Hello my “Walking with Jesus” friends and welcome to the weekend!
I wonder if sometimes you feel nearly overwhelmed as you consider the very complex issues facing world leaders in our time? Climate change, COVID, millions of refugees, war in many places, terrorism, famine and poverty, crime and leadership corruption. Oh my such great challenges, but then again, that’s not new is it?
We’ve been following the story of Joseph and yesterday we were amazed at how God led him to form a nation wide strategy for Egypt to survive 7 years of terrible, region wide famine. Joseph had no formal training or experience in such things, and he was totally unknown among the leadership officials in Pharaoh’s Egypt, yet suddenly, in a matter of hours, Joseph went from being a Hebrew prisoner in the dungeon to being Prime Minister of Egypt, second in command to Pharaoh himself! Only God can orchestrate such miracles, do you agree? Have you ever experienced a great miracle of God in your life? How did it affect you?
The seven years of bounty were unprecedented, and thanks to Joseph’s excellent plan for both ingathering a large percentage of the entire nationwide crop, and then building huge storage facilities in strategic locations all across Egypt, by the end of those seven bountiful years the record says: “Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure.” (Gen. 41:49) Egyptian officials who worked alongside the Pharaoh must have been totally amazed at what was happening throughout Egypt during those 7 years of bounty. Can you imagine the discussions in the throne rooms of the surrounding nations when reports came to those kings of what was happening in Egypt?
Did you notice Pharaoh gave Joseph an Egyptian name: Zaphenath-Paneah and gave Joseph an Egyptian wife? Therefore, as news of the abundance in Egypt reached the ears of people living in other regions, even Canaan where Joseph’s family lived, they would have heard of Zaphenath-Paneah, but had no reason to connect that name with Joseph. The Genesis record tells us that during those years of great abundance, Joseph and his wife had two sons and Joseph chose specific Hebrew names for them. “Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said ‘it is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.’ The second son Joseph named Ephraim saying, “it is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.” (Gen. 41:50-52) I wonder if you look back over your life, can you recognize when God brought you through particularly difficult seasons of your life and helped you heal from your pain and actually come to a place of celebrating your blessings?
This great famine which was ravaging Egypt was not localized, it covered a vast region, so the record says: “All the countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all that part of the world.” In recent years we’ve seen huge migrations of people fleeing poverty, starvation and war so it should not be difficult for us to put ourselves into any of the cities where Joseph had constructed storage facilities, and watch the endless lines of people coming from far away places, desperate for food.
At first I’m sure the Egyptians in those cities were initially willing to sell some of their abundance, but I wonder how long it took for attitudes to change and resentment to build up as they watched these foreigners taking large sacks full of grain out of their storehouses? May I ask my friends, as you watch thousands of desperate people fleeing South America and crossing the border into North America, or those so desperate they take rickety little boats from North Africa across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy and Europe or those from Afghanistan and Syria fleeing war coming into Europe and America….what do you feel?
Genesis 42 begins with this: “When Jacob learned there was food in Egypt, he said to his sons, ‘why do you just keep looking at each other? I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us so that we may live and not die.’ Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt…” Let’s walk along with them and their mules as they enter the Egyptians storehouse city. These are shepherds who spend most of their time out in the wide open spaces with their flocks. Listen to them… “Look my brothers at the huge walls around this city, and those strong gates. Surely no one gets in or out without the permission of those guards up on those walls. Oh my, what would it be like to live in such a busy place with so many people? And look at all the travelers coming to buy food. How could they possibly have enough grain to feed all the people of this city plus have some for us? I wonder how they will treat us as foreigners? Let’s stay close together brothers to be safe.”
Evidently on this particular day, Prime Minister Zaphenath-Paneah (Joseph) was visiting this city to watch over the careful distribution of Egypt’s precious grain. The record says: “When Joseph’s brothers arrived , they bowed down with their faces to the ground, before Zaphenath-Paneah. As soon as Joseph saw his brothers he recognized them, but he was a stranger to them and spoke harshly to them. ‘Where do you come from?’ he asked them. ‘From the land of Canaan’ they replied. Then Joseph remembered his dreams and said to them, ‘You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.’ ‘No my lord,’ they answered, ‘Your servants have come to buy food. We are all sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies!” (Gen. 42:6-11)
Look around my friends, such a busy, noisy place as so many people with their animals and empty sacks have come to buy grain, desperate that they will starve without the Pharaoh’s help. The lines stretch far back, the sun is hot, grain dust fills the air, many Egyptian workers are carefully measuring out grain into sacks and taking money. Watchful overseers walk back and forth asking questions, shouting instructions. This grain is valuable and these foreigners are depleting the supply. Tensions are rising.
And here 10 men stand before the man who is obviously in authority over all this, as his bodyguards stand near him. Can you feel the tension as the Egyptian Prime Minister questions these 10 foreigners, most certainly through a translator, for these 10 brothers do not understand the Egyptian language? But look more closely… into the Prime Minister’s eyes as these 10 brothers have just claimed “We are all sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies!” What do you see in Joseph’s eyes, what is he thinking and feeling? What fear do the brothers feel as they are being questioned and accused of being spies?
Let’s pause right here today. What would you have done if you were Joseph as the internal struggle of anger, resentment, bitterness, rejection, abandonment all rise up inside of him? He has all authority to do anything he desires with these 10 men who more than 20 years before had sold him as a slave! Oh how he had longed for this opportunity so many times over the years. I’m sure he’d replayed over and over in his mind what he would say and do if he ever saw his brothers again. Have you ever had the chance to get even, to retaliate?
These moments show us the truth of what’s deep inside our hearts. So what do you see when you look into your heart as you put yourself in Joseph’s shoes in this moment? Reflect on that my friends, and let’s talk to God about what we see in our own hearts!
Today’s Scripture is Genesis 41:50-42:11.
Choose below to read or listen.
Genesis 41:50-57
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Genesis 42:1-11
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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