Today I read Genesis 46 and 47, which talk about Jacob going to Egypt with his family and the effects of the famine. Jacob prayed before accepting anything from Pharaoh. Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and he was richly blessed. Today I considered that faith takes action, we are to bless those who bless us, and those who are prepared are sometimes enriched in disasters.
Prayer and Faith
Prayer should be followed by faithful steps. Jacob prayed and offered sacrifices to God before accepting the offer to go to Egypt (Genesis 46:1). God promised to go with Jacob, make him a nation there, and bring him out of Egypt. Jacob trusted God, got up, and took everyone and his valuables with him to Egypt. We must do more than pray; we must also take the steps to go where God tells us to go.
Blessing Those Who Bless Us
We are to pray for those who truly bless us. Pharaoh let Joseph’s family dwell in the best land and become rulers over his cattle (Genesis 47:6). Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh (Genesis 47:7 & 10). Jacob did as he was taught knowing that God blesses those that bless God’s children (Genesis 12:3). We should pray for those that pour blessings into our lives so that God can continue to let them be a blessing to others.
Enrichment of Pharaoh
The people sold themselves and their children into slavery so they would not starve. The first year of the famine, Joseph gathered all of the money from the Egyptians for food. By the second year, Joseph gathered the land of Egypt and people as slaves for Pharaoh (Genesis 47:19-20). When God lets us know hardship is coming we should prepare for it. If we do not prepare for it, we can become desperate and do desperate things.
Questions and Thoughts for Today
I never really thought about how Pharaoh obtained his land, riches, and slaves until I read Genesis 47. Pharaoh had some of these but Pharaoh was blessed by Jacob, and the famine truly enriched Pharaoh because he was prepared to feed the people because of Joseph.
Have you ever not prepared for an emergency and then wished that you had?