Genesis--47:13-27 (NLT)
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 desolated." 20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold him their fields because the famine was so sever, 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 and 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 you crop will belong to Pharaoh. You may keep the remaining four-fifths as seed for your fields and as food for you, and households,and you 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 than 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.
So we see that economic hard times fell upon Egypt , and the the people turned to the government of Pharaoh to deal with this for them. And Pharaoh nationalized the grain harvest, and placed the grain in great storehouses that he had built. So the people brought their money to Pharaoh, like a great tax increase, and gave it all to him willingly in return for grain. And this went on until their money ran out, and they were hungry again.
So when they went to Pharaoh after that, they brought their livestock - their cattle, their horses, their sheep, and their donkey - to barter for grain, and verse 17 says that only took them through the end of that year. But the famine wasn't over, was it? So the next year, the people came before Pharaoh and admitted they had nothing left, except their land and their own lives. "There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh." So they surrendered their homes, their land, and their real estate to Pharaoh's government, and then sold themselves into slavery to him, in return for grain.
What can we learn from this?
That turning to the government instead of to God to be our provider in hard times only leads to slavery? Yes... Do you want the government to be our provider and also become our master?
Israel settled in the land of Egypt , in the land of Goshen . And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly." God provided for His people, just as He always has! They didn't end up giving all their possessions to government, no, it says they gained possessions!
The same thing is happening today - the government today wants to "share the wealth" once again, to take it from us and redistribute it back to us. It wants to take control of healthcare, just as it has taken control of education, and ration it back to us, and when government rations it, then government decides who gets it, and how much, and what kind. And if we go along with it, and do it willingly,
then we will wind up no differently than the people of Egypt did four thousand years ago - as slaves to the government, and as slaves to our leaders. Didn't the Egyptians say, after Pharaoh made them his slaves, "You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh"? Do you wish to be a slave, or do you wish to be FREE?
I know in my own experiences in life, God always comes through, all you need to do is have faith in God to provide. Verse 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.
Let us pray.
Dear Lord,
You alone are worthy to be served, and we rely on You, and You alone. We confess that the government is not our deliverer, and never rightly will be. And Lord, We cry out to you Lord, we pray for this nation. We pray for revival, and we pray for deliverance of Pharaoh's type of government.
In God We Trust...and in Jesus name we pray, Amen
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