Written by Nate Warren
The Word
Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished by reason of the famine. 14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that they bought. And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. 15 And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone.” 16 And Joseph answered, “Give your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. He supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. 18 And when that year was ended, they came to him the following year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent. The herds of livestock are my lord’s. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.”
20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for all the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe on them. The land became Pharaoh’s. 21 As for the people, he made servants of them from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land.
Genesis 47:13-22
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
John 15:15
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
1 Peter 2:9
Reflection
As Joseph leads Egypt through the famine, he strategically collects all of the currency, livestock, and finally the land and citizens of Egypt in the name of Pharaoh. At this time, the Egyptians will be overjoyed at a government that has provided for them in the midst of catastrophe. The price for life-giving bread is everything they have, and they are more than pleased to do so. Joseph, as the image of Pharaoh, will later prove to be not only shrewd but also generous.
The priests of Egypt, however, are given a stipend and allowed to retain their land. Earlier in this series, we read that Pharaoh let Jacob and his sons settle in the area of Goshen, the “best of the land,” and while there, they are provided for. That means they were living in the land just as the Egyptian priests. Jacob and his sons are understood by Pharaoh as a tribe of priests, and he desires the blessing from their God to continue for Egypt. To further illustrate this, Jacob–an aged, limping, and hungry sojourning shepherd–even blesses Pharaoh, the most powerful man imaginable (v10), and Pharaoh allows this.
Application
I wonder what Pharaoh saw in Jacob that moved him to honor him as a representative of God. Perhaps it was on Joseph’s testimony that his supernatural abilities for dream interpretation and governance coming from God, not himself. Maybe Jacob being so old and still mobile was a sign.
More importantly, though, all of those who believe in Jesus are grafted into the eternal kingdom of Israel, the kingdom of priests. As such, we are called and empowered to live amongst those who are slaves to the world’s systems and bring about a blessing of abundance; living to the world as He lives to us. We bear the fruit of the Spirit, act and speak with wisdom, and practice generosity and sacrificial love, even for those who have curses for us.
Wherever you are today, you are there to mediate Jesus in that place.
Prayer
Dear Father,
What a wonderful privilege it is to be a priest and friend of the Most High God. Give me opportunity to “proclaim Your excellencies” and be a blessing to others, especially those who remain slaves to the world.
Amen
City Life Starter 
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