Meditate

47. Joseph and the Famine

47

So Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; they are now in the land of Goshen.”²From among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh.³Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, as our ancestors were.”⁴They said to Pharaoh, “We have come to reside as aliens in the land; for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now, we ask you, let your servants settle in the land of Goshen.”⁵Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you.⁶The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land; let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know that there are capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”

⁷ Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob, and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.⁸Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the years of your life?”⁹Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my earthly sojourn are one hundred thirty; few and hard have been the years of my life. They do not compare with the years of the life of my ancestors during their long sojourn.”¹⁰Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from the presence of Pharaoh.¹¹Joseph settled his father and his brothers, and granted them a holding in the land of Egypt, in the best part of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had instructed.¹²And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their dependents.

The Famine in Egypt

¹³ Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe. The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine.¹⁴Joseph collected all the money to be 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.¹⁵When the money from the land of Egypt and from the land of Canaan was spent, all the Egyptians came to Joseph, and said, “Give us food! Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone.”¹⁶And Joseph answered, “Give me your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone.”¹⁷So they brought their livestock to Joseph; and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. That year he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock.¹⁸When that year was ended, they came to him the following year, and said to him, “We can not hide from my lord that our money is all spent; and the herds of cattle are my lord’s. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands.¹⁹Shall we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food. We with our land will become slaves to Pharaoh; just give us seed, so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.”

²⁰ So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe upon them; and the land became Pharaoh’s.²¹As for the people, he made slaves of them from one end of Egypt to the other.²²Only 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.²³Then Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh, here is seed for you; sow the land.²⁴And at the harvests you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh, and four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones.”²⁵They said, “You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be slaves to Pharaoh.”²⁶So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth. The land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh’s.

The Last Days of Jacob

²⁷ Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the region of Goshen; and they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied exceedingly.²⁸Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; so the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were one hundred forty-seven years.

²⁹ When the time of Israel’s death drew near, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor with you, put your hand under my thigh and promise to deal loyally and truly with me. Do not bury me in Egypt.³⁰When I lie down with my ancestors, carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” He answered, “I will do as you have said.”³¹And he said, “Swear to me”; and he swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself on the head of his bed.

10. Israel's Unbelief

¹⁴ But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?¹⁵And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”¹⁶But not all have obeyed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”¹⁷So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.

¹⁸ But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have; for

“Their voice has gone out to all the earth,

and their words to the ends of the world.”

59. Psalm 59

Psalm 59

Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies

To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam, when Saul ordered his house to be watched in order to kill him.

1

Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;

protect me from those who rise up against me.

2

Deliver me from those who work evil;

from the bloodthirsty save me.

3

Even now they lie in wait for my life;

the mighty stir up strife against me.

For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,

4

for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.

Rouse yourself, come to my help and see!

5

You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.

Awake to punish all the nations;

spare none of those who treacherously plot evil.Selah

6

Each evening they come back,

howling like dogs

and prowling about the city.

7

There they are, bellowing with their mouths,

with sharp words on their lips—

for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?”

8

But you laugh at them, O Lord;

you hold all the nations in derision.

9

O my strength, I will watch for you;

for you, O God, are my fortress.

10

My God in his steadfast love will meet me;

my God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.

11

Do not kill them, or my people may forget;

make them totter by your power, and bring them down,

O Lord, our shield.

12

For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,

let them be trapped in their pride.

For the cursing and lies that they utter,

13

consume them in wrath;

consume them until they are no more.

Then it will be known to the ends of the earth

that God rules over Jacob.Selah

14

Each evening they come back,

howling like dogs

and prowling about the city.

15

They roam about for food,

and growl if they do not get their fill.

16

But I will sing of your might;

I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.

For you have been a fortress for me

and a refuge in the day of my distress.

17

O my strength, I will sing praises to you,

for you, O God, are my fortress,

the God who shows me steadfast love.