Daily Devotions
Genesis
"O Israel, hope in the Lord; For with the Lord there is mercy, And with Him is abundant redemption." Psalm 130:7
Text: Genesis 42:1-38
DESPERATE TIMES
The famine hit not only Egypt, but all the nations in the vicinity. Canaan was not spared. Times were so desperate that even Jacob felt the effects of the famine, and he was a wealthy man! There was only one decision that could be made.
“When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt…
He said, ‘Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt;
go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may live
and not die.'”
GENESIS 42:1-2
All his sons were sent to Egypt to purchase grain, except Benjamin, for Jacob was not willing to risk the loss of this son from his late beloved Rachel! There were good reasons why so many were sent to buy grain. Two reasons may be highlighted.
1. Rationing in times of famine
To prevent abuse, like profiteering, it was not uncommon to ration food sold to the public. The more the people who went to purchase grain during a famine, the better the chance of them buying the grain.
2. Protection
When times are bad, people would resort to robbery. The instinct for survival is so strong that people would actually become violent just to obtain food.
THE FULFILMENT OF JOSEPH’S FIRST DREAM
Joseph once shared a Dream of Sheaves with his siblings. In that dream, his brothers’ sheaves bowed down to his (Cf. Genesis 37:5-8). Joseph could not fathom the meaning of that dream then. His brothers had resented him most severely because they interpreted that dream as symbolizing their bowing down to him. The brothers could not see how and when they would ever bow the knee to their younger brother. In their mind – NEVER!
Yet that dream was fulfilled when his brothers bowed themselves to the man who governed Egypt in the name of the Pharaoh.
“And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him
with their faces to the earth. Joseph saw his brothers and
recognised them, but he acted as a stranger to them and
spoke roughly to them.”
GENESIS 42:6-7
In that act of obeisance, Joseph had a flashback to the dream that obviously God had given to him when he was but a young lad.
“Then Joseph remembered the dreams which he had
dreamed about them…”
GENESIS 42:9
Before he acknowledged them, he must first put them to the test!