Jacob Blesses Pharaoh
1 Pet 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
Gen 47:1 Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.
Joseph wants Pharaoh to know that his Father and brethren have arrived and that they have their own flocks and herds, so they will not be a burden, but a fruitful people in the land of Goshen. A child of God should be productive and willing to be fruitful, especially in good works. God's people are to be a blessing.
Gen 47:2 And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.
Some, is translated, "the extremity", which may imply the best five men or heads of five of the tribes. Five is also the number of grace; they had hoped to be in his grace.
Gen 47:3 And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers.
Wait! Did not Joseph warn his family to not mention that they were shepherds? Now what would happen to them for telling the truth? Do people need to ask us if we are Christians? Or do they know by our manner of life? We should always speak the truth, trying not to offend others. The cross is an offense too many, but also the way of life. Truth is for their good.
Gen 47:4 They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.
Are the brothers through with lies and deceit? Be sure a lie will be found out and scriptures say that a liar is of the devil. (John 8:44)
Gen 47:5 And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee:
Gen 47:6 The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.
Once again because of Joseph, his family could do no wrong. They were blest with the best land for livestock and those who were active and ambitious even were given an opportunity to take care of Pharaohs cattle.
Gen 47:7 And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
There is a principle in the Bible that he who blesses is greater than he who is blessed. (Hebrews 6:20-7:4) Jacob as a prophet and patriarch, a man divinely inspired of God, representing the most high God blessed the supreme ruler of Egypt. We as children of God, have power to bless our leaders. We should pray for them.
Rom 13:7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
Gen 47:8 And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?
Gen 47:9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.
A long life but filled with evil, remembering how Joseph was taken from him, and his beloved Rachel. He was on a pilgrimage with his final destination being heaven. He said his years were few in comparison to his grandfather Abraham who lived to be one hundred and seventy five years of age, (Genesis 25:7) , and his father Isaac who lived to the age of one hundred and eighty, (Genesis 35:28) .
Gen 47:10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
Gen 47:11 And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
The land had many kinds of fruit trees; here are fields full of rose trees, and woods of fig trees, which are not in other parts of Egypt; the gardens are full of all manner of trees, pears, oranges, lemons, peaches, plums, and apricots and olives that provided oil. The land produced peas and beans and grains and was good for grazing cattle.
Gen 47:12 And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, according to their families.
Joseph took care of his family. Bread was only found in Egypt because Joseph wisely stored up a surplus in time of plenty. Joseph was ruler over the food supply; all would bow to him. In the spiritual sense, are we storing up Gods promises in times of plenty? The troubles will come and we will need to rely on his promises.
John 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
Give all for bread
Gen 47:13 And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.
Gen 47:14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house.
Joseph was a good steward of the Corn and a shrewd businessperson. Even today the Jewish people are known for keen business sense. He got all the money making the king the richest King in all of Egypt’s history. Some warn us of famine, so it may be wise to store flour and beans and oil for future use.
Gen 47:15 And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth.
Gen 47:16 And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.
Gen 47:17 And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.
The first of seven years of draught are over and Joseph has all the money and the cattle.
Gen 47:18 When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands:
All that they owned were their bodies and their land.
Gen 47:19 Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate.
Mat 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Gen 47:20 And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh's.
Now Joseph owned all the land for Pharaoh. With no wealth and no land, they were dependant slaves of Egypt. The people of the world are slaves to the devil, the king of the world. At this time the people of Joseph were free and blessed.
Gen 47:21 And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof.
All became strangers in a new place, even as were the children of Israel. Joseph had wisdom from God.
Acts 13:17 The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it.
Gen 47:22 Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands.
This would be a pattern later followed by the tribes of Israel, with the Levites.
1 Tim 5:17 Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.
1 Tim 5:18 For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.
They are to labor in the word and doctrine. Not in a prosperity message to increase giving to them. The focus is on serving God.
Gen 47:23 Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.
The people were given seed to sow to make a living. This is good, for work was given to them to produce an increase. It was not just welfare with no work required.
Gen 47:24 And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.
Four parts of the harvest were for personal use and to sow the next crop.
Gen 47:25 And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.
Gen 47:26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's.
This was a tax of twenty percent. How much are we taxed by our government? Joseph had become a powerful and skillful steward.
Carry me out of Egypt
Gen 47:27 And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.
They are beyond the famine in which all was sold for bread. The nation of Israel had been blessed with many things and was increasing with many children. Seventeen years have passed. It is 10 years after the great famine.
Gen 47:28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.
Jacob was nearing the end of his life. Apparently people lived longer then. Adam was dead in spirit but lived 936 years. (Gen 5:5) God limited the number of years of a man’s life following Noah's time.
Gen 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
Gen 47:29 And the time drew nigh that Israel [Jacob] must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray the, in Egypt:
Jacob wanted Joseph to promise that he not be buried in Egypt. The Covenant with Abraham promised them a land in Canaan. I remember living in a place that I was not wanting to end up in; a crowded city. Now I live in a better place, but I know my final dwelling is with the Lord Jesus.
Gen 47:30 But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.
Jacob’s bones would be removed from Egypt when the people were to leave.
Gen 47:31 And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.
He bowed in prayer, thanking the LORD for the good things, for Joseph who would keep his promise to bury his father in Canaan with his fathers and Leah. His life had many struggles but God was faithful. He was blessed and led all the way.
Genesis 48
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