WordLive - Year OneSample

Prepare: Take stock of your possessions. If you had to leave with only a small suitcase, what would you put in it? No mercy? We are brought up in a culture where we are repeatedly told that the more stuff we have – wide screen TVs, iPhones, designer clothes – the more successful we are. The idea of Joseph gradually taking all Egypt’s possessions – first their money (v 15), next their livestock (v 17), then their land and finally even themselves (vs 20,21) – in exchange for grain seems cruel. Why did Joseph not have mercy on the people and give them the grain as charity? Joseph’s actions are in fact in line with Old Testament teaching on this subject (see Leviticus 25:14–43). Joseph takes whatever the Egyptians can offer to keep themselves alive, but while they give up the ownership of the land, they still have the use of it. Sacrifice It’s like the relationship between a landowner and a tenant. When we read on, we see that this deal is a very healthy one – Joseph is only charging 20 per cent tax as the Egyptians work their way back out of poverty (v 24). In tough times we are sometimes called to sacrifice our wants for our needs. As the Egyptians gave themselves back to Pharaoh in exchange for life, are we called to entrust to God what was only his to grant us in the first place? Respond: What do you need to give up in order to prosper spiritually? Ask God to convict you of anything that is getting in the way. http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-11-06