Thursday, October 11
Read Genesis 47
Think About It:
- Through personal tragedy and trials God prepared Joseph and put him in a place of authority giving him the opportunity to save two groups of people: His family and the Egyptian people. Joseph was able to save both groups from starvation during the famine. What is the state of each group of people by the end of the chapter?
- God is not mentioned in this chapter. Do you see God working for the good of his chosen people? How?
- How has/is God worked/working behind the scenes in your life?
Family Time:
Try This: Get a box of cereal, or rice, or dry beans. Anything small will do. You’ll need lots of pieces! On a plate, set out 11 pieces – one for each of Joseph’s brothers. Add one piece to each of those pieces to represent each man’s wife. Now, for every pair you have, add 4 or 5 pieces to represent each couple’s children. Now add one piece for Joseph’s sister, Dinah. Oh, and don’t forget one for old Jacob! Now you have a plateful! This represents how many people packed up and headed for Egypt.
- Did God keep His promise to bless Abraham’s family?
- How many years of famine were there going to be?
- Can you imagine this kind of hunger? What do you think you would do? The people were starving, and they were desperate. They sold everything they owned.
Joseph gave seed to the people, and then he explained that one-fifth of everything they grew would belong to Pharaoh. For example, if you planted apple seeds, and in time your apple tree produced apples, you would have to give one out of every five apples to Pharaoh. This became the law in Egypt, and it stayed in effect for hundreds of years (Genesis 47:26). How do you think the people felt about this deal?
