In the Beginning: A Study in Genesis 37-50Mostra

What is the blessing of giving?

There are about 800 verses in the Bible that talk about your wealth, finances, portfolio and/or assets. About 25% of the time Jesus talks, he’s talking about wealth or stewardship. These themes are shown in the life of Joseph, who has spent his whole life as a steward. First, he was the steward of Potiphar’s estate, then he managed a prison, then the entire nation of Egypt.

Luke 16:10 says, "He who can be trusted with little can be trusted with much." Joseph showed he could be trusted with a little estate and a little prison before God trusted him with a massive empire and the entire future of Israel. The principle here is that often we want God to give us the big desk in the corner office with the C-level title on our job description, but maybe God’s going to start us in the internship or at the reception desk to see how we steward far less. Start by stewarding the little things well and wait for God to give you bigger opportunities.

In this scene, we see the effects of both God’s blessing upon Pharaoh and Egypt because of Joseph, and Joseph’s wise business dealings, which made the Pharaoh exceedingly rich during the seven years of famine. In this, we see that God indeed blesses His covenant people and blesses those who bless them.

During this time, we are told that Jacob’s family, which numbered 70 people upon arriving in Egypt, was growing. This too was because of God’s covenant blessing that included many children as one of its blessings.

In both the prosperous blessing of Pharaoh and Joseph’s brothers, we clearly witness the faithfulness of God to His covenant promises. Additionally, we witness the lavishness of His grace as neither the godless Pharaoh, who himself believed he was a god, or the brothers who had sinned greatly against God, their father, and Joseph, deserved the bounty which God had given to them.

The opportunity Joseph has now is leading both a nation and his family through a crisis. There is still an ongoing famine in the region, but due to Joseph’s prophetic interpretation as well as his strategic planning, the Egyptian government has a surplus of food and is doing well. Because Joseph saved during the years of surplus, now when a crisis hits, he not only is protected from the crisis, but has great financial opportunity. The food stores of Egypt become a tremendous revenue generator for the Pharaoh. Eventually the people run out of money to buy food, so they start trading their livestock, the very land they live on and eventually even their own bodies to work it.

There is an important financial principle we can learn from Joseph. Just because times may be easy and you have a surplus– perhaps you get a raise at work or a bonus–doesn’t mean your standard of living must increase. It is very wise to save money, invest it or otherwise store it away when times are good so that you’ll be okay when times are bad.

Additionally, an economic downturn also comes with opportunity. Think back to the 2007-2008 financial crisis, when the price of stocks as well as real estate plummeted. Those who had tremendous savings were not only able to survive, but make bargain-priced investments for the future. You’ll miss out on these opportunities if you’re not living beneath your means when times are easy.

On the other end of things, there is another principle to take away: people lose sight of the long-term consequences of their decisions when they’re in crisis. Imagine being so desperate and so uncertain of your future that you sell the land your family has lived on for generations, then sell your family itself to the government as indentured servants just for some bread. Most of us can’t fathom this kind of poverty. As Christians, knowing that there is a God over the future and that He loves us, we should be wiser and more careful when making decisions in times of crisis. The people in Egypt didn’t have much of a choice; make the deal or starve to death. In our lives, it’s almost completely unlikely that our circumstances will ever get this extreme.

Joseph purchases the entire land of Egypt for the Pharaoh, and he purchases all of the people to continue to work and farm the land. Additionally, he installs a new flat tax rate, so that the crops that the people farm will profit the government, yet there will still be plenty left to feed the families that cultivate it. Joseph architects this legislation in a way that both honors the people and respects the assets of his boss, the Pharaoh.

There are many parallels between Joseph and Jesus, and more of them are revealed in this passage. The people of the land are starving, destined for destruction, and Joseph is the only one who can bridge the gap between the resources of the kingdom and the helplessness of the people. There is a big difference between the kingdom of Egypt and the Kingdom of Heaven, however. The Pharaoh offered a deal - salvation in exchange for your freedom and 20% of your possessions, for the rest of your life.

Jesus comes to us not with a contract of works, but with a covenant of grace. Jesus offers us salvation in exchange for nothing, never to be paid back and never to be worked for. Jesus bridges the gap between the resources of the Kingdom of Heaven and the helplessness of all those who come to Him.

Lastly, with Jacob now in Egypt and the covenant family growing in number, the stage was set by God’s providential hand to fulfill the prophecy God had given to Abraham. In Genesis 15:12-14, God had previously promised to Abraham that his descendants would spend 400 years enslaved in Egypt before God liberated them as a great nation. All of the prophecies given by God to Abraham are in the process of being fulfilled in Genesis, which sets the stage for the book of Exodus. The book of Exodus is the sequel to Genesis and is also penned by Moses. God got the family to Egypt through Joseph and the famine. This small family that begins increasing in Genesis 47:27 is a nation of a few million people some 400 years later when God crushes the Pharaoh in that day for mistreating His covenant people. This punishment was in accordance with His promise to Abraham to not only bless those who blessed His people but also curse those who cursed them.

Knowing of God’s promise to his grandfather Abraham in Genesis 15 and trusting that it would occur as God said in faith, Israel called his son Joseph to his side. Israel made Joseph promise to not leave his bones in Egypt but rather carry them back to the land God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and bury him with the other patriarchs there together. Joseph agreed and the old man worshiped God in faith as a man completely transformed by God’s grace from the godless trickster he had been in his younger years.

Today, Israel’s bones lie in the Promised Land as he desired along with the other patriarchs. One day Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will rise together and see Jesus Christ face-to-face with all of us who, by faith, are the offspring promised to them through God’s covenant of grace.

Question:

What does this passage say about honoring the government? What is the significance of Joseph instating a flat tax in this passage? Do you think that is more just and fair than a sliding tax system built upon one’s income?