DARKEST JUST BEFORE DAWN

PROCLAMATION

“And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.”  Genesis 47:13 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These are the words of God which were revealed to and written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  After his brothers told their father Israel all that had transpired when they were in Egypt, he agreed to accompany them and leave Canaan. (Genesis 45:24-28)  Along the journey Israel had a vision.  The Lord God spoke to him (Genesis 46:1-5) and from that time forward he became a man of faith.  When they arrived in Egypt, Joseph went to the Pharaoh and told him that they were in the land of Goshen. (Genesis 47:1)  He took five of his brothers with him and the Pharaoh asked them, “What is your occupation?”  When he learned that they were shepherds, he told Joseph to put them over his flocks. (Genesis 47:2-6)  The famine continued in Egypt and Canaan and the land wasted away.  The people gave all of their money to Joseph to buy grain.  The next year they traded all of their flocks and herds to Joseph for grain.  The following year the people traded all of their land to Joseph for the Pharaoh in order to buy grain because the famine was so severe. (Genesis 47:20)  Joseph reduced all of the people, except for the priests, to servitude.  He gave them seed to plant but required one fifth of all of the crops they produced belonged to the Pharaoh. (Genesis 47:21-24)  The Israelites stayed in Goshen for seventeen years.  When Jacob was a hundred and forty-seven years old, he made Joseph swear not to bury him in Egypt but bury him with his fathers. (Genesis 47:27-31) 

 

APPLICATION

Even during the seven years of bad times and famine, Joseph obeyed God, and God was with him.  The Lord God did not promise believers that there would not be any bad times or storms in our lives.  What He said was that He would never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)  He has to power to calm the storms, (Mark 4:39) but He did not say that He would calm all of our storms.  What He said was that He be with through the storms and always, even to the end of the earth. (Matthew 28:20)  So, no matter how dark it gets, it’s always darkest just before the dawn and joy is coming in the morning. (Psalm 30:5)  Keep the faith and praise The Lord.