Wednesday 12 Jul 2023

July 12: Genesis 41:55-57

Key Verse: Genesis 41:56
When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt.

Devotion:
The story about Joseph interpreting Pharaoh’s dream about the seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine is another one which I found hard to accept as a young person – why would God allow a great famine to come to the whole area? But when we look at what the people were getting up to and how far they had drifted away from God you begin to see a picture of disobedience which was all over the place.

God had raised people to continue reminding people of Him and to warn them things would happen if they wandered away from God; but when things seem to be going smoothly, people forget about the hardships. When the time comes for the warning to come to pass, people get upset with God as if He has done something wrong!

This sort of world we see in this story is what I see happening in the world around us. God has been trying to get through to people for a long time but people have been more interested in personal gain than loving their neighbours. I think it is little wonder then we see many countries with leaders who are all but destroying the economy and societies.

If more people were like Joseph and cared about their relationship with God, then more people around them would see the difference it makes and how we can all grow into better communities through working with God. None of this is an overnight fix; after all we see seven years of abundance before the seven years of famine – that is a long time in anyone’s life!

Points to Ponder:
What do you do to make your life better?

What are you doing to make your relationship with God better?