QT 1/13/2026 Gen 47:13-22, Following God's will not your own desires

Genesis 47:13–22 (ESV) —

13 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.

 

NOTE: Joseph certainly made Pharaoh rich by his management of the famine. And it looks like he provided his own brothers with quite a bit of work since Pharaoh's livestock would have grown. So, God's people made Pharoah rich, and God's people will devastate Pharaoh and Egypt when they leave. I say God's people, but it was (will be) God. In the latter case, the punishment will be deserving given how they treat Israel during the 400 years of their sojourn/slavery in Egypt. They could have returned after the famine ended, but the work provided by caring for Pharaoh's ample livestock probably made it much lucrative to stay in Egypt. By the time they would consider leaving, they were probably too embedded to leave.

 

What is the message to us? God's plan was for Israel to be out of the promised land 400 years -- that was the time allowed for the Canaanites to repent, which they do not. God had to keep the Jewish people in Egypt. Even though it is not the promised land nor necessarily their (Israel's) desire (especially when they become slaves), it was God's will for them to remain in Egypt. Sometimes we think that God's will has to agree with our desires. We say that God gave me this desire, therefore it must be God's will. That is not true. It is nice thought and God does give us our desires at times, but do not fall into the trap of following your desires because you believe it is God's will for you.

 

PONDER:

1. What is God's will for my life?
2. How have I determined God's will for my life?

 

PRAYER: Father, I pray we would use wisdom and prayer as we seek your will. I pray we would use mature counsel and the commands from your word to seek your will. Lead and guide us in your way.