Read with Me
Genesis 47:18-26 (HCSB):
When that year was over, they came the next year and said to him, “We cannot hide from our lord that the money is gone and that all our livestock belongs to our lord. There is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. Why should we die here in front of you—both us and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food. Then we with our land will become Pharaoh’s slaves. Give us seed so that we can live and not die, and so that the land won’t become desolate.”
In this way, Joseph acquired all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh, because every Egyptian sold his field since the famine was so severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, and Joseph moved the people to the cities from one end of Egypt to the other. The only land he didn’t acquire was the priests’ portion, for it was given to them by Pharaoh. They lived off the rations Pharaoh had given them; therefore they did not sell their land.
Then Joseph said to the people, “Understand today that I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh. Here is seed for you. Sow it in the land. At harvest, you are to give a fifth of it to Pharaoh, and four-fifths will be yours as seed for the field and as food for yourselves, your households, and your dependents.”
And they said, “You have saved our lives. We have found favor in our lord’s eyes and will be Pharaoh’s slaves.” So Joseph made it a law, still in effect today in the land of Egypt, that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. Only the priests’ land does not belong to Pharaoh.
Listen with Me
Over the preceding years of the severe famine, the people of the land of Egypt had used their money and their livestock to purchase grain from the government. But now, all their resources were gone, and the famines still continued.
The people’s suggestion was that the government should take their land and the people would then become the slaves of Pharaoh. This meant, in effect, that Pharaoh would take responsibility for providing food for the people, since they would then be his slaves and thus his responsibility. And the people would then farm the land in trust for Pharaoh.
Joseph accepted this arrangement, but he gave the Egyptians a much more lenient contract than slaves would have been placed under. They would farm the land as trustees, sharecroppers, not as slaves. And from each harvest, they would give 20% to the government, just as they had done during the seven good years before the famine had started. That would provide a buffer of stored grain for the country so that they would have some protection against future famines. And it would be easy to store these “contributions” since the storage facilities had already been built in each city.
The words “still in effect today” in verse 26 were included by Moses, who was writing more than 400 years after these events. Having grown up in Pharaoh’s household and being well educated in all the knowledge of the Egyptians (Acts 7:21-22), Moses knew all the laws that were in effect, and when and why those laws had been instituted.
Pray with Me
Father, You were always working behind the scenes in every episode of Israel’s history. You knew that Your people were going to be living in that land for hundreds of years, so You used the famine to not only bring them to Egypt, but to help ensure that there was going to be an adequate food supply for them during the whole time they lived there. And You are still working behind the scenes today to ensure good things for those who follow You (Romans 8:28). Help me, Lord, to trust that You always have my best interests in mind, and to follow You wholeheartedly wherever You lead me. Amen.