Important notice: Always check out what you hear and see for yourself, as it is up to you as a Christian to do your own studying. Never take anyone's word alone, including this website here, without first always checking it out for yourself. As 2 Timothy 2:15 says "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
Genesis 47
1 Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.
2 And he took some of his brethren, even five (= the number of grace in Biblical numerics) men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.
In other words, Joseph took five of his brothers and brought them unto the Pharaoh.
3 And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers.
4 They said morever unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.
5 And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee:
6 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.
As we can see, this Pharaoh wanted Joseph's family to have the best land in this lower part of Egypt (Goshen). Notice he also had cattle himself, which pretty much documents that he was of the shepherd kings too, also known as the Hyksos, who most likely were from the offspring of Abraham and Keturah. If you remember from the last chapter (Genesis 46:34), the Egyptians at this time considered any shepherd to be an abomination. So this just goes to show how GOD worked things out and paved the way for the Israelites to arrive here, long before they even came into this land, as what are the odds that a shepherd would be the king of Egypt? As we have already seen from the last chapter, there is a separation between the children of Israel and the Egyptians; the lower part of Egypt is where the Israelites/Hebrews would dwell in, whereas the upper part of Egypt is where the heathen, idol worshiping, Egyptians lived. Just as we see a separation here between the two, we will also see a separation between the good figs (CHRISTians) and the bad figs (non-Christians), in this final generation, at the return of CHRIST, which happens at the seventh (last) trumpet (Matthew 13:49).
7 And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
8 And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?
9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.
In other words, Jacob (Israel) is referencing to the fact that he had never really had a dwelling place of his own to call home, as his forefathers did. Remember, he was always traveling and gazing cattle on other people's land, and at times even having to flee for his life (Example: Genesis 27:42, 34:30), now he has a place to permanently dwell in, until the end of his life.
10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
11 And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses (= child of the sun), as Pharaoh had commanded.
12 And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, according to their families.
13 And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.
14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn (= grain) which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house.
15 And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth.
In other words, the money was gone and these people needed bread.
16 And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail (i.e. disappears).
17 And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.
Notice how much these people were willing to give away in exchange for bread. Though this was literal bread being spoken of here, our TRUE and ultimate BREAD today is CHRIST HIMself, as HE is our BREAD of LIFE (John 6:35); how much are you willing to commit and give away to keep that BREAD? Hopefully everything because after all, HE died for us, so the least we can do is live for HIM.
18 When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands:
19 Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate.
And so it was, just as they became servants, rendering their own selves unto Joseph, who was a type of savior at this time, so are we to render ourselves today, unto our TRUE and ULTIMATE SAVIOR, which is JESUS CHRIST (YESHUA) alone; in all that you do, let it be in glory, honor, and praise for HIM. Let your life reflect CHRIST everyday, wherever you go. "And he (JESUS) said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels. But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:23-27)".
20 And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh's.
If you remember from Matthew 13, the field is the world. So if you think of this in a deeper sense of how this relates to you today, are you willing to give up the world (field) and everything in it, if that's what it takes to serve and stay faithful and chaste (spiritually speaking) for CHRIST? Hopefully so if you expect to enter HIS eternal Kingdom (Heaven) one day. So again, as we can see, these people were willing to give up anything and everything they had, including their own selves, in order to receive their bread, which is exactly how we should be today, concerning our BREAD, which is CHRIST HIMself. Forever put HIM first and by all means, never deny HIM, even if it cost you everything, including your own flesh and temporary life. Just as GOD HIMself loved us and was willing to give up HIS place of habitation, and enter into this flesh age as CHRIST, in order to Save mankind, so should we be willing to give up anything in order to serve HIM. Sit back for a minute and really let that sink in though... HE who was without sin, being in every way perfect, stepped into our dimension and took upon the entire weight of the world and sins of mankind, in order to Save HIS children. What tremendous love HE has for us. So again, HE died for us, so the least we can do is live for HIM. Remember, "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (Matthew 6:24)", "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever (1 John 2:15-17)".
21 And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof.
22 Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands.
23 Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.
All these things that we see written of here, from ancient times, all occurred for our admonition (1 Corinthians 10:11) today, whereby we could prepare ourselves in these end times for the spiritual famine (Amos 8:11) that is to come and has already started to begin. So here we see another example. Though this is literal seed being spoken of here, if you think of this in a deeper and spiritual sense on how this relates to us today, as it's written in the Parable of the Sower, the seed represents the WORD (TRUTH) of GOD, and so the only way we can survive the famine of these end times (Amos 8:11), is to have enough seed (spiritual TRUTH) planted and rooted deeply into our minds, whereby we aren't deceived. And though it's one thing to know the TRUTH, we must also act and live accordingly to it, whereby we can bring forth and produce the good fruit.
24 And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.
In other words, these people got to keep eighty percent of what they grew and only had to give twenty percent to the land owner, who was now the Pharaoh, as he and Joseph were the ones who provided the seed for these people. So as we can see, this was a really good deal that Joseph made with these people and a very small tax because in most other cases, the people would get the low end of the deal but in this case, they got the high end of the deal by far. Just think about how much tax you probably give up today with the work you put in and compare it to this situation; hence today you get taxed on the money you make, then you get taxed when you buy your materials, and then you get taxed on the things you already own.
25 And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.
As we can see, the people really liked this deal.
26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part, except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's.
Why? Because the priests earned it.
27 And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.
GOD knows those who love and serve HIM; hence HE always takes care of HIS own, no matter the place. Here we see Israel is used here, for the first time, of the nation. "Grew and multiplied" fulfills that which was written in Genesis 46:3 and prepares for Exodus 1:7 and Exodus 12:37.
28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years (= 147).
29 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, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt:
To place the hand on the thy was to swear by the future generations of a person; in this case, that being Israel's (Jacob's).
30 But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.
And so it was, Israel (Jacob) wanted to be buried in the same place as Abraham and Isaac, which was in the land of Canaan. That was also the same place where Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah were buried (Genesis 49:30-33).
31 And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.
Perhaps Israel (Jacob) did this bowing as a praise to GOD, for allowing him to see Joseph again, and for allowing him to have the life he had, and for receiving provision and land during the famine. Compare to Hebrews 11:21.
2 And he took some of his brethren, even five (= the number of grace in Biblical numerics) men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.
In other words, Joseph took five of his brothers and brought them unto the Pharaoh.
3 And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers.
4 They said morever unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.
5 And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee:
6 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.
As we can see, this Pharaoh wanted Joseph's family to have the best land in this lower part of Egypt (Goshen). Notice he also had cattle himself, which pretty much documents that he was of the shepherd kings too, also known as the Hyksos, who most likely were from the offspring of Abraham and Keturah. If you remember from the last chapter (Genesis 46:34), the Egyptians at this time considered any shepherd to be an abomination. So this just goes to show how GOD worked things out and paved the way for the Israelites to arrive here, long before they even came into this land, as what are the odds that a shepherd would be the king of Egypt? As we have already seen from the last chapter, there is a separation between the children of Israel and the Egyptians; the lower part of Egypt is where the Israelites/Hebrews would dwell in, whereas the upper part of Egypt is where the heathen, idol worshiping, Egyptians lived. Just as we see a separation here between the two, we will also see a separation between the good figs (CHRISTians) and the bad figs (non-Christians), in this final generation, at the return of CHRIST, which happens at the seventh (last) trumpet (Matthew 13:49).
7 And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
8 And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?
9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.
In other words, Jacob (Israel) is referencing to the fact that he had never really had a dwelling place of his own to call home, as his forefathers did. Remember, he was always traveling and gazing cattle on other people's land, and at times even having to flee for his life (Example: Genesis 27:42, 34:30), now he has a place to permanently dwell in, until the end of his life.
10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
11 And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses (= child of the sun), as Pharaoh had commanded.
12 And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, according to their families.
13 And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.
14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn (= grain) which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house.
15 And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth.
In other words, the money was gone and these people needed bread.
16 And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail (i.e. disappears).
17 And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.
Notice how much these people were willing to give away in exchange for bread. Though this was literal bread being spoken of here, our TRUE and ultimate BREAD today is CHRIST HIMself, as HE is our BREAD of LIFE (John 6:35); how much are you willing to commit and give away to keep that BREAD? Hopefully everything because after all, HE died for us, so the least we can do is live for HIM.
18 When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands:
19 Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate.
And so it was, just as they became servants, rendering their own selves unto Joseph, who was a type of savior at this time, so are we to render ourselves today, unto our TRUE and ULTIMATE SAVIOR, which is JESUS CHRIST (YESHUA) alone; in all that you do, let it be in glory, honor, and praise for HIM. Let your life reflect CHRIST everyday, wherever you go. "And he (JESUS) said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels. But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:23-27)".
20 And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh's.
If you remember from Matthew 13, the field is the world. So if you think of this in a deeper sense of how this relates to you today, are you willing to give up the world (field) and everything in it, if that's what it takes to serve and stay faithful and chaste (spiritually speaking) for CHRIST? Hopefully so if you expect to enter HIS eternal Kingdom (Heaven) one day. So again, as we can see, these people were willing to give up anything and everything they had, including their own selves, in order to receive their bread, which is exactly how we should be today, concerning our BREAD, which is CHRIST HIMself. Forever put HIM first and by all means, never deny HIM, even if it cost you everything, including your own flesh and temporary life. Just as GOD HIMself loved us and was willing to give up HIS place of habitation, and enter into this flesh age as CHRIST, in order to Save mankind, so should we be willing to give up anything in order to serve HIM. Sit back for a minute and really let that sink in though... HE who was without sin, being in every way perfect, stepped into our dimension and took upon the entire weight of the world and sins of mankind, in order to Save HIS children. What tremendous love HE has for us. So again, HE died for us, so the least we can do is live for HIM. Remember, "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (Matthew 6:24)", "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever (1 John 2:15-17)".
21 And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof.
22 Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands.
23 Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.
All these things that we see written of here, from ancient times, all occurred for our admonition (1 Corinthians 10:11) today, whereby we could prepare ourselves in these end times for the spiritual famine (Amos 8:11) that is to come and has already started to begin. So here we see another example. Though this is literal seed being spoken of here, if you think of this in a deeper and spiritual sense on how this relates to us today, as it's written in the Parable of the Sower, the seed represents the WORD (TRUTH) of GOD, and so the only way we can survive the famine of these end times (Amos 8:11), is to have enough seed (spiritual TRUTH) planted and rooted deeply into our minds, whereby we aren't deceived. And though it's one thing to know the TRUTH, we must also act and live accordingly to it, whereby we can bring forth and produce the good fruit.
24 And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.
In other words, these people got to keep eighty percent of what they grew and only had to give twenty percent to the land owner, who was now the Pharaoh, as he and Joseph were the ones who provided the seed for these people. So as we can see, this was a really good deal that Joseph made with these people and a very small tax because in most other cases, the people would get the low end of the deal but in this case, they got the high end of the deal by far. Just think about how much tax you probably give up today with the work you put in and compare it to this situation; hence today you get taxed on the money you make, then you get taxed when you buy your materials, and then you get taxed on the things you already own.
25 And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.
As we can see, the people really liked this deal.
26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part, except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's.
Why? Because the priests earned it.
27 And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.
GOD knows those who love and serve HIM; hence HE always takes care of HIS own, no matter the place. Here we see Israel is used here, for the first time, of the nation. "Grew and multiplied" fulfills that which was written in Genesis 46:3 and prepares for Exodus 1:7 and Exodus 12:37.
28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years (= 147).
29 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, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt:
To place the hand on the thy was to swear by the future generations of a person; in this case, that being Israel's (Jacob's).
30 But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.
And so it was, Israel (Jacob) wanted to be buried in the same place as Abraham and Isaac, which was in the land of Canaan. That was also the same place where Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah were buried (Genesis 49:30-33).
31 And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.
Perhaps Israel (Jacob) did this bowing as a praise to GOD, for allowing him to see Joseph again, and for allowing him to have the life he had, and for receiving provision and land during the famine. Compare to Hebrews 11:21.