Genesis 41:46-57 The Seven Years of Plenty
“Now Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout the land of Egypt.
During the seven years of abundance, the land brought forth bountifully. During those seven years, Joseph collected all the excess food in the land of Egypt and stored it in the cities. In every city he laid up the food from the fields around it. So Joseph stored up grain in such abundance, like the sand of the sea, that he stopped keeping track of it; for it was beyond measure.
Before the years of famine arrived, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, (“making to forget”) saying, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.” And the second son he named Ephraim, (“twice fruitful”) saying, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
The Famine Begins
When the seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end, the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. And although there was famine in every country, there was food throughout the land of Egypt. When extreme hunger came to all the land of Egypt and the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, he told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.”
When the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened up all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians; for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. And every nation came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.”
Now Joseph understands why he has had to suffer! As Joseph makes plans and gathers grain in preparation for the coming famine, he travels throughout Egypt, witnessing first-hand many of the things his fellow prisoners have described. God blesses Joseph with two sons whose descendants will later become the half tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. Then the famine arrives.
Why does God allow famines? Why hasn’t God simply allowed there to be sufficient rain so that nobody will suffer? God has allowed weather to act in cycles, and now is the time for a severe drought. But God is going to work through that drought because it is the drought that will eventually bring Joseph’s family to Egypt and will reunite them all.
Isaiah 55:8-11 tells us, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.”
One pastor friend was fond of saying that “We are only in advertising while God is in management.” Only God knows the end from the beginning, and only He can give perfect advice. Only God knows why natural disasters must occur when they do. Many times, God allows a disaster to change the course of our lives, forcing us in the right direction when we would have remained in a bad situation or would have refused to take chances. May we trust God so much that we will simply welcome disasters and then ask God to reveal how He wants to use this in our lives. But we must be careful not to become bitter, for bitterness blocks God’s blessings.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to trust You, even in the face of disasters, knowing that You can work all things out for good and for peace. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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