The God Who Gives Life
Text: Genesis 47:13-31
Core Idea: The God who preserved lives through Joseph, kept His promise in Egypt, and sustained Jacob as death drew near is the same God who has given us life in Christ. So, wherever He has placed us, let’s trust His promises, care for the people around us, and face the future with confidence, knowing that we belong to Him.
INTRODUCTION
We’re continuing our journey through the Book of Genesis – discovering how God faithfully accomplished His purposes. And last week, we saw Jacob reuniting with Joseph after more than twenty years. The son he thought was dead was alive – and through Joseph, God provided Jacob’s family food and a place to live through the famine. All that to say, Jacob’s family was now in Egypt – together and provided for. But how did they adjust to this new life in a foreign land? That’s what we’re going to find out today. So, with that, please turn with me to Genesis 47:13-31.
13 There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. 14 Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace. 15 When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is all gone.” 16 “Then bring your livestock,” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys. And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock. 18 When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we perish before your eyes – we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.” 20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, 21 and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 However, he did not buy the land of the priests, because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land. 23 Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground. 24 But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.” 25 “You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.” 26 So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt – still in force today – that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s. 27 Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number. 28 Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven. 29 When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.” “I will do as you say,” he said. 31 “Swear to me,” he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
Amen. This is the Word of God for you today.
As I reflected on this passage, one question kept coming to my mind: Where will we find life? For the Egyptians, it was an urgent question as their food and resources ran out. For Jacob’s family, the answer began to unfold as they grew in number. And as Jacob’s death drew near, the question took on an even deeper meaning. Then, let’s look at these three scenes and see what they teach us about the God who gives life.
WHEN LIFE IS SLIPPING AWAY
WHEN LIFE TAKES US SOMEWHERE UNEXPECTED
WHEN DEATH DRAWS NEAR
1. WHEN LIFE IS SLIPPING AWAY
For several chapters, we’ve followed Joseph and his brothers as God brought their family back together. Jacob has finally seen Joseph again. His family has food, land, and a place to settle. But now the author takes us outside Goshen to show us what was happening around them. Verse 13 says the famine was so severe that both Egypt and Canaan were wasting away – there was no food in the land. Try to imagine what that means. This wasn’t a shortage where people had to wait a few weeks for a store to restock. No, the land wasn’t producing what they needed – and there was no end in sight. So, the people came to Joseph for grain. At first, they paid with money – but their money ran out. Then, they brought their livestock – horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys – in exchange for food. But at the end of that same year, they had to come back because they still had no food. And by then, they had nothing left but their land and themselves. They said in verse 19: “Why should we perish before your eyes – we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die.” They weren’t trying to get ahead in life – they were just trying to stay alive. But each time they came back, they had less to offer. Can you imagine having to decide what to give up next so your family could eat? And then coming back again, knowing you had almost nothing left? Now, this part of the story may make us uncomfortable, because think about it. By the end, Pharaoh owned the land – and the people had become his servants. So, we might be thinking, “Was Joseph exploiting their desperation to make Pharaoh wealthier? Why didn’t he just give away the grain?” Those are understandable questions in a situation where people’s lives were at stake. Now, the author doesn’t give us every detail about Joseph’s thought process. We don’t know what was on his mind. But he does tell us what Joseph did: He gave the people food when they had none. He gave them seed so they could plant again. And he established that a fifth of their future harvest would go to Pharaoh – leaving them the rest for their fields and households. And look at how the people responded in verse 25: “You have saved our lives.” Yes, it’s true that they had to give up a lot to survive. But the point of this text is that God used Joseph’s wisdom to provide food and a future harvest for people who feared they would die. There’s something remarkable here, because think about it. In the middle of a severe famine, Joseph’s work resulted in people living, children eating, and fields being planted again. And notice whose lives were being preserved. We know God had sent Joseph ahead to preserve Jacob’s family. But Jacob’s family wasn’t the only family eating – Egyptians were eating too. God had given Joseph wisdom to understand what was coming and placed him where he could prepare for it. And now, through his decisions about grain, land, and seed, God was preserving the lives of people beyond his own family. God’s care reached people Joseph may have never expected to serve twenty years ago.
That makes me wonder whether our picture of God’s work sometimes becomes too small. We may imagine that God works through the big, memorable moments of our lives, while the things we do each day barely matter. But look at Joseph. In the middle of a severe famine, he managed grain, made decisions about its distribution, and provided seed for people to plant in their land. Much of that would’ve looked like administration. And yet, God used those responsibilities to preserve people’s lives. The truth is that most of our days are filled with things that don’t really feel remarkable. A parent makes another meal, answers the same question for the tenth time, or patiently helps a child through a difficult moment. A husband or wife notices that the other is exhausted and takes care of something without being asked. A friend keeps checking in when a hard season lasts longer than expected. A manager makes a fair decision, even when it would be easier not to. A teacher prepares another lesson, hoping to reach a student who has been struggling. None of it may feel like much at the moment – but ordinary work is not meaningless just because we cannot yet see its fruit. Joseph’s wisdom showed up in the responsibilities God had placed before him. The people needed food for today and seed for tomorrow, and he paid attention to both. Martin Luther said, “Every occupation has its own honor before God. Ordinary work is a divine vocation or calling. In our daily work, no matter how important or mundane, we serve God by serving the neighbor and we also participate in God's ongoing providence for the human race.” This was true of Joseph’s work in Egypt, and it can be true of ours as well. So, let me ask you: Who may experience God’s care through the ordinary things you do each day? Friends, don’t despise the responsibilities He has placed in your hands. Do them with care. Love the people in front of you. You may never know the full effect of your faithfulness – but you can entrust that work to God. Where will we find life when life is slipping away? God preserved the Egyptians through Joseph’s wisdom and work. Then, wherever God has placed you, faithfully carry out the work before you – trusting that He can use even what feels ordinary to care for the people around you.
2. WHEN LIFE TAKES US SOMEWHERE UNEXPECTED
After 26 verses describing what happened to the Egyptians, the author turns our attention back to Jacob’s family. And he does it in just one verse. Verse 27: “Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.” It’s a short verse – but after everything we’ve just read, the difference is hard to miss. The Egyptians had sold their land just to survive the famine, while Jacob’s family acquired property. The Egyptians feared they would die, while Jacob’s family was growing. And we can’t help but ask, “Where was life coming from for this family?” Yes, Joseph provided food, and Pharaoh had welcomed them. But there’s more going on here. Listen again to the end of verse 27: “They were fruitful and increased greatly in number.” Doesn’t that sound familiar? If you’ve been with us throughout this Genesis series, you’ll remember that God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and increase. He said the same phrase again to Noah after the flood. And He promised the same thing to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – that their family would grow into a great nation. But notice the difference in verse 27. It’s not, “Be fruitful and increase.” But they were fruitful and increasing, just as God had said. We’re beginning to see God’s promise fulfilled. If you remember, just before Jacob went down to Egypt, God said to Jacob in Genesis 46:3, “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.” Not after they returned to Canaan. God said He would make them into a great nation in Egypt. And now, in Goshen, His words were beginning to bear fruit. I find that encouraging because Egypt must have seemed like an unlikely place for the promise to move forward. God had promised Jacob’s family the land of Canaan. And yet here they were, living outside of it because they couldn’t survive there. But God’s blessing was not bound by geography – He was keeping His word to him even there. Last week, we talked about how Goshen wasn’t their final home. Well, this verse shows us that God was at work in a place that wasn’t home. His promise didn’t stop at the border of Canaan. He was faithful to this family in the place where they might have wondered, “Will God still be with us here?” I wonder if some of us need to hear that today – because maybe life has taken you somewhere you never expected to be. You imagined being settled in a career, but you’re still trying to find your way. You hoped a relationship would be restored, but it remains strained. You thought a difficult season of caring for someone would be temporary, but it has gone on much longer than you expected. And you find yourself asking, “Lord, are You sure You’re here?” Now, I don’t want to suggest that every difficult season will eventually make sense to us, or that if we wait long enough, we’ll always see its fruit. Even for Jacob’s family, Egypt would later become a place of great suffering. So, their growth in verse 27 didn’t mean hardship was over. But God’s faithfulness wasn’t limited to the days when their lives felt secure. He would continue to keep His word. This is important because it helps us read this verse carefully. It would be easy to say, “God’s people acquired property and increased in number. So, if we trust Him, He’ll make our lives prosper too.” But that’s not the promise this passage makes to us. God had made a particular promise to Jacob’s family – that He would make them into a nation. And verse 27 shows Him doing exactly that. Then, the point is that we can rejoice in His faithfulness without turning their property in Goshen into a guarantee of property, success, or an easier life for every Christian.
So, what can we take from this? That the God who kept His word to Jacob will keep His word to us too. But for us to fully appreciate this, we need to first ask what He has actually promised us in Jesus Christ, because we don’t want to expect the things He never promised. Well, according to the Bible, He promised that those who trust in Christ will be forgiven and will belong to Him. He promised to be with His people. He promised that nothing can separate us from His love in Christ. And He promised to raise us to life with Him. Now, these promises may not remove the uncertainty we face today. But they do give us something solid to hold on to in our uncertainty. The truth is that our circumstances can change quickly. We may lose work we thought was secure. A diagnosis can interrupt our plans. Even the people we love cannot always stay with us. But the future God has given us in Christ does not depend on our ability to keep everything in place. Think about what we often look to for life. We tell ourselves, “Once I have enough saved, I’ll be okay. Once my children are doing well, I’ll be able to breathe. Once this problem is resolved, I’ll finally have peace.” These are understandable desires. But if our peace depends entirely on those things, what will happen while you’re waiting? In fact, what will happen if circumstances change again? Will you fall back to anxiety and chaos? Now, I don’t say this to shame anyone who feels anxious. Christians do feel anxious. We grieve. We worry about people we love. Sometimes we can barely imagine how we’ll get through the next season. Trusting God’s promise doesn’t mean we never feel any of that. But it does mean we have somewhere to turn when we are afraid. We can say, “Lord, I can’t see what You’re doing right now. But You told me what You’ve done for me in Christ and where You’re taking me. Then, help me hold on to those promises today. Help me to trust You.” And as we learn to trust Him, we can begin to live differently. We can work hard without believing our future rests entirely on our performance. We can love our families deeply without crushing them with our own expectations. We can be grateful for what we have without making it the source of our security. These are good gifts from God, and we should cherish them. But they cannot carry what only God can. So, friends, if you find yourself wondering what God is doing where you are, bring that question to Him. Ask Him for the things you need. And make time to remember what He has said. I say this because it’s possible to spend so much time thinking about what might happen next that you have no time to reflect on what God has already promised. So, where will we find life when life takes us somewhere unexpected? Jacob’s family was growing in Goshen because God was keeping His word. The place was unfamiliar, but God had not forgotten them there. In the same way, when we can’t see what He is doing in our own circumstances, let’s hold on to what He has promised us in Christ, knowing He loves us and is always working for our good.
3. WHEN DEATH DRAWS NEAR
Verse 28 tells us that Jacob lived in Egypt for 17 years. Think about what those years must have meant to him. After so much grief, those 17 years must have been a gift. But even a gift like that couldn’t last forever. Verse 29: “When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph.” Now, what was on Jacob’s mind as he faced death? Listen to his request to Joseph in verse 30: “When I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.” Joseph agreed, but Jacob asked him to swear an oath because he wanted Joseph to understand how much this mattered to him. At first, that may be a surprising thing to be concerned about, considering his family was in Egypt – the most powerful and affluent nation in the world – and Pharaoh had given them a good place to live. So, why did it matter so much where Jacob was buried? It mattered because God had made a promise about where this family was going. It’s true that Jacob had left Canaan to survive the famine and received real kindness in Egypt. But he didn’t want his family to forget that Egypt was not the end of their story. By asking to be buried with his fathers, Jacob was holding on to God’s promise concerning the land and asking Joseph to remember it too. Last week, we saw Jacob describe his life as a pilgrimage. Now, near the end of that pilgrimage, he was still looking in the same direction. He would die in Egypt before his family returned to Canaan. He wouldn’t see everything God had promised. But he believed God’s word would remain true even after he was gone. In a sense, his final request was: “Be grateful for the place where God has cared for us, but don’t forget where He has promised to lead us.” No wonder Jacob worshiped after making that request. As he faced death, he trusted the God who had been faithful throughout his life to remain faithful to his family after he was gone.
Most of us don’t spend much time thinking about our own death. We know it will happen, but there’s always something more “urgent” to think about: work to finish, children who need us, and plans for next month. In many ways, that’s understandable since we have responsibilities to care for. But every once in a while, death comes close. We attend a funeral. Someone we love becomes ill. We notice our bodies can’t do what they once did. Or we read passages like this. And suddenly, the question we usually keep in the background becomes difficult to avoid: “Am I ready for my death? How am I preparing? How should I live now, knowing that my days are limited?” Well, Jacob helps us think about that. He had learned to trust God through the joys and sorrows of his life. And when death drew near, what he believed shaped what he asked for, what he wanted his family to remember, and how he spent his final days. He faced death holding on to God’s promise. Then, what would it look like for us to prepare well like Jacob? It should begin with this – Psalm 90:12: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Numbering our days doesn’t mean living in fear of how little time we have. It just means receiving today as a gift and asking whether the way we spend our time reflects what we say matters most. For some of us, that may change how we think about retirement. Maybe your dream is to retire early and enjoy your life in comfort – traveling to places you’ve always wanted to visit, spending the money you’ve worked so hard to save, or enjoying a hobby without another deadline hanging over you. Don’t get me wrong – those are good things to look forward to. But is that all you’re looking for? David Mathis writes, “For decades, you’ve been amassing wisdom and experience and patience and perspective. Now, on the other side of a career, you’re finally free to share those riches with others. There are younger men and women in the throes of their early careers, new fathers and mothers insecure in their parenting, teens eager to grow up but unsure how – all in desperate need of your rooted presence. Now is the time, in these final golden years, to make Paul’s charge your own: ‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers (Galatians 6:9-10).’” Brothers and sisters, don’t assume that once your career is over, the meaningful part of your life is behind you. God can use what you’ve learned through both joy and sorrow to help others live faithfully. Make room for people. Get to know those who are younger than you. Let them ask you questions. Encourage them when they struggle and show them what it looks like to keep trusting the Lord through ordinary days. And that, of course, includes people in our church, but it also includes others who do not yet know Jesus. Earlier in this passage, we saw Egyptians doing everything they could to stay alive – and isn’t that what so many people around us are doing as well? They’re chasing life but in the wrong places – which is why we need to share about the unshakable hope we have in Christ. In fact, you don’t have to be near retirement to live this way. It’s easy to think, “Once life settles down, I’ll have more time for people.” But our days are limited. Then, let me ask you: “Is there someone you’ve meant to call and invite over? Is there a younger person in our church whom you could get to know, pray for, and encourage? What are you passing on by the way you live now?” Now, for some of us, thinking about death is difficult because it raises a question like this: “How can I know I’ll be okay when my life ends?” I’ve been going through the New City Catechism with the four people who will be baptized next month, and the first question has stayed with me for some time. Here’s what it asks: “What is our only hope in life and death?” And the answer is: “That we are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ.” Our hope is not that we can prepare so well that death will never frighten us. No, our hope is that we belong to the One who has overcome death. No wonder Jacob worshiped at his deathbed. And that’s what we should do as well. So, where will we find life when death draws near? Jacob held on to God’s promise, but we hold on to God’s promise fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Because of Him, we can face the end of our days with hope and live the days we have now with gratitude, love, and worship.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, the God who preserved lives through Joseph, kept His promise in Egypt, and sustained Jacob as death drew near is the same God who has given us life in Jesus Christ. So, wherever He has placed us, let’s trust His promises, care faithfully for the people around us, and face the future with confidence, knowing that we belong to Him.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Joseph’s ordinary work saved lives. What ordinary responsibility in your life is easy to dismiss as unimportant? When you cannot see the fruit of your work, what makes it difficult to keep doing it with care?
How does verse 27 differ from what you read about the Egyptians? Have you been waiting for a circumstance to change before you believe God can be at work? What would it look like for you to trust Him in your circumstance, even without knowing what He is doing?
Why did burial with his fathers matter to Jacob, even though his family was living in Egypt? If you remembered more often that your days are limited, what would you give more time and attention to now?
Questions for Youth: When life doesn’t go the way you expected, what do you tend to rely on for security? What has God promised you in Christ that you can hold on to?
