Genesis 47:13-26 (What Will a Man Give in Exchange for His Soul?)

Genesis 47:13-26
What Will a Man Give in Exchange for His Soul?

Introduction: I’d originally planned to do these 14 verses in two separate sermons. The first was to be verses 13-19 and then 20-26. But as I was typing, studying, and thinking, I had an idea about what these verses were showing us, but it somehow didn’t seem right. And it still wasn’t resolved at verse 19.

So, I continued on through verse 26. And it wasn’t until that last verse that I realized that I’d fundamentally misunderstood what God is telling us about the future in these verses. One word, translated in the NKJV as “favor” is what made me stop and reevaluate the entire passage. The word in Hebrew is khen, grace.

Until that word, I had been misevaluating the entire passage. And so, for only the third time that I can think of, I went back and reconsidered every verse under the proper context. Nothing changes with God. We are always and only saved by grace. Without God’s grace, we cannot merit eternal life.

This is the message of the Bible and it is the truth of God in Christ.

Text Verse: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:8, 9

Our sermon today will once again be a little bit longer than usual. It has to be that way because I had to fit two sermons into one. But the picture is sure, it is reliable, and it is coming upon an unrepentant world. We can either receive Christ now and be ready for Him at the rapture, or we will face the most difficult choices imaginable – life or death choices.

Let us not be found in such a crummy position, but let’s trust Christ now, placing our souls in His capable hands. The way we know how to do this is through His word and so let’s go to that word now and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. No Bread in the Land (Verses 13-17)

As we’ve seen, the time of Israel in Egypt and then their subsequent exodus is picturing the time of the Tribulation period in the future. The reason for this is that they went to Egypt in the 215th year after the promise made to Abraham and they will come out of Egypt 215 years later – a period of 430 years.

The tribulation is also divided into two halves of 3 1/2 years each. During the tribulation there will be great plagues upon the earth which so closely mirror the plagues during the Exodus that it is not coincidence.

Both of these are times of covenant fulfillment – 430 years from the Promise to Abraham until the law is given at Sinai, and the seven years promised to Israel for completion of their covenant responsibilities as relayed in Daniel 9:24-27. These patterns are more easily understood when we look at the words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes, a verse which I cite often –

“What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again.” Ecclesiastes 3:15 (New Living Translation)

Regardless of the actual time lengths, the patterns repeat. It is sufficient that the famine which necessitated Israel’s move was for seven years and the tribulation is for seven years. After that, both times Israel is delivered by God’s might and power.

These are the important aspects of what is being shown. And I say this because today’s verses will show a dramatic change in the presentation of the events. During the famine in Egypt, it is Joseph who controls and tends to all of the needs of his family.

But Joseph is also taking care of the people of Egypt who are under his authority. The picture we will see in today’s verses is describing a specific group of people mentioned in Revelation. While Israel is being cared for in one way, there is still another group who is being tended to during that period. They are known as the Great White Multitude.

13 Now there was no bread in all the land;

It’s important to look back to our previous sermons to determine what is being relayed here. There are two things tied up into one. The first is that there was expected to be seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine. This is based on Pharaoh’s dreams which Joseph interpreted.

This is literally fulfilled in these Genesis stories. And it also pictures the time of famine which will come upon the world in the future during the tribulation. But during that time, there are also two things which are tied up in the picture. The first is that there will literally be famine on the earth.

This is seen in the opening of the third seal in Revelation 6 where the rider on the black horse appears as a sign of famine. But in addition to a literal famine, it is also looking forward to a famine of the word of God. As we’ve seen in these Joseph sermons, the grain has consistently pictured the word.

There is a time coming when obtaining it will come at a high cost. This is certain and it probably isn’t far off in our future. Jesus is the Bread of Life, and the Bread of Life is found in the word, the grain, the Bible. Here then is the dual significance of this verse.

13 (con’t) for the famine was very severe,

This is given to show the literal and complete fulfillment of what was prophesied concerning Pharaoh’s dreams in Genesis 41 –

“Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt; 30 but after them seven years of famine will arise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will deplete the land. 31 So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe.” Genesis 41:29-31

In that verse, the term, ki kaved hu meod – “and heavy it, very” was spoken about the famine. The word “heavy” is what we would think of as a crushing burden, something extremely severe. In this verse it says, ki kaved ha’raav meod, “and heavy the famine, very.”

The reason for explaining this isn’t to be bogged down with details, but to see the fulfillment of the details and how they affect the events which occur in the Bible. When God says something in prophecy, we can and should always expect it to be fulfilled literally and completely.

And so, because we have these details proving the Bible is trustworthy, then we can also be assured of the things that it has promised for us. What good is the promise of the return of Jesus to us if other parts of the Bible have been wrong?

What good is believing in eternal life through faith in Jesus if the Bible is untrustworthy. I mean, think that through for a second. How sure are we of anything in life unless we have something which backs up what we believe? But the Bible continually backs up what it says both internally and in real history as well.

13 (con’t) so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine.

Finally in this verse, we see a necessary component of what God wants us to see. It mentions both the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan. Both languish because of the famine. In the picture for the future, it means that this will be a worldwide famine, both Israel and the rest of the world will suffer.

Only those who are cared for supernaturally by God will prosper. This is seen in the prospering of Israel in the land of Goshen. But there is a word in this verse translated as “languished” which is important to see. It is the word vatalah – and fainted. It is from a primitive root meaning “to burn.”

By implication is means to be rabid or figuratively, to be insane. In such a state one would become exhausted to the point of fainting. It’s used one other time in the Bible, in Proverbs. There it says –

Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death, 19 Is the man who deceives his neighbor, And says, “I was only joking!” Proverbs 26:18, 19

For this reason, some Hebrew scholars apply this to the people. In other words, when it says the “land” fainted, it is speaking of the people of the land. They have come to their wits end and are willing to give anything for their food. This perfectly resembles what we think of as the tribulation years of the future.

When there is no bread how can we sustain our lives
Should there be a famine, would the land yield grain?
How could we feed ourselves, our children, our wives?
Could we survive in a time which is lacking in rain?

And how much more important to us is the true Bread of Life?
Without Jesus, there is no purpose, no reason to it all
Without Him there is only conflict, war, and strife
So now is the time to reach out to Him; on His name to call

14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought;

This verse here is the last time that grain is mentioned in the Joseph cycle of stories. It reverts now back to the word shever, grain in the kernel which needs to be threshed, instead of bar, purified grain, which was last seen mentioned after Joseph’s reunion with Israel.

After the rapture of the church, there will be no pure knowledge of the word among the gentiles as there was before the rapture. And so people will spend their last dollar to obtain the word of God and to understand it. This isn’t a crazy analysis. It will be confirmed as we go on.

But it is also really pointing to the famine for real food too. There is bread to sustain the body and there is Bread to sustain the soul. All of the silver will be spent to obtain these. What was once of value to the people no longer has any meaning.

Man will sell his own children and even himself to eat. But before that point, he will look at the silver in his hands and realize it meant nothing. A life of wasted effort was put into storing up treasures for himself. Jesus speaks of exactly that in Matthew –

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21

In Luke, he expands on this and He speaks of the consequences of a life of pursing wealth at the expense of what are true riches –

“The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ 21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:16-20

So what is it that would cause us to make this connection based on the verse were reading right now? We’ll read it again, “And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought.”

The reason for the comparison is because of the verb which is used for “gathered up all the money.” It is the word v’laqet. This is the only time that this verb is used in the Bible for collecting money. At other times when the Bible mentions gathering money, a different verb is used.

This verb, v’laqet, is usually used concerning gathering things on the ground, such as picking up stones, manna, flowers, or the gleanings of wheat. The symbolism we see here then is money that is tossed away in the purchasing of grain.

The imagery is like someone carrying a bag of silver up to the store house and simply tossing it down and then walking away with a bag of grain. It is a time of absolute desperation and the money no longer has any value to them.

All they can think of is the food. And after the rapture, during the tribulation, those who realized their need will do anything to be given God’s grace. This symbolism is exactly referred to in the book of Ezekiel. There, we get a picture of what is happening at the time of the Lord’s judgment on the land. Listen to how perfectly this mirrors the idea which this verb, v’laqet, implies –

“They will throw their silver into the streets, And their gold will be like refuse; Their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them In the day of the wrath of the Lord; They will not satisfy their souls, Nor fill their stomachs, Because it became their stumbling block of iniquity.” Ezekiel 7:19

And so the money is “gathered up.” It is picked up from the ground as if it were a pile of stones…

14 (con’t) and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house.

What silver there was is now in the possession of Pharaoh. One Pharaoh, Remphis, heaped up silver in this way to the point where he accumulated four million talents of it. If a talent is about 75 pounds, that’s 300,000,000 pounds of silver.

Whether this is the Pharaoh at the time of Joseph or not isn’t certain, but that’s a whole heap of silver. One way or another, it is certainly comparable to what Joseph would have collected.

15 So when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For the money has failed.”

The famine continued on longer than the silver held out and so the people have returned once again to Joseph, this time looking for a hand-out. And once again, it notes not just Egypt, but Canaan as well. The land of Canaan wouldn’t be worth returning to because it was caught in the midst of the famine.

Only in Goshen, where Israel was relocated to, was there security for the people and bread for their sustenance. It really is amazing to see how God once cared so carefully for Israel and it is a sure promise to them that they will again be cared for during the tribulation by His amazing grace.

It is those who take Jesus’ advice in Matthew 24 and flee to the wilderness that will be safe. The rest, along with those Gentiles who are willing to seek Jesus, must endure the hardships.

16 Then Joseph said, “Give your livestock, and I will give you bread for your livestock, if the money is gone.”

This would be the sixth year of the famine as we’ll be able to see later. In what is a wise decision for both Pharaoh and for the animals, Joseph proposes an exchange for their livestock. This includes any type of animal of the herd, such as horses, cows, goats, camels, donkeys, sheep, or whatever else.

The wisdom here is that if the people were short on food, they would feed themselves before their animals and the animals would die. But like the Flood of Noah, the animals are cared for in a unique way. There would be enough food in the royal storehouses to care for them while also increasing Pharaoh’s wealth.

And the picture of the future tribulation period comes into focus here. In Revelation, it says that no one will be able to buy or sell anything unless they have the mark of the beast. But anyone who takes the mark of the beast can never be saved.

Therefore, in order to live, people will have to trade. Without money, it will be the only way to survive. What is being pictured is amazingly exact in concept.

17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys. Thus he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year.

The exchange is made and the few possessions of value left to the people have become property of Pharaoh. We have to keep remembering that at this same time, Israel is in Goshen and they have maintained their flocks and are prospering.

The Egyptians are living on a subsistence diet and are doing so merely from day to day. At the same time, it is as if manna from heaven was falling on Israel as Joseph cared for his family.

The connection to Revelation needs to be stressed again. In Revelation 12 it says this,

“Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. 14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. ” Revelation 12:13-15

The connection to the dragon, also called the serpent, then needs to be made. Here are a group of believers, God’s covenant people of Israel, being divinely protected by God just as Joseph cared for his family in Egypt. Isaiah ties the two together.

First at the end of Isaiah 26, we read this concerning the protection of the Israel during a time of the Lord’s judgment on the earth –

“Come, my people, enter your chambers, And shut your doors behind you; Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, Until the indignation is past. 21 For behold, the Lord comes out of His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; The earth will also disclose her blood, And will no more cover her slain.” Isaiah 26:20, 21

Then in the opening verse of Isaiah 27, it says this –

In that day the Lord with His severe sword, great and strong, Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan that twisted serpent; And He will slay the reptile that is in the sea. Isaiah 27:1

Leviathan is the serpent which represents the world’s system of false religion which corresponds in the Old Testament to Egypt and Babylon. It is the power of the devil to bring that false religion into the world.

And this is certain because the term for serpent is nakhash, the same word used to describe the serpent in the Garden of Eden and thus the serpent found also in Revelation. What seems like a story about a famine in Egypt and the care of Israel during that famine is actually so much more.

It is the on-going biblical theme of good verses evil and how God works to protect His people while overcoming the evil that surrounds them. As we saw before from Ecclesiastes 3, God repeats history to show us that He is in complete control over it.

Come and be safe in your chambers
Shut your doors behind you, keep them fast
Hide yourself from the outside dangers
Do this my children, until the indignation is past

For behold, the Lord comes out of His place
To punish those in the earth for their iniquity
The earth will disclose her blood, the murderous disgrace
And no more will she cover the slain of man’s killing spree

In that day the Lord with His severe sword, great and strong
Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent
Leviathan that twisted serpent who has deceived for so long
And He will slay the reptile in the sea; He shall not relent

II. What are You Willing to Give to be Saved? (Verses 18-22)

18 When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our herds of livestock. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands.

This is now the ending of the sixth year and the beginning of the seventh year of the famine. Everything in Egypt has been reduced to poverty level, subsistence living. The money is gone, the animals have been traded away, and so there is nothing but their bodies and their lands to trade.

It’s not at all unlikely and even probable that they actually owned their own lands. This is still only about 500 years after the flood. Shepherds would have roamed with their flocks living in tents and not making any claim to the land, and no claim would have been assumed under those conditions.

But the people who ventured into new lands and started breaking up the soil for harvesting crops would settle down and claim the land as their own. As no one owned it before they did, it would be considered open to the first who make a living off of it. The land would be assumed to be owned by them.

So this verse is perfectly likely at this time in Egypt’s history. But now, the Nile had failed them, the earth was dry, and there was no relief from the famine except to give up their last remaining possessions – their lands, and even themselves. And so the difficult offer that must be made is now presented…

19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh; give us seed, that we may live and not die, that the land may not be desolate.”

The only option for them besides death is to give up everything they have and become servants of Pharaoh. And in exchange for this servitude, they ask for seed. If nothing else confirms the interesting analysis of the previous sermons concerning the words “grain” and “food” this verse does it.

As I said earlier, certain special words were used during the time leading up to the reconciliation between Joseph and his brothers to describe the grain. Then once again in verse 14 one of the words was used one more time. But now, a completely different word is used, zerah, meaning seed, not grain.

It is speaking of the same thing in the same storehouses, but now it is no longer picturing what it did before. This is the amazing treasure of searching out individual words as nuggets of God’s wisdom; they are sown everywhere throughout this beautiful book.

Zerah means seed; it is how life is transferred. It is the word, for example, which is used of the promised coming Messiah in Genesis 3:15 when speaking of the Seed of the woman. It is obvious what is being pictured here, these people must be willing to give their land, and even their very lives in order to live.

Jesus’ words in Mark 8 exactingly picture what is being relayed here. Remember, the church age is over and this is the final seven years promised to Israel and which comprise the tribulation period. People must endure to the end to be saved. Here are Jesus’ words –

“When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, ‘Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.'” Mark 8:34-38

As the book of Revelation notes, many, many will be martyred for their faith in Christ, but for those who are, the second death, meaning the Lake of Fire, will have no power over them.

20 Then Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s.

This shows us with certainty that until this point, Pharaoh had no claim on the lands of the individuals. Only now has he consolidated his power and ownership entirely over the people and the lands. And all of this has been at the hand of Joseph.

Interestingly, this is also almost a mirror picture of what his name means. His name, Joseph, came from two words – asaph, to take way, and yoseph, to add. In one period of seven years, he has taken away all of that which belonged to the Egyptians and has added it to Pharaoh’s wealth.

But notice here, even though Canaan has been mentioned three times since verse 13, it is excluded from this verse. Canaan was never assimilated by the Pharaoh, thus allowing for the continuing plan of God to unfold exactly as it should in the future. And what this pictures is even more revealing.

The land of Canaan is God’s land; He already owns it. The picture of Egypt being completely bought up by Pharaoh, shows the final and ultimate rule of God over the whole earth. This is seen throughout the Bible, such as this verse from Revelation 11:15 –

“Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” Revelation 11:15

21 And as for the people, he moved them into the cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end.

Some versions read differently in this verse because they are based on a different set of source texts. Instead of “he moved them into the cities” they translate it as he made servants (or slaves) of them. This is certainly correct.

Why would this be important? Well, the reason is that for the Jews, saying that Joseph enslaved the people would make Joseph look bad and imply they are the descendents of someone who did this bad thing, but it is much more plausible that of the two, the wrong one is the one that says he moved them into the cities.

Instead, he brought them into servitude. Which, by the way, is exactly what they had agreed to in the first place. And as a confirmation of this we’ll see in just a couple verses that they will pay rent for the land they live on.

22 Only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had rations allotted to them by Pharaoh, and they ate their rations which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their lands.

I can’t help but see the verses from Revelation 5 reflected in this verse here in Genesis. While the world is being subjected to servitude, there is a group of people who are exempt from that servitude. It includes the royalty and the priestly classes. Here is what it says in revelation 5 –

“You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:9, 10

As Joseph is in charge of both Pharaoh’s house and the priests, having been married into the priestly class, this then shows us the authority of Christ as both our King and our High Priest.

III. Saved By Grace (Verses 23-26)

23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.

We see now that it is the seventh year of the famine. Joseph was aware of the duration of the famine, the people weren’t. But for him to tell them that they have seed to sow indicates that he knows the time for sowing has come.

Because Pharaoh now owns the land, Joseph would never tell them to sow into land that wouldn’t produce a harvest and thus waste what Pharaoh owns. So it is certain that the famine is now ending just as Pharaoh has consolidated all of the resources and power of the land of Egypt.

This power will continue on for the next 200 years until Israel is freed from the land during the reign of a different Pharaoh who is destroyed by plagues of God at the Exodus. But this verse is also picturing the salvation of the people during the tribulation. Those who have given up everything have been given the seed. Their lives will continue. Again, the word zerah, seed, not grain, is used.

24 And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. Four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.”

This is the same percentage that was bought up by Pharaoh during the seven abundant years before the famine. It was enough to save all the people, including Israel, and to make Pharaoh the absolute ruler of Egypt, the land of “double distress.”

Now, using this one-fifth as their payment for renting the land owned by Pharaoh, he would continue to grow in wealth and power while the people would remain his indebted servants.

25 So they said, “You have saved our lives; let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.”

Here is a perfect picture of Jesus. First they say “You have saved our lives.” Thus Joseph was the savior of the people, both as his Egyptian name implied, and as the picture of Christ details. Next they say, “let us find favor in the sight of my lord.”

The word for “favor” is the Hebrew word khen, grace. In essence, they are saying “by this grace we are saved.” It is an affirmative statement that they were saved by him and that the salvation was by grace; it was completely unmerited.

And thirdly, they say that they will be Pharaoh’s servants. This is how we become servants of God, through the saving grace of Jesus, pictured by Joseph. This picture is so exact of what is being anticipated, that it is amazing.

And finally, as a sort of confirmation of this, the law of the land is then enacted by Joseph as we see in our last verse of the day…

*26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, except for the land of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh’s.

The number five, as we have seen many times so far in Genesis, is the number of grace. The entire account today has shown us grace. Pharaoh’s house, as ruled by Joseph, hasn’t done something overbearing or reprehensible towards the people of Egypt. Instead, he has saved many people alive through a great salvation.

And during the tribulation period, God’s house, as ruled by Jesus, will make strict demands on the people, but these demands will be neither overbearing nor reprehensible. They will be the needed proofs that they would rather forsake all for Christ than die apart from Him.

This is the penalty on the world for not accepting Him before the rapture, but there will be grace for many, many who choose Christ. So that you can see the marvelous work of Christ for these people, we’ll take a moment before we close to read a portion of Revelation 7 –

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”
14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.”
So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. 16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:9-16

I know we’ve been a little long today, but what the Bible pictures about the future and what it tells us is coming will really happen. The saving message of the Bible is that Jesus loves us enough to keep us from eternal separation from the Father; from hell.

And the Bible shows us that there is only one way this is possible. That is through Jesus Christ. Please give me another moment to explain to you how you too can receive this greatest gift of all…

Closing Verse: The people will curse him who withholds grain,

But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it. Proverbs 11:26

Next Week: Genesis 47:27-31 (If I Have Found Grace in Your Eyes) (119th Genesis Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you and He has a good plan and purpose for you. Call on Him and let Him do marvelous things for you and through you.

Salvation Belongs to Our God

Now there was in all the land no bread
For the famine was most severe
So that the famine was very widespread
From Egypt to Canaan they languished, life were austere

And Joseph gathered up all the money
That was found in Egypt the land
And in the land of Canaan
For the grain which they bought from his hand

And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house
So much there wasn’t room even for a mouse

So when the money failed
In the land of Egypt and in Canaan the land
All the Egyptians came to Joseph and said
“Give us bread, or we are dead, please fill our hand

For why should we in your presence die?
For the money has failed, things have gone awry

Then Joseph said, “Give your livestock
And I will give you for your livestock bread
If the money is gone, we will use this instead

So they brought their livestock to Joseph
And Joseph gave them bread in exchange
For the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds
And for the donkeys who brayed on the range

Thus he fed them with bread in this time austere
In exchange for all their livestock that year

When that year had ended, again they cried
They came to him the next year and to him said
“We will not from my lord this thing hide
That our money is gone and we are almost dead

My lord also has our herds of livestock
There is nothing left in the sight of my lord
But our bodies and our lands
Now please hear our word

Why should we before your eyes be dead
Both we and our land, our options are so narrow
Buy us and our land for bread
And we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh

Give us seed, that we may live and not die
That the land may not be desolate
Because things have gone awry

Then Joseph bought all the land
Of Egypt for Pharaoh far and near
For every man of the Egyptians sold his field from his hand
Because the famine upon them was so severe

So the land became Pharaoh’s
And as for the people, to them he did attend
He moved them into the cities
From one side of the borders of Egypt to the other end

Only the land of the priests he did not buy
For the priests had rations to them by Pharaoh allotted
And they ate their rations which Pharaoh gave them
So they did not sell their lands where there homes were dotted

Then Joseph said to the people
“Indeed I have bought you and your land this day
For Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you
And you shall sow the land in the following way

And it shall come to pass in the harvest
That you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh
Four-fifths shall be your own to invest
As seed for the field, and for your food, and your pet sparrow

And for those of your households too
And as food for your little ones, this you shall do

So they said, “You have saved our lives
Let us find favor in the sight of my lord
And we will be Pharaoh’s servants, we and our wives
To you we speak this committed word

And Joseph made it a law over the land
Of Egypt to this day
That Pharaoh should have one-fifth from every hand
Except for the land of the priests only, he did say

This did not become Pharaoh’s land
It was given only into the priest’s hand

As the leader of the land
Joseph tended to all the people well
They were cared for with food from his hand
While he also tended to the needs of Israel

In the same way, the Lord cares for each of us
Though at times we may face difficulty and trial
There is comfort always to be found in Jesus
And the tough times give way to a happy smile

Tender care for His sheep, this is the way of our Lord
He watches over us on our path as we walk along
And so much comfort is found in His word
To give our hearts a joyful song

Thank You Lord for the care you give to us
Thank You Lord, our precious Savior Jesus

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

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