Genesis 47: 18-22

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.

New International Version (NIV)

Bill Pinson kept a beautiful globe in his study. One of his grandsons noticed it would spin. The temptation of circular motion became too much. With one mighty spin the boy spun it off its axis and it bounced with a great crash and shattered. Bill's grandson ran to tell him, "The world is broken. How can we fix it?"

The world in Joseph's time was broken as well. People needed food to live but they had no means to pay for it. They sold Joseph their property and freedom to survive. This part of the story unsettles us. Remember the Bible is sometimes descriptive, not prescriptive.  

Our broken world is bleeding. Who will fix it? God sent his Son who sent his Spirit who sends us. For God so loved the world he gave his only Son. This is the hope of the world. In bondage to sin, we come to Jesus who sets us free, not just to live but to live with fullness of joy.

Pray with me:

Father, you are our Strength, our Savior, and our Shepherd. Give us eyes to see the brokenness in our world, and hearts to care for the hurting. Help us to see others not as a means to our gain but as harassed and helpless. Let us bring them to you we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen. 

Our Monday through Friday devotionals are in the book of Genesis this year. Join us for these devotionals as we learn together about our God and his Kingdom in the world.  

We also invite you to join us as we read through the Bible. Copies of the reading plan are available at Tallowood Baptist Church, or download your copy here:

2025 Bible Reading Plan

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