Joseph—abundance
Last time on Choosing Peace, Joseph was reunited with his father Jacob after 22 years apart. What a beautiful moment.
Today’s post surprised me. It didn’t go where I thought it would. That sounds like certain aspects of my life. But I love it, on both counts—this post and my life. Get ready to read about Soundgarden, the Un-American company, and shepherds.
New home, new job
Joseph told Pharaoh that his father, his brothers and their families had arrived at Goshen in the land of Egypt. Then Joseph brought five of his brothers to meet Pharaoh, who asked them about their occupation.
And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers.”
Genesis 47:3b, New Heart English Bible
Pharaoh said to Joseph:
“Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. They may live in the land of Goshen. If you know any able men among them, then put them in charge of my livestock.”
Genesis 47:6b and c, New Heart English Bible
Pharaoh demonstrated his favor toward Joseph by extending that favor to his brothers. They just got the position of being responsible for Pharaoh’s flocks. That was a big deal, especially during a long famine. Special care and expertise would be required to keep the flocks thriving. Can you imagine moving to a foreign country and—right off the bat—being given a job by the king?! Wow.
The shepherds
Joseph and his brothers grew up as shepherds.
The documentary
If you’ve been reading Choosing Peace for a while, you know about the incredible short film/documentary, Jesus, the Soul Shepherd. It never gets old. I appreciate the many scriptures, the symbols, and the day-to-day truths about our Soul Shepherd—Jesus Christ. Who he is. How he cares for us every day. How he protects us. Also, reflecting on our enemy, the wolf, reminds us of how much we need our shepherd’s daily care and protection.
The book
I recently finished Phillip Keller’s gem, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, and added it to my list of recommended books. I placed this book in the third-most-recommended spot, after the Bible and Psalm 91. That is high praise, indeed—and well deserved.
When my friend Elyse and her family found themselves in an intense medical crisis this spring, I sent her a quote from A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23. Then I explained: “That was the ‘You anoint my head with oil’ chapter. We think of anointing as a kingly or priestly appointment/honor. I learned that a shepherd uses oil to protect his sheep from deadly parasites and insects. The anointing is all about protection from small, deadly, sometimes unseen forces. Praying Psalm 91 protection over you ALL!” (I shared Psalm 91 with Elyse years ago, so she thoroughly understood my Psalm 91 comment—and most importantly—God’s powerful protection described in that psalm.)
Oil, used for anointing, represents the Holy Spirit. To learn about the various symbols for the Holy Spirit, read this article from GotQuestions.org. Also, see The Holy Spirit in the index.
Protected from unseen forces
Let’s reflect on this sentence from my message to Elyse: “The [shepherd] anointing [his sheep] is all about protection from small, deadly, sometimes unseen forces.” Illness can definitely be an example of a “deadly, sometimes unseen” force. Can you think of other examples? Has a “deadly, sometimes unseen” force impacted your life? Close your eyes and see what the Lord brings to mind. How have you experienced God’s hand of protection? Journal about these things. Check out Protected by God in the index for encouragement.
A conversation with the king
When I read the next part of Genesis, chapter 47, I said out loud, “That’s so cool.”
After five of Joseph’s brothers visited briefly with Pharaoh, Joseph brought in his father Jacob. What did Jacob do first? He blessed Pharaoh. I love that. (I wonder what he said.) When Pharaoh asked Jacob how old he was, Jacob replied “one hundred thirty years” (v. 9b, NHEB). Since Joseph was 39 at the time, we know that Jacob was 91 years old when Joseph was born. My eyes are bugging out of my head. Are yours?
Jacob’s brief visit with Pharaoh ended the way it began.
Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from Pharaoh’s presence.
Genesis 47:10, New Heart English Bible
Abundant provision
After Jacob blessed Pharaoh twice, blessings flowed to Jacob and his entire family.
Joseph settled his father and his brothers, and gave them property in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph provided food for his father, his brothers, and all of his father’s household, according to the number of their dependents.
Genesis 47:11-12, New Heart English Bible
These gifts—the best land available and food in the middle of a very severe famine—were remarkable, generous, life-sustaining gifts.
Desperate times
How were the regular, everyday Egyptian citizens coping with the famine? The next section of chapter 47 tells us the answer.
Subsistence
After the people ran out of money to buy food from Joseph, Pharaoh’s right-hand man, the people came back to Joseph, who bought their livestock in exchange for food. The people lost ready access to milk and meat. Maybe they still had chickens or other poultry. We don’t know. They also lost the transportation and plowing provided by their livestock and had to work the land without oxen, donkeys or horses—a profound hardship.
What happened next?
Slavery
When that year was over, [the people] came to [Joseph] the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that all our silver is spent and that the herds of livestock belong to my lord. There is nothing left, as my lord can see, except our bodies and our lands. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land won’t become desolate.” So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, because every Egyptian sold his field, since the famine was severe on them. So the land became Pharaoh’s.
Genesis 47:18-20, New Heart English Bible
Inconceivable
We can’t begin to comprehend the daily realities of this disastrous famine. At all. The people had no money, no livestock, and basically became sharecroppers—indentured servants. One-fifth of their harvests went to Pharaoh, who now owned their land. And the people kept four-fifths of their harvest to provide for themselves, their families and seeds for the next year. What did the people think about this arrangement?
Then they said, “You have saved our lives. Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.”
Genesis 47:25, New Heart English Bible
The reality and the darkness
The Egyptian citizens basically owned nothing, but Pharaoh saved their lives. The verse above indicates that they were—on some level—humble and grateful. But they were brought low. Very low. They owned nothing and their lives belonged to the king. That’s an extremely desperate, vulnerable reality.
The mid-90s song “Fell on Black Days” by Seattle grunge band Soundgarden paints the depression and darkness that plagued some, if not many, of the Egyptian people. Read the striking lyrics. Which of the lyrics remind you of the Egyptians?
The questions at hand
Read this compelling, thought-provoking article from GotQuestions.org: “Was Joseph’s governing in Egypt an example of socialism?” I’m not going to dog-out Joseph for this particular piece of his life story. What was Pharaoh’s role in these decisions? What was the common policy/practice in those days under such dire circumstances? Nor do I blame the people, who requested to be made slaves in exchange for food and sharecropping.
These are the questions at hand. Is God sovereign? Yes. Did God know how all these events would play out for current and future generations? Absolutely. Was Joseph a fallible, imperfect human being, as we all are? Yes. Was Joseph also a man who honored and followed God? Yes.
From disparity to DEI
The disparity in Egypt in Joseph’s Day was not orchestrated by evil people.
The Lord gave Joseph great favor with Pharaoh,
which allowed the Israelites to move to Egypt,
where their story needed to unfold.
Old Testament disparity
For now, Joseph and his family—the Israelites—lived in a state of grace, favor and great provision because of Joseph’s high position, while the Egyptian citizens were slaves. How did that extreme disparity go over with the Egyptians? We can do the math here. The foreigners experienced Pharaoh’s favor—the best land and the best food—while the citizens were slaves. Can you script some of the grumbling from the ever-increasing hostility? I sure can.
Modern-day discrimination and DEI
In stark contrast to the disparity in Egypt, today’s discrimination—cleverly called diversity, equity and inclusion or DEI—was and is orchestrated by evil people.
Un-American
Do you know someone who’s encountered foreigners receiving favor while citizens struggled or were passed over? Or blatant discrimination against white men? Our family and some of our friends have experienced this pattern for many years.
“American Airlines”—a misnomer if ever there was one—is finishing out a building in India where Brandon’s IT division will be relocated. Since we obviously won’t be moving to India, the future may be even more interesting than the DEI, “you’re the wrong gender and ethnicity” reality of the last 15 years. Oh, well.
God has a plan and I’m good with that.
Military example
A friend of ours recently retired from another airline. He remembers DEI-like realities more than 40 years ago at the Air Force Academy. Extremely unqualified individuals from ethnic minorities got into the academy, flunked out, and kept qualified applicants from receiving their rightful opportunity. Net result? Fewer graduates per class. Fewer Air Force pilots. And Frankie Ann’s ultimate “take” on that? A weaker military.
Names and programs
The other night, Brandon and I watched a YouTube video with a young man restoring a 100-year-old steam locomotive. One of the old bolts would not come out, so he used his blow torch. I learned how Brandon’s auto shop teacher called a blow torch by this clever name: Smoke wrench. That cracks me up.
The nefarious script
Speaking of clever names, DEI used to be called affirmative action. Doesn’t that sound oh-so-wonderful? While this discriminatory practice has gone by various names through the years, it’s been orchestrated into something increasingly disturbing and extreme, given the woke, LGBTQ agenda. And, don’t you know, Un-American Airlines walked in lock-step with the nefarious script. “Diversity” training that celebrates sexual sin, while telling employees about their own “bias,” “hostility” and “prejudice.” (That sounds like CRT* to me.) Pride Month with rainbow flags in the lobby. Personal pronouns. Etcetera.
*Critical Race Theory
What did the Apostle Paul say to his brothers in Christ? “Act like men.”
The speech from on high
Several years ago, Brandon and his colleagues got to watch the mandated speech from on high about the company’s new program to promote African American employees to management. Translation, “If you aren’t black, you don’t qualify for our new program. We care about people, and you should too. And, by the way, you’re the wrong color. We don’t want you.”
We don’t like the way that sounds, do we? “We don’t want you.” Join me for a short detour.
Difficulties and direction
Sometimes we think we’re in the wrong place because things are difficult. Not necessarily so. We must follow and obey the Lord. If he’s calling us to leave difficult circumstances, he’ll let us know. Often times, he’s calling us to stay, persevere and rely on our shepherd’s care and protection.
Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Romans 5:3-5, World English Bible
Opposition and adversaries
Our Lord Jesus Christ understood opposition from powerful people, who plotted his murder. The apostle and great missionary Paul also understood great opposition. He wrote: “…for a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries” ~ 1 Corinthians 16:9 (WEB). The presence of many adversaries didn’t indicate that Paul was going the wrong way. He knew, through the Holy Spirit, that the door he was approaching would be “great and effective.” He was following the Lord and he knew it. (See this list of scriptures about discerning God’s will—his intention for you.)
Prayer time
If you find yourself in a place where you need to make an important decision, devote yourself to prayer and patience. Ask the Lord for clarity, direction and peace wherever he leads. Be encouraged by the last verse of my favorite Psalm. I’ve often given this advice to our son Logan: Don’t make an important decision when you’re upset or distressed. (The one exception to that rule is if there’s an urgent safety issue at hand.)
Let’s veer back to DEI.
Facts and questions
Watch Roman Balmakov’s “Facts Matter” podcast about “the great DEI purge” (featured in part 9, along with other podcasts). What’s the takeaway statistic? In one year, 1.3 million jobs were lost by native-born Americans, while foreign-born workers in the United States gained 1.2 million jobs. I have a serious problem with that. I hope you do too. At a minimum, watch the first 3 minutes of this eye-opening “Facts Matter” episode. You’ll also learn that DEI violates our own Civil Rights laws and is being successfully challenged in the courts. (For more, explore Gender in the index, and read the Jobs section in this post about God’s provision.)
Even in the midst of disturbing social engineering by sick minds, we know God is sovereign. How is God using this season for our good? How have we questioned the previously-unquestioned status quo in recent years? How have our eyes been opened? How have we become truth-seekers? My quarantine poem, “A Place Called Home,” answered these questions on the family level—the micro-level. How would you answer the questions on a larger scale—on the macro-level?
Recent changes
Even though DEI and the woke agenda remain alive and well in corporate America, we have much to be thankful for.
Executive orders
President Trump signed an executive order eliminating DEI from the federal government and our military—praise the Lord. He also signed an executive order announcing that our federal government only recognizes two sexes—male and female. Fancy that.
Our military
According to Vice President JD Vance, what was “the most under-reported fact” during the first 100 days of President Trump’s second term? The massive turnaround in military recruitment. People didn’t want to serve our country’s military under the woke Biden regime. Now, under President Trump, they do. Again—we can do the math. Watch VP Vance’s compelling cabinet meeting comments during this 3-minute Fox News clip. Also, read this article from AMAC: “The Military’s Back, Baby: Why America’s Youth Are Signing Up Again.”
Hear the resolve of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in this 13-minute Fox & Friends interview. He talks about many things, including (1) getting rid of “trans lunacy” from the United States military, (2) recruitment numbers, and (3) our success fighting the Houthis. What has our military been up to? In this 12-minute Beyond Military video, watch us kickin‘ it to the Houthis in Yemen. (They like to launch rockets at our ships.) As the daughter of a Navy pilot, the Beyond Military videos rock my world.
Peaceful Readers, I did not see this DEI section coming, but I’m very glad it made sense, based on this part of Joseph’s story. We explored the chasm between the Israelites and the Egyptians, with one group living in Pharaoh’s favor and the other group reduced to slavery.
Drought and abundance
Let’s do another feast-and-famine comparison. Brandon and I have seen the stark contrast between drought and abundance at the lake where we keep our sailboat. Two years ago, our area experienced a severe drought and a very hot summer. Sometimes the lake level dropped one foot per week.
Look at the height of the concrete breakwater barrier (pictured above) after the water level plummeted. Compare the drought water level with the photo I took on Mother’s Day this month (pictured below). We can barely see the concrete breakwater barrier these days.
Thanks be to God for the generous spring rains this year.
Jacob—the final chapter
What happened next in Joseph’s story? Chapter 47 ends with a summary and an important request.
So Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they acquired property in it and were fertile and became numerous. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were one hundred forty-seven years.
And the time approached for Israel to die, so he summoned his son Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, but when I lie down with my fathers you must carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” And he said, “I will do what you have asked.” Then he said, “Take an oath to me,” and he took an oath to him. Then Israel bowed over the top of his staff.
Genesis 47:27-31, New Heart English Bible
Abundance and our shepherd
Jacob was 130 years old when he and his family arrived in Egypt. Five years later, when Jacob was 135, the long famine finally ended. The last 12 years of Jacob’s life were spent in abundance. Abundance of property. Abundance of produce and livestock. Abundance of babies born to his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren as their family grew and grew and grew.
Jacob lived a robust 147 years. Can you imagine that? I can’t. Joseph would’ve been 56 years old as the time drew near for his father to pass away.
True to character, Jacob ended his life bestowing blessings. I think you’ll love the focus on blessings in part 15. Jacob also acknowledged the Lord as his shepherd. When I think of Jesus as my shepherd, I think about the painting below and what Jesus taught us about The Good Shepherd in John, chapter 10. In that beautiful chapter, Jesus told us why he came.
“I came that they may have life,
and may have it abundantly.”
John 10:10b, New Heart English Bible
Especially after reading A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, I also think about The 23rd Psalm when I think about Jesus as my shepherd. I hope the Psalm 23 truths featured below in word and song will bless you today.
Coming next: Out of Jacob’s 12 sons, which two received the most abundant blessings? The answer may surprise you.
Until next time, thanks for reading and for Choosing Peace.
Truth from The Word: Psalm 23
Song: “Jesus the Shepherd of My Soul (Psalm 23)” by Sovereign Grace Music
More: To stay current on recent posts, sign up for my monthly newsletter.