Reading: Genesis chapter 47 verses 11-31.
Ill:
• A husband came down to breakfast and was delighted to hear his wife say;
• “Darling you are a model husband!”
• He was so encouraged by that remark that it put him in ‘on a high’ all morning;
• “Darling you are a model husband!”
• At lunchtime he decided to look up the word model in his desk dictionary;
• As he found the page and began reading the description his mood change instantly.
• It said;
• ‘Model, a small plastic imitation of the real thing”.
The word ‘model’ actually has several meanings:
• Including someone who is ‘exemplary, commendable, admirable, excellent ’.
• In that sense of the word Joseph in this passage is a model leader.
• There are traits and characteristics that we should take note of;
• Joseph was an authentic, genuine leader.
• And in him we see qualities;
• That each one of us would do well to copy into our own lives.
JOSEPH WAS A MAN OF INTEGRITY:
• The word "integrity" comes from the same root word as integration.
• Integrity is when you integrate faith with your living.
Quote: Warren Wiersbe:
“A person with integrity is not divided (that's duplicity)
or merely pretending (that's hypocrisy).
He or she is 'whole': life is 'put together,' and things are working together harmoniously.
People with integrity have nothing to hide and nothing to fear. Their lives are open books.”
• Whether in slavery, in prison or now as prime minister;
• As you examine the life of Joseph, you have to be impressed by his integrity!
• Whatever backdrop you put him against;
• He remained true to himself and more importantly to his God.
In the passage before us this morning we also see Joseph’s leadership skills;
Quote: George Barna:
“Leadership is the ability to put the plans into practice, and to accomplish the specified objectives through the skilful management of people, time, and tangible resources. A good leader is one who is able to motivate people; one who is capable of making good decisions, even under pressure or in conditions of uncertainty; one who can guide people through actions as well as words”.
• If you want a biblical example of one who fulfilled all that and more;
• You need look no further than Joseph in this chapter.
(1). Joseph and the famine (verses 13-19):
(1). He traded grain for their money (vs 13-14)
“There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. 14 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.”
Ill:
It was reported that eleven millionaires went down on the Titanic.
• Major A. H. Peuchen;
• Left $300,000.00 in money, jewellery and securities in a box in his cabin.
• “The money seemed a mockery at that time,”
• He later said. “I picked up three oranges instead.”
In a time of famine you cannot eat gold!
• Values change;
• In the time of famine, a piece of bread could buy you a bag of gold!
Ill:
Most of us have no idea what it is like to be really hungry:
• We might use the expression ‘I’m starving!’
• But the truth is far from that.
• I came across these statistics – they are American not British;
• But I would guess that there is not too much a difference between them and us.
• People who starve to death each year: 11 million
• Overweight U. S. adults: 34 million
• Average calories consumed daily,
• North Americans: 3500; Africans: 2100
• People who are continually hungry; Ethiopia: 20%, Sudan: 20%, Mozambique: 30-40%,
• American adults currently on diets: 19%
Famine came to the lands of Egypt and Canaan:
• Joseph therefore held their lives, their future, in the palm of his hand.
• After all, Joseph had not only built large storage granaries, but he also carried the keys.
Note: That the grain did not belong to Joseph, but to Pharaoh.
• Joseph cannot be condemned for selling the grain rather than giving it away
• Because it was not his to give.
• And any the profit he made;
• Was not for himself but for Pharaoh his employer.
• His duty as an employee, was to further Pharaoh’s interests,
• And this he did very well.
What I like about Joseph in this story is:
• He must have been tempted to rip off the public!
• To stash away some of the money he was making for himself.
• Or he might have been tempted to look after his own;
• To only give food to his family or a few of his favourite friends.
• Yet nowhere do not read that Joseph was corrupt,
• His integrity and his honour shine through in this passage!
Joseph was willing to sell grain to the Egyptian people.
• He did charge them because he was a wise business man;
• But he did not exploit the people with hyped up prices!
• The distribution was done decently and in order.
• And all the money went into pharaoh’s bank account.
• There was no payola, no kickback.
• He never set up some kind of offshore account; there was no secret slush fund.
• Joseph operated with absolute integrity;
• And in doing so guaranteed the survival of the Egyptians, the Canaanites,
(2). He traded grain for their livestock
(vs 15-17)
15 “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 used up."
16 "Then bring your livestock," said Joseph. "I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone." 17 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."
Ill:
• A devout believer in astrology,
• French King Louis XI was deeply impressed when an astrologer made an accurate prediction
• He foretold that a lady of the court would die in eight days’ time.
• And lo and behold she died eight days later.
• King Louis XI Decide, however,
• That the too-accurate prophet was ‘dangerous’ and should be disposed of,
• Louis summoned the man to his apartments,
• Having first told his servants to throw the visitor out of the window when he gave the signal.
When the forecaster arrived the king said to the man,
• “You claim to understand astrology and to know the fate of others,”
• “So tell me at once what your fate will be and how long you have to live.”
• The astrologer answer was short but powerful;
• “I shall die just three days before Your Majesty,”
• You won’t be surprised to know;
• That the shaken king cancelled his plans to kill him!
The trouble with nature is that it is so unpredictable:
• Nobody (except for Joseph, we’ll come back to that in a minute);
• Knew how long this famine would last. It just seemed to linger on and on and on.
• Penniless and in desperation;
• The Egyptians approached Joseph for a second time,
• And once again remind him of their situation.
• If they do not get grain they will die! But they had no money to buy grain with!
• Joseph knew that although their money was gone;
• Their wealth was not, for they still possessed many cattle.
Now in case you think of Joseph as a ruthless business man:
• Remember that IF these cattle remained the possession of the Egyptians;
• They would have perished, for there was no grass for pasture and no grain for feed.
• And who else but Pharaoh would want them,
• For no one else could sustain them through these years of drought?
Joseph was actually doing the Egyptians a favour:
• He took off them the burden of the livestock;
• They no longer need worry about feeding them or trying to sell them!
• He exchanged (assume at a fair rate of exchange) the livestock;
• For the essential grain which they must have in order to survive.
(3). He traded grain for their land and
bodies (vs 18-26)
“ 18 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. 19 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. And Joseph reduced the people to servitude, [c] from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 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.
23 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. 24 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."
25 "You have saved our lives," they said. "May we find favour in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh."
26 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”.
The sale of their livestock enabled the Egyptians to live through another year.
• But as the following year approached,
• They again found themselves appealing to Joseph for life-sustaining grain.
• This time they did not have either money or cattle, to buy the valuable life saving grain.
• They came to him with nothing!
Quote: Mrs. Don Mathis wrote a little poem about nothing:
“Blessed be nuthin’
Remarked the wise sage.
Be glad if you’ve nuthin’
In this day and age;
For nuthin’ is sumpthin’
That cannot be stole
Nor drop from your pocket
Nor purse’s small hole.
Nuthin’ is sumpthin’
The bank cannot lose,
The creditors seize
Nor the burglars abuse.
Folks who have nuthin’
Really should love it,
For nuthin’ is sumpthin’
The neighbours won’t covet.
Nuthin’ is sumpthin’
That won’t collect dust;
You don’t have to hide it
Nor protect it from rust.
So if you have nuthin’—
Be glad—sing a song!
For when leaving this earth,
You can take it along!”
Well that might be a humours poem:
• But ‘nothin’ is not much good when you are hungry
• And you are in what seems to be an endless famine!
• Although the people did not have money or livestock.
• They still possessed two valuable commodities: Land and labour.
Note it was at their own suggestion that Joseph take their land and their bodies,
• To survive the famine they would pay whatever price was needed!
• I want to emphasise that Joseph was not pressuring them to do this.
• Joseph is not an ancient ‘loan shark’ figure, manipulating the situation;
• In fact the very opposite,
• The people come with a desperate need,
• And on each occasion Joseph meets that need.
• There is no suggestion in the text that he exploited the people;
• Or that they were unhappy with the situation.
The “slavery” which the Egyptians submitted to was not the harsh and unfair variety.
• That so often we think of;
• Slavery does not have to be cruel and harsh, although it can be,
• The slavery of which Joseph spoke;
• Was more the arrangement that a “sharecropper” would make with a land owner.
• Slavery to these Egyptians simply meant;
• The non-ownership of their lands and a 20% tax on their production.
Ill:
• Considering our own tax rate;
• I think the Egyptians got off quite lightly!
verses 23-24: The terms of the servitude of the Egyptians were spelled out by Joseph:
• Joseph acquired both the people and their land for Pharaoh.
• When the famine ended, he would provide them with seed for planting.
• When crops were again harvested,
• One fifth (20%) would be given to Pharaoh.
• The rest would belong to the people;
• For food, fodder, and seed for the next crop.
Notice the re-action of the Egyptians to Joseph (verse 25):
• The Egyptian’s recognised Joseph as the saviour of the people;
• Despite losing everything, they don’t resent Joseph, but actually honour him!
• They knew that it was his wisdom and leadership skills;
• That kept them and thousands of their fellow countrymen from starving to death.
• He had also saved the livestock from perishing;
• And in doing so, he had fairly made his master the Pharaoh more powerful and richer.
I THINK MUCH OF THE DILEMMA OF THE EGYPTIANS EXPERIENCED WAS OF THEIR OWN MAKING.
• Remember that Joseph did not create the seven years of plenty;
• Nor the seven years of famine;
• He predicted both;
• But he also proposed an emergency program to deal with the coming famine years.
• We know that Joseph was a competent administrator;
• And he went public with his knowledge of the soon coming famine.
• I am convinced he would have informed the general population;
• That a famine was coming to their land after their seven years of plenty?
• I think the majority of the Egyptians were so busy enjoying seven years of plenty;
• That they did not actually believe him until it was too late!
• Maybe they thought;
• That the years of plenty would go on and on and on.
• The Egyptians, I believe, were informed that hard times that were coming,
• Yet they failed to prepare for them.
• Maybe that is why we never read about a word of grumbling regarding his administration;
• Maybe that’s why they were so willing to heralded him as their saviour.
(B). JOSEPH and HIS FAMILY:
(1). The Israelite’s situation (vs 27):
“Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number”.
Not all the land was owned by Pharaoh, there were two exceptions:
• (a). The land maintained by the priests,
• Whose special arrangement with the Pharaoh gave them some independence (verse 22).
• (b). And the land Pharaoh gave to Joseph to give to his family (verse 5)
• Joseph placed his father and his brothers Goshen, which was quality land;
• And while the Egyptians were fainting under the famine,
• The Israelites were flourishing in their rich and fertile land.
• Verse 27: Young couples married,
• Babies were born, and their numbers greatly increased.
At a time of famine they were doing very well indeed:
• This shows to us that they had God’s blessing upon them;
• He had been looking after them and had provided for them,
(2). The Father’s (Jacob or Israels) request
(vs 28-30a)
“Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven. 29 When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, "If I have found favour 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, 30 but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried."”
• After living seventeen years in the land of Egypt,
• Jacob celebrated his 147th birthday and he knew that it would soon be time to die.
• So Jacob or Israel made plans;
• Ill: Lorraine / Mary R – chosen speaker and hymns etc.
Jacob too wanted his departure to be right:
• We can see in these verses;
• That his prosperity in Egypt had not changed his priorities:
• Jacob had decided to make his death a testimony to his faith;
• And a stimulus to the faith and obedience of his descendants.
• So he urged Joseph, his most trusted son,
• To swear a solemn oath promising that he would not bury his father in Egypt,
• But that he would lay him to rest in Canaan;
• In the cave of Machpelah and bury him with his forefathers.
• This would serve as a reminder to his descendants;
• That Egypt was not home, but only a place to sojourn;
• And that one day God would bring them back “home” to Canaan,
• The land of promise.
(3). The sons promise (vs 30b-31)
"I will do as you say," he said.
31 "Swear to me," he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.”
Farewell speeches are important:
Ill:
On the day that Karl Marx died, March 14, 1883:
• His housekeeper came to him and said,
• "Tell me your last words, and I'll write them down."
• Marx replied, "Go on, get out!
• Last words are for fools who haven't said enough!"
Ill:
Last words can be very revealing.
• Showman P. T. Barnum said, as he was dying, "What were today's receipts?"
• Elizabeth 1st; "All my possessions for a moment of time!"
• The great Baptist preacher, Charles Spurgeon, said as his last words, "Jesus died for me."
• And John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, said, "The best of all is, God is with us."
Question: What about Jacob?
Answer:
• Found in verse 31 (not quite his last words but very revealing anyway):
• “Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.”
• Having been assured of his request,
• Jacob bowed in worship on the head of his staff.
• It is this incident, coupled with the blessing of Joseph’s sons in chapter 49,
• Which the writer to the Hebrews cites as evidence of the faith of Jacob:
Quote: Hebrews chapter 11 verse 21:
“By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshipped, leaning on the top of his staff”
This is surely the high point of Jacob’s spiritual life.
• For the first time, Jacob has ceased striving to do something for God;
• And simply stopped to worship and adore Him.
• On Jacob's tombstone,
• Joseph could have placed the words: "He worshiped."
• Years earlier, he would have to had written the words, "He deceived"
• But now that Jacob was an old man, he had come a long way with God.
• At the end of his life,
• One of his final acts was to worship the God
And finally………
• This chapter has many lessons;
• e.g. being authentic, real, being a wise and creative leader etc.
But the overall lesson that came out to me is ‘be ready’:
• The Egyptians no more expected a famine,
• Than the people in Noah’s day expected the flood!
• Joseph had prepared well and was ready for the time of hardship and testing.
• Jacob was prepared to die and meet his maker.
Final question:
• Are we ready to meet Jesus?
• Are we prepared?
Final Quote:
“Those who leave these things to the eleventh hour,
normally die at ten-thirty!”
