Deep Breath…
Opening Prayer
Heavenly Father, I’m thankful for Your welcome and so glad just to be with You for these few moments.
Read Genesis 47:1-12
[1] Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.” [2] He chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh. [3] Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?” “Your servants are shepherds,” they replied to Pharaoh, “just as our fathers were.” [4] They also said to him, “We have come to live here for a while, because the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants’ flocks have no pasture. So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.” [5] Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you, [6] and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock.” [7] Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed Pharaoh, [8] Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?” [9] And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.” [10] Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence. [11] So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh directed. [12] Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their children. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION
Reflect
How did Joseph now fulfill God's plan (45:5-7)?Previously, in ch. 46, Jacob, his sons and their households had come to join Joseph in Egypt to escape the famine that engulfed their homeland in Canaan. As Jacob’s family face Pharaoh, God has seen that they don’t come unprepared: Joseph, the Pharaoh’s favorite, is presenting them, and he has prepared them with what to say (46:33,34). All they have to do is play their part. In today’s reading we see the brothers say their lines perfectly (3,4). God is gracious, and Pharaoh grants them more than they ask for, not only giving his permission to live in the best part of the land, but also entrusting to them the care of his own livestock (6). In the “fold” of our journey, a place to stop when one road ends and another begins, there is often time to rest, recover from the past and prepare for the future. But it is also easy to fear the unknown of what’s next. Are we prepared to continue to trust God into yet another unknown? Certainly, as their lives in Egypt begin, Joseph and his family would still have to do that.
Apply
Take time to thank God for what he has brought you through, and ask him to prepare you for whatever is ahead.
Closing prayer
Lord, You are the God of the past, present and future. I know I can trust You, no matter what’s ahead.
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