Famine in the Land (Part 2)

Jacob’s Famine
The famine during Jacob’s life does not occur until chapter 41 of Genesis; however, in order to understand the famine, we need to back up several chapters and discuss Joseph.
 
Joseph was sold to Ishmaelite traders and was taken to Egypt. (Nothing is coincidence in the Bible.) We have Ishmael’s decedents taking the favored child of Jacob down to Egypt. 
 
18 When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they plotted against him to put him to death. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer! 20 Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, ‘A wild beast devoured him.’ Then let us see what will become of his dreams!” 21 But Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands and said, “Let us not take his life.” 22 Reuben further said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father. 23 So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the varicolored tunic that was on him; 24 and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.

25 Then they sat down to eat a meal. And as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing aromatic gum and balm and myrrh, on their way to bring them down to Egypt. 26 Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him.  28 Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. Thus they brought Joseph into Egypt. (Genesis 37:18-28)
 
When we read this, we should immediately think back to the story of Abraham going to Egypt and the outcome of his endeavors there.
 
 
Joseph’s encounter with a married woman
In Abraham’s story, he says Sarah is his sister. Sarah is taken into Pharaoh’s household to be his wife. In Joseph’s story, Potiphar (a high ranking official of Pharaoh) has a wife who wants to have an affair with Joseph. Joseph resists because she is a married woman. One day Joseph is left alone with Potiphar’s wife. The wife tries to seduce Joseph. Joseph flees, leaving a piece of clothing behind. Potiphar’s wife lies and says Joseph was trying to rape her. The lie convicts Joseph and he is thrown into prison.
 
Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. 7 It came about after these events that his master’s wife looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.” 8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my charge. 9 There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?” 10 As she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her. 11 Now it happened one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside. 12 She caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside. 13 When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, 14 she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought in a Hebrew to us to make sport of us; he came in to me to lie with me, and I screamed. 15 When he heard that I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled and went outside.” 16 So she left his garment beside her until his master came home. 17 Then she spoke to him with these words, “The Hebrew slave, whom you brought to us, came in to me to make sport of me; 18and as I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.” 
 
19Now when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, “This is what your slave did to me,” his anger burned. 20So Joseph’s master took him and put him into the jail, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; and he was there in the jail. (Genesis 39:6-20)
 
 
Doing a quick comparison of Abraham and Joseph:
Abraham says his wife is his sister. She is taken into Pharaoh’s household. Abraham is rewarded with an abundance of wealth. Pharaoh never sleeps with Sarah. Pharaoh’s household is cursed for taking Sarah to be his wife.
 
Joseph is single, but Potiphar’s wife is married. Joseph never does anything to Potiphar’s wife. He flees when she tries to entangle him in a love affair. He is rewarded by being thrown in prison.
 
 
Is Joseph’s prison time a blessing in disguise?
Joseph spends many years in prison. God blesses Joseph. Joseph is put in charge of many things at the jail. During his time, two servants of Pharaoh have dreams. Joseph correctly interprets them. Joseph and his actions are forgotten for two years.
 
At the end of two years, Pharaoh has a dream. The cupbearer, who was formerly in prison with Joseph, remembers Joseph and his correct interpretation. Joseph is taken from prison and placed in front of Pharaoh. Joseph gives an interpretation of the dream. Pharaoh puts Joseph as second in command over Egypt.
 
 
Comparing Joseph and Abraham again:
Abraham is given wealth as soon as he arrives in Egypt. His stay in Egypt is relatively short. When Abraham’s deception is found out, Abraham is told to leave Egypt. Abraham keeps all his wealth.
 
At first, all the wealth Joseph acquires in Egypt is not actually his. The prosperity Potiphar’s household sees due to Joseph being blessed is never Joseph’s. It remains Potiphar’s. All of Joseph’s wealth is taken away in an instant when he is thrown in jail. Joseph has to start all over again, gaining favor in the eyes of the jailer. Now, when Joseph is taken in front of Pharaoh, the wealth given to him is his, and it is far beyond anyone’s comprehension. Basically all the wealth of Egypt is his.

                                                  When famine comes to all the world

Starting in chapter 41 of Genesis, we are told about a huge plague, which affects not only Egypt but also surrounding areas including Canaan. Normally, a person would not flee to a country which was experiencing famine, but due to God blessing Joseph, God giving Pharaoh dreams and Joseph being able to interpret that dreams, the land of Egypt has bread. In chapter 42, Jacob tells his sons to go to Egypt to get bread.
 
Ten of the eleven brothers go to Egypt to get bread. Although Joseph recognizes his brothers, the brothers do not recognize Joseph. Joseph is able to richly bless his brothers and their families by providing them with as much grain as will fit in their sacks. Joseph’s brothers return to the land of Canaan.
 
There is much to say about Joseph and his interactions with his brothers, but focusing just on the famine, Joseph’s position of power saves his family from starvation. After Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers, he sends wagons and goods to his father in Canaan. Joseph’s family moves to Goshen and has a prosperous life. When all the rest of the world is struggling to survive, Joseph and his family are living a good life. This is a beautiful illustration of when the whole world may be under intense strain and stress, you don’t have to be. You may not be richly blessed like Joseph, but you may not have to endure all the suffering Joseph had to endure either. In one day, Joseph went from prisoner to second in command of the largest world empire. In one day, God turned Joseph’s prison clothes into royal robes. During our darkest times, if we stay near to God, He will stay near to us. 

Link to Part One Click Here