Blessed for the Sake of His People

Genesis 47:23-27

²³Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. ²⁴And at the harvests you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones.” ²⁵And they said, “You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh.” ²⁶So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh’s.

²⁷Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly.

(ESV)

Thought:
Joseph brought immense blessing to the people of Egypt, in verse 25 they declare him their saviour. Why did the people of Egypt get to enjoy such a rich blessing from God, to be saved from this famine? Because Pharaoh honoured the people of God, he was so generous to Joseph’s family, because he saw the blessing which Joseph had brought to his kingdom, to make him even more powerful than he already was.

Pharaoh was blessed because he blessed the people of God, but what would happen when a couple hundred years later and there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. (Exodus 1:8)?

He would enslave and mistreat God’s people, and he shall find himself under the wrath of God leading to God’s people leaving with much of their wealth, and Pharaoh with his entire army dead at the bottom of the Red Sea. You can see it our nation has been blessed for its desire to honour God and bless the way of his people, even in a secular sense. But as it has oppressed and restricted God’s people more it has found itself sliding more and more into a nation under God’s curse.

Let us pray this world would more realise the blessing that it is denying to itself. It will always deny it because it follows the devil, but at times God will show grace to this world, he will bless a nation for the sake of his people in it. And let us pray for this blessing often leads to greater opportunity to share the gospel with those in our nation who do not know him.

God is kind and gracious to the nations, upholding and sustaining them every day even in the midst of their wickedness. But he does it for a reason, that those nations, the people within them might come to repentance. So let us pray that people would be saved, driven to repentance, and that more doors might be opened for the gospel message that leads to salvation to be preached and shared where it has not been before.

Reflection:
As I go about my day, I need to remember that God's kindness is never something to take for granted. He continues to show grace, patience, and generosity even to people who ignore Him or reject Him. Today I need to apply this by thanking God for His mercy in my own life and praying for those around me who do not yet know Him. Rather than assuming His kindness will last forever, I should see it as an invitation to repentance and a reminder of His desire to save.

Prayer:
Father, thank You for the patience and kindness You continually show to this world. Help me never take Your grace for granted. Use Your blessings to draw people to repentance and faith in Christ. Open doors for the gospel to be proclaimed, soften hearts to receive it, and help me faithfully pray for the salvation of those who do not yet know You. Amen.