Genesis 47

Provision in the middle of famine

“So Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with bread, according to the number in their families.” ~ Genesis 47:12

Genesis 47 is a powerful picture of God’s provision. The famine was severe, and people all across the land were struggling to survive. Yet in the middle of the famine, Joseph’s family had what they needed because God had positioned Joseph in advance to provide for them. What looked like years of pain and setbacks in Joseph’s life turned out to be the very preparation God used to save his family and many others.

There were many times in my life when I faced financial strain. Bills felt heavy, and the resources we had didn’t seem like enough. I prayed and asked God for wisdom, and He began to show me ways He had already positioned provision in my life.  Then gradually as I began lining my life up with His ways, design and plan, His abundance showed up in opportunities, creative solutions, and people God placed around me. Just like Joseph’s family, I realized that even in times that felt like famine, God was already ahead of me and making a way.

Maybe you are facing a situation today where it feels like your resources are running out. It could be financial, emotional, or even physical strength. Joseph’s life reminds us that God is not limited by famine or anything in this world. He can provide bread in barren seasons, hope in discouraging times, and peace in the middle of uncertainty.

Here are some ways to get started today:

• Begin each day by thanking God for the ways He has already provided for you, no matter how small. Your personal relationship with Him is the key to stepping into all He has for your life.
• Ask God for wisdom in how to steward the resources you have right now.  This may require giving some things up for right now. (i.e. going out to eat, going on trips or entertainment streaming and etc.)
• Be willing to receive help from others that God may send into your life as part of His provision.
• Look for opportunities to share what you do have with someone else in need, even during lean times. Planting seeds of love and compassion will always produce good fruit for the future.
• Keep trusting that God sees your need before you even ask and is already working on your behalf. Press in close to Him and ask Him to make His presence evident each day.

Today I want to encourage you to trust God as your ultimate provider. Just as Joseph’s family was sustained in a season of famine, you can be confident that God has already gone before you to prepare what you need. Your situation may feel uncertain, but His provision is certain. Keep trusting Him, keep looking for His hand at work, and you will find that He has been faithful every step of the way.

Today’s scripture reading: Genesis 47

1 Then Joseph went to see Pharaoh and told him, “My father and my brothers have arrived from the land of Canaan. They have come with all their flocks and herds and possessions, and they are now in the region of Goshen.”

2 Joseph took five of his brothers with him and presented them to Pharaoh. 

3 And Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?”

They replied, “We, your servants, are shepherds, just like our ancestors. 

4 We have come to live here in Egypt for a while, for there is no pasture for our flocks in Canaan. The famine is very severe there. So please, we request permission to live in the region of Goshen.”

5 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have joined you here, 

6 choose any place in the entire land of Egypt for them to live. Give them the best land of Egypt. Let them live in the region of Goshen. And if any of them have special skills, put them in charge of my livestock, too.”

7 Then Joseph brought in his father, Jacob, and presented him to Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

8 “How old are you?” Pharaoh asked him.

9 Jacob replied, “I have traveled this earth for 130 hard years. But my life has been short compared to the lives of my ancestors.” 

10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again before leaving his court.

11 So Joseph assigned the best land of Egypt—the region of Rameses—to his father and his brothers, and he settled them there, just as Pharaoh had commanded. 

12 And Joseph provided food for his father and his brothers in amounts appropriate to the number of their dependents, including the smallest children.

13 Meanwhile, the famine became so severe that all the food was used up, and people were starving throughout the lands of Egypt and Canaan. 

14 By selling grain to the people, Joseph eventually collected all the money in Egypt and Canaan, and he put the money in Pharaoh’s treasury. 

15 When the people of Egypt and Canaan ran out of money, all the Egyptians came to Joseph. “Our money is gone!” they cried. “But please give us food, or we will die before your very eyes!”

16 Joseph replied, “Since your money is gone, bring me your livestock. I will give you food in exchange for your livestock.” 

17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph in exchange for food. In exchange for their horses, flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and donkeys, Joseph provided them with food for another year.

18 But that year ended, and the next year they came again and said, “We cannot hide the truth from you, my lord. Our money is gone, and all our livestock and cattle are yours. We have nothing left to give but our bodies and our land. 

19 Why should we die before your very eyes? Buy us and our land in exchange for food; we offer our land and ourselves as slaves for Pharaoh. Just give us grain so we may live and not die, and so the land does not become empty and desolate.”

20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold him their fields because the famine was so severe, and soon all the land belonged to Pharaoh. 

21 As for the people, he made them all slaves, from one end of Egypt to the other. 

22 The only land he did not buy was the land belonging to the priests. They received an allotment of food directly from Pharaoh, so they didn’t need to sell their land.

23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Look, today I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh. I will provide you with seed so you can plant the fields. 

24 Then when you harvest it, one-fifth of your crop will belong to Pharaoh. You may keep the remaining four-fifths as seed for your fields and as food for you, your households, and your little ones.”

25 “You have saved our lives!” they exclaimed. “May it please you, my lord, to let us be Pharaoh’s servants.” 

26 Joseph then issued a decree still in effect in the land of Egypt, that Pharaoh should receive one-fifth of all the crops grown on his land. Only the land belonging to the priests was not given to Pharaoh.

27 Meanwhile, the people of Israel settled in the region of Goshen in Egypt. There they acquired property, and they were fruitful, and their population grew rapidly. 

28 Jacob lived for seventeen years after his arrival in Egypt, so he lived 147 years in all.

29 As the time of his death drew near, Jacob called for his son Joseph and said to him, “Please do me this favor. Put your hand under my thigh and swear that you will treat me with unfailing love by honoring this last request: Do not bury me in Egypt. 

30 When I die, please take my body out of Egypt and bury me with my ancestors.”

So Joseph promised, “I will do as you ask.”

31 “Swear that you will do it,” Jacob insisted. So Joseph gave his oath, and Jacob bowed humbly at the head of his bed.

Journal:

• What area of my life feels like famine right now, and how can I invite God’s provision into it?
• How has God provided for me in unexpected ways in the past?
• What step of trust can I take this week to acknowledge Him as my provider?