The Daily Fountain Daily Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 7 SEPTEMBER 2024 – TOPIC: LIVING BEYOND THE FAMINE
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THE DAILY FOUNTAIN
DAILY DEVOTIONAL OF THE
CHURCH OF NIGERIA (ANGLICAN COMMUNION)
DATE: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 07, 2024
TOPIC: LIVING BEYOND THE FAMINE
READ: GENESIS 47: 20-31 (NKJV)
47:20. Then Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s.
47:21. And as for the people, he moved them into the cities, from [one] end of the borders of Egypt to the [other] end.
47:22. Only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had rations [allotted to them] by Pharaoh, and they ate their rations which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their lands.
47:23. Then Joseph said to the people, “Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, [here is] seed for you, and you shall sow the land.
47:24. “And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. Four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.”
47:25. So they said, “You have saved our lives; let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.”
47:26. And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, [that] Pharaoh should have one-fifth, except for the land of the priests only, [which] did not become Pharaoh’s.
47:27. So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly.
47:28. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years.
47:29. When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt,
47:30. “but let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” And he said, “I will do as you have said.”
47:31. Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.
THE MESSAGE:
In accordance with Joseph’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream, the famine was “very severe” (verse 20; Genesis 41:31). The land was devastated, and people’s livelihoods were diminished. The people merely survived by food rations provided by the government, and most arable lands were nationalised (verses 20-22). At the end of the famine, Joseph implemented an economic revival plan that required the people to give 20% of the farm produce to the government in exchange for agricultural inputs and land use (verses 23-26).
A similar successful plan in recent times was the “Marshall Plan” sponsored by the United States to rehabilitate the economies of 17 West and South European countries between 1948 and 1951 after World War II. For Israel, life beyond the famine was a period of great economic boom and population growth (verse 27; Exodus 1: 7). Jacob their father lived about 17 years in Egypt, which means about 12 years beyond the famine (verse 28; Genesis 45: 11). He died at a good old age of 147 years (verse 28).
Are you passing through any famine, economic recession or life-threatening challenges? Trust in the Lord to see you through and give you “beauty for ashes” (Isaiah 61: 3).
PRAYER: Lord, give me beauty for ashes in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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