Experiencing the Best of Times in the Worst of Times
God blessed Israel in the midst of the worst famine and financial disaster that part of the world had ever seen.(Genesis 47:27) God is sovereign, and He can do whatever He decides to do. He can cause His people to experience great blessings, even when the whole world around them is suffering. That is what He chose to do for Israel while they were in Egypt.
Joseph's plan was to save up grain during the 7 years of plenty, so that they people could eat during the 7 years of famine. He knew that in the end all of the grain of the 7 good years would be gone, but at least with his plan everyone could live through this horrible time. First of all, when the people ran out of grain, he sold them the stored grain. Then, they ran out of money. Then, he sold them grain for their livestock. When the livestock were gone, he took their land in exchange for bread. Finally, he gave them seed to plant more grain, but they had to give 20% of their harvest to Pharaoh. They were share croppers. That meant no one in Egypt owned anything, except Pharaoh. He had all the money, the livestock, the land, and even the people were partial slaves to him. I would say that was a drastic situation for the Egyptian people, but they were glad just to be alive.
As all of this was happening to the Egyptian people, Israel had possessions. They did not have to give all of their money, livestock, and land to the Pharaoh. Also, they grew and multiplied exceedingly. Get the picture. They were blessed by God to have the best time they had ever experienced in the middle of the worst time Egypt had ever had. Isn't that amazing? Now, I am not saying that God always does this in every situation, but He does care for His own, and He can and will make a way for us in the midst of bad times, if we will remain faithful to Him. He is able, and we need to look to Him for every blessing and give Him the praise for everything we have.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 50 and Exodus 1-2.
Joseph's plan was to save up grain during the 7 years of plenty, so that they people could eat during the 7 years of famine. He knew that in the end all of the grain of the 7 good years would be gone, but at least with his plan everyone could live through this horrible time. First of all, when the people ran out of grain, he sold them the stored grain. Then, they ran out of money. Then, he sold them grain for their livestock. When the livestock were gone, he took their land in exchange for bread. Finally, he gave them seed to plant more grain, but they had to give 20% of their harvest to Pharaoh. They were share croppers. That meant no one in Egypt owned anything, except Pharaoh. He had all the money, the livestock, the land, and even the people were partial slaves to him. I would say that was a drastic situation for the Egyptian people, but they were glad just to be alive.
As all of this was happening to the Egyptian people, Israel had possessions. They did not have to give all of their money, livestock, and land to the Pharaoh. Also, they grew and multiplied exceedingly. Get the picture. They were blessed by God to have the best time they had ever experienced in the middle of the worst time Egypt had ever had. Isn't that amazing? Now, I am not saying that God always does this in every situation, but He does care for His own, and He can and will make a way for us in the midst of bad times, if we will remain faithful to Him. He is able, and we need to look to Him for every blessing and give Him the praise for everything we have.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 50 and Exodus 1-2.