Exodus 1:8-11

Exodus 1:8-11 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. Years after Joseph died, the pharaohs forgot what Joseph had done for them. The children of Israel multiplied and became a great nation within the nation of Egypt. The pharaoh got nervous because he thought that they might side with a foreign enemy when a war started. And back then wars started all the time. So Pharaoh made them slaves and made them work for him. What an ingrate! Joseph had made Pharaoh rich and now his great, great grandson was making them slaves! But the more Pharaoh made them work the stronger they became! The hard work that the Children of Israel did for Pharaoh was like working out at the gym. They got stronger and stronger. Pharaoh was trying to destroy Jacob’s descendants, but he forgot one thing: God was taking care of His chosen people. God would not forget them. He would eventually lead them back to the Promised land. It wasn’t time just yet. Almost, but not just yet.

Genesis 47:28-30

Genesis 47:28-30 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years. And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, ... deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt: But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying place. And he said, I will do as thou hast said. Jacob lived a long, long life. The last few years he lived in Egypt. I am sure that he enjoyed his son, Joseph, and his grandchildren, but Jacob longed for his home back in the Promised Land. So when he was about to die, he instructed Joseph to take his body back to Canaan and bury him there. And that is what Joseph did. The Egyptians embalmed Jacob just like they did to all of the important people who died. And with a great procession, Joseph took his father’s body back to Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, where Abraham and Sarah were also buried. Joseph kept his promise to his father! And when you make a promise you should keep it. So don’t make many promises. But when you do, be sure to keep them!

Genesis 47:5-7

Genesis 47:5-7 And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee: The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle. And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. When Joseph brought his extended family down to Egypt, he was excited to see them. But his father and brothers were a little bit nervous. They were just lowly shepherds and Pharaoh was an important man. But Pharaoh was curious to see Joseph’s family. Joseph had been an extreme blessing to Pharaoh. What was Joseph’s family like? Pharaoh thought. The Egyptians weren’t impressed with stinky shepherds. But Joseph chose the best land for his family. He chose a good, well-watered place for their flocks and herds. And when Joseph gave his family the best land, Pharaoh didn’t even blink. Because Joseph had been so smart, Pharaoh had all of the land of Egypt, all of the cattle of Egypt, and all of the gold in Egypt. So Pharaoh was more than glad to give the land of Goshen to Joseph’s family. If your dad has a good employee, he gives him raises and takes care of him so that he will be happy. That is what good bosses do. They pay their workers well and their workers produce well for their bosses. We all should work together like Joseph and Pharaoh worked together. God blessed Joseph and Joseph blessed Pharaoh, and Pharaoh, in return, blessed Joseph. And that is the way it should be. We should take care of one another.

Genesis 45:9-11

Genesis 45:4,9-11 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not: And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast: And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine. The eleven brothers couldn’t believe it! Joseph, their little braggy brother was actually the ruler of Egypt! I am sure that the brothers remembered Joseph’s dreams. God was right! They would bow down and worship Joseph! But Joseph was going to take care of them. Joseph ordered wagons up to Canaan to gather up his father and brethren and to bring all of them down to Egypt to the prime land of Goshen. Jacob almost had a heart attack when he heard that his precious Joseph was alive. I imagine that when he saw Joseph face to face that there were buckets of tears of joy that were shed! And Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh was honored with Jacob’s presence, for Jacob was an old, old man with great wisdom. I am sure there were many good times as Joseph’s family settled down in the good land of Goshen. There were five more years of famine. But they didn’t care. They were in the land of blessing. Joseph was taking care of them as God had taken care of Joseph. Isn’t God good! His plans are absolutely wonderful!

Genesis 43:1,2

Genesis 43:1,2 And the famine was sore in the land. And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food. As the famine continued, Jacob and his extended family quickly went through the grain that Joseph had sold to them. So Jacob told his sons to go back to Egypt and buy some more grain to keep them alive. Ruben reminded him that Simeon was left as a hostage and the only way that the Egyptian ruler would sell them more grain was if they brought Benjamin back with them to prove that they weren’t spies. Jacob was reluctant, but he had to let in as they were all starving anyway. When the brothers arrived in Egypt, Joseph was excited to see his all grown up little brother. He brought the brothers over to his palace for supper, and to their surprise, he seated them all according to their age. The next day, he sent them away with the grain that they bought. But Joseph had a plan. He secretly put his golden cup in Benjamin's sack. After the brothers left, Joseph sent out his guards to stop them. “Is this how you treat a host?” the guards exclaimed. “One of you has stolen our master’s golden cup. You will all pay for such a wicked act.” And they were hauled back before Joseph. But when they appeared before Joseph, he seemed to soften a little. He said, “I will let all of you Go, and will only imprison the one who has stolen my golden cup.” Upon investigation, the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. The brothers were shocked and scared. Benjamin was Jacob’s favorite. They had disposed of Joseph and now they were about to lose Benjamin. They begged for mercy and Judah offered to stay as a prisoner so that Benjamin could return safely to their father. Joseph saw that they were repentant and could bear it no longer. In Hebrew, he blurted out, "I am Joseph, your brother!” The brothers were shocked! And then they really became scared. The last time they had seen Joseph was when they sold him as a slave - not good. Would he get even with them for their wickedness? But Joseph went on, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.” He stepped in among them and hugged them with tears of joy. The brothers couldn’t get over it! Their little brother was the second in command of all of Egypt! Nothing could be better. But, it would get better. God was in control!