision that Joseph’s family received. They received land; they received food; they received everything that they needed. They received favour from the king. The whole family had come to Egypt so that Joseph could save their lives, and he did. Now not only are they going to live, but they’re going to thrive in the land of Goshen, at least for a couple of generations.

II. God Preserves in the Famine (Genesis 47:12-27) 

So, in verse 13, we’re going to get into the second half of this chapter. With his family settled in their new dwelling place, Joseph turned his attention to the pressing needs of the Egyptian people. Joseph has so much on his back, and through Joseph’s response to the famine, we see Joseph stewarding the country’s resources very well. There is truly no food in Egypt. And this is the fulfilment of the dream that God gave to Joseph years ago.

So basically, the people of Egypt are willing to do just about anything in order to live because they’re in a life-and-death situation. In response, Joseph instituted a three-stage plan in verses 13 through 26.

Phase one of Joseph’s plan involved the sale of grain that had been saved up over the years. When the people’s money ran out, they instinctively cried out to be fed.

In response, phase two of his plan was put into place. The people “brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for all their livestock that year.” 

As the famine persisted, conditions grew worse the following year. That brought about phase three. Growing more and more desperate for food to survive, the people willingly offered up not only their land, but their own lives as “servants to Pharaoh.” 

We see: People will do whatever is necessary to survive.  Within the span of a couple of years, the citizens of Egypt had surrendered their money, their possessions, their land, and themselves. In other words, in order to survive, the Egyptians made themselves slaves. How ironic is this! Remember, years ago, the brothers sold Joseph into slavery; now Joseph sells Egypt into slavery. What a reversal of situation this is. When Joseph was a slave, he had no power, he had no influence, he couldn't do anything, but now he has just bought the nation for his ruler. That's how powerful Joseph is.

Nonetheless, Joseph’s plan was not a cruel one, but rather one in which the people could remain largely independent and self-sufficient. While they must give one-fifth of their produce to Pharaoh, they readily acknowledged in verse 25 that Joseph had “saved (their) lives.”  This entire episode presents Joseph as a fair and just leader who didn’t exploit a tragic situation for his own benefit.  Instead, we see Joseph is a godly leader, a godly man, who acts in restraint. He does not abuse his God-given power. He helps his family first; he loves his family. He didn’t take revenge; he just released it to the wind, and he's forgiven them, and he's acting for their good. And now he's again, used by God as effectively a politician to save an entire nation. Because of Joseph’s insight and administrative skills, he saved not only his family but also many other people.

And we see that Joseph executes this stewardship with the highest personal integrity. Look at the end of verse 14 with me: "And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house." Also notice that, in verse 20. It says, “all the land became Pharaoh’s.” Not Joseph’s. Joseph is not benefiting from this at all; He is not taking any money; He is not taking any livestock; He is not taking any land. None of this becomes his own. This shows that, at the very least, what’s happening here is that Joseph’s intentions are pure. He has no desire to take anything for himself; He has no desire to enrich himself. There’s no corruption going on. He’s being honourable in his actions and doing the right thing.

Just as with Potiphar's wife, a few chapters back, so with Pharaoh's money. Joseph is a man of integrity. Joseph is the same man in private that he is in public; Joseph is the same man when there is one person with him in a house, and he can do whatever he wants, and no one will know; And Joseph is the same man in front of starving Egyptians, hundreds of them, and then collecting the money. And that is the great need of the day, then and now, men and women of integrity, Christians of integrity, Christians who are the same person in front of their smartphone, in front of a computer with no one around them, that they are when they're surrounded by their friends or co-workers or neighbours. We desperately need men and women of integrity. Integrity means that your character holds fast all the way through. As a fallen human being, it’s very hard to do, but by the grace of God, that's what you and I can be.

While the Egyptian people were starving, God’s people were prospering in “the land of Goshen.”  God both protects and provides for His people as they sojourn in a foreign land. That’s how God Preserves in the Famine.

Friends, the God we believe has promised to care for His own. That’s why you and I can live daily with full confidence in His sovereign and unshakable plan.  Even, or especially, when things look bleak. 

III. God Sustains His People with Promise (Genesis 47:28-31)

Previously, when Pharaoh asked Jacob about his age in verse 9, Jacob said to Pharaoh, “My pilgrimage has lasted 130 years. My years have been few and hard… he’s referring to his father and grandfather, Abraham and Isaac. Abraham lived 175 years, Isaac lived 180 years, and Jacob lived only 130 years. Jacob said that his years are fewer, much fewer than the other Patriarchs. And that is significant because Jacob is basically saying, "My life has been challenging."

This is Jacob. This is the man who was going to be called Israel; This is the man who represents God's people. The twelve tribes of Israel come directly from this man. Now, if you're talking about a heroic figure like Jacob, normally you would think he's in Genesis 35, the steward of God's blessing, 35:11. The people of God are going to be fruitful and multiply through Jacob's own family, his own seed. What a heritage, what a blessing. We would think he would say, "My years have been rich and full." But here, he says, "My days, my years have been few and distressing." This tells us that there is a real trial in following God.

Sometimes we feel terrible when we're suffering, facing trials and challenges, and we confess that out loud. Jacob confesses that out loud. And he has caused some of this suffering for himself, hasn't he? He stole the birthright from his brother Esau; He lost his beloved son; He thought his beloved son was dead. That has been Jacob's life.

And that reframes things for us. You can be a follower of God truly, you can know Jesus Christ, and yet your years may still be challenging. Things may go tougher than you anticipated. Marriage may prove more challenging than you thought; Raising children to know the Lord may be more difficult than you expected; The work plan that you crafted may not play out the way you anticipated.

There are all sorts of trials and challenges that we, as normal human beings in this room, are going to experience. And we do need to recognise that when we sometimes feel hard-pressed and confused, and challenged. Jacob felt this. Jacob was weary. Have you ever felt weary? Does anyone in here feel weary excessively? Jacob feels that, but we see God brought him through all these. God will bring us through. If you are going through hard times as a believer, God will bring you through. He will sustain you with His promise.

Although there still remained many questions and hurdles to overcome, by this time, Jacob was becoming more and more aware of his destiny. In the previous chapter, God had told him shortly after departing Canaan, “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation” (Genesis 46:3).  This helps us to recall the promise first made with Abram two generations earlier back in Genesis 12:2. So we see Jacob now fully trusting God and following His instructions.

Then, verse 28 tells us that “Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years.”  Before their separation, Jacob had raised Joseph for the young man’s first seventeen years. Now he had his son, Joseph, back for the last seventeen years of his own life. Are you aware that Jacob’s life spans half the Book of Genesis?  Please notice that in the last three verses of this chapter, Jacob is referred to exclusively as “Israel.”  By now, Jacob had fully recognised the role that he had been called to play in the sovereign plan of God.

Later, at some point, Jacob called Joseph to his side and asked him to pledge his loyalty by honouring his final request, in verses 29-30: “Do not bury me in Egypt,” Jacob said, “but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place.” In fact, Jacob’s request was not for himself alone, but for his people, God’s people. Jacob’s request was an act of faith in the resurrection. Jacob didn’t want to be stuck in Egypt when the resurrection happened. In Jacob’s mind, also in the patriarch’s mind, that land would be the restoration of God’s creation in Eden, and the restoration of God’s command and His purposes. But Egypt was symbolic of death. So, Jacob knew his act of faith was to come out of the grave; come out of that land that symbolised death, so that when the resurrection would happen, he could be in the land that would be the New Eden.

Many of us go through life knowing where we want to go, but not knowing how to get there. We may think that we are making good time in our journey, only to find out in the end that we have been headed in the wrong direction. Twice in the Book of Proverbs we read, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25).  But the Bible clearly tells us that it is only through Jesus Christ that “the way, and the truth, and the life” are revealed. So, the only road leading to eternal life goes through Jesus.

As we have seen in the life of Jacob and Joseph, God sustains His People according to His promise. God’s sovereignty rules over the affairs of His creation and in the lives of His people. Even at times when we are not aware of His presence and cannot directly trace His hand, God is still actively engaged in carrying out His plan.

Finally, the whole chapter concludes with some last little detail of the passage: verse 31b, "then Israel bowed in thanks at the head of his bed." Here, what Jacob’s doing was worshipping God. He's closing his time with prayer. This is a kind of prayerful worship of the living Go; This is where we have to worship, don't we? There's such powerful goodness loosed in this world by God; There's such true joy that God has unleashed in this world, and there's only one appropriate response from us. It's not just thank you; It's not just respect; It's not even just honour alone. It is worship!

That's what Jacob does with God. And that is waiting to be unlocked in every human heart, the worship of the living God. It's the deepest possible reverence and thankfulness. It's coming to the end of your days, the last minutes on earth of your life and realising your God has been abundantly good to you. And you're ready to go and meet Him. That is how Jacob's chapter closes. And that is how our life chapter can close too, whether that end is very soon or far off in the distance.

Conclusion

This chapter, Genesis 47, represents the fulfilment of Genesis 39:2, "The Lord was with Joseph, and he prospered." It's the extension of that reality: wherever Joseph goes, he prospers, not because he is such a great guy who easily makes friends and influences people, but because of God. God has His hand on Joseph. And God, through His Spirit, has His hand on every Christian in here. And if you've never had anyone bless you, or love you, or be kind to you, or forgive you, God will give you His Spirit through faith and repentance, and you will be His. And again, His hand will be upon you.

That's what we're learning here; That is how kind our God is. The man who was sold into slavery becomes lord over an entire nation; The man abandoned by his brothers rescues his brothers; The man who has all power and agency taken from him and sold as a slave becomes nearly the most powerful man in the world. The man forcibly removed from his homeland becomes the man whose homeland people come to him, and he saves them. He makes sure the people of God live. Incredible reversal. So, what do we see? We see the good hand of God.

Sometimes, God uses terrible circumstances for the good of His people. You may be in some terrible circumstances; You may be in something similar to the famine in Egypt, and you think, "I can't be here, there's no good that will come of being here. I've got to get out." It's not wrong to want to get out. But God may use you even in Egypt. Take heart.

Throughout the book of Genesis, we see God prospering and empowering His people in difficult times. He specifically gives Joseph exactly what he needs in a difficult place. Likewise, God's teaching you and me something. He will help us in our own Egypt.

And we see, finally, that God keeps His promises. And we all need to know this as we conclude. Today, there is a greater Joseph at hand, and there is a greater famine, and this famine is not physical; this is a famine that every sinner is in from birth. It is the famine of grace, mercy, truth, love, and hope. We may have a little of those things outside of saving faith, but if you are not in Christ, you are in famine, and there is no way out of it.

But here's the good news. In Jesus Christ, the famine is over, the famine is cancelled, the famine has ended. There is infinite grace, truth, mercy, hope, and love in just one man, Jesus Christ, the greater Joseph.