The Sufficient Blessings of God

God’s Economy

Genesis 47:13–31 NIV

There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace. When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is all gone.” “Then bring your livestock,” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.” So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys. And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock. When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. Why should we perish before your eyes—we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.” So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other. However, he did not buy the land of the priests, because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land. Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground. But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.” “You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.” So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s. Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number. Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven. When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.” “I will do as you say,” he said. “Swear to me,” he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

The famine has continued to linger in Egypt. 7 years of unyielding fields is a long time. The famine has lasted through all the personal stores of Egypt. During the time of plenty, Joseph placed a levy on the people Genesis 41:34

Genesis 41:34 (NIV)

Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.

From this levy, the grain needed to supply for the needs of the people during the famine were accumulated and stored. And now as the famine has arrived, the storehouses of Egypt have more than they can contain, but need quickly begins and the storehouses are opened to fulfill their purpose. So people from all over Egypt and the surrounding lands have been purchasing what has been needed from their grain shortfall from the Egyptian storehouses, but the famine has lingered and now in the middle of the 7 years, the people have exhausted all of their money that came from the years of abundance so they call out to Joseph to provide a way for them to supply for their shortfall or surely they will perish. Joseph tells them to sell their livestock to Pharoah in exchange for grain and this arrangement meets their needs for another year. But as the famine rages on, the people once again have nothing to exchange to meet their needs so Joseph tells them to levy their land and their effort in exchange for what they need.

Joseph sets up an economic system of dependence in Egypt. The people moving forward would work the ground and give 1/5th of their harvest to Egypt. Egypt would in return meet their needs today and in future times of shortfall through the 1/5th gathered during the times of plenty. This may seem revolutionary,

Ephesians 4:28 (NIV)

Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.