And the famine was on all the earth. And Joseph opened every place in which there was [provision], and sold grain to the Egyptians; and the famine was grievous in the land of Egypt.
Seven years of plenty have ended. The famine Joseph predicted now reaches far past Egypt's borders, and the storehouses he filled stand open. What he does with that power, and what he pictures, is the question.
The good years and the hungry years each proved that Joseph's reading of the dream came from God. One writer treats them as two separate seals on the same prophecy.
Great abundance leads most people into waste and extravagance. But he knew in Whom he believed. He took up wisely the duty that fell on him more than on anyone else in Egypt, and he provided for the years of extreme want. So everyone living on that soil was to benefit in the highest degree, from the sovereign down to every subject, and far beyond that land. The huge surplus set the first seal on the prophecy God gave and explained. The famine set the second seal. That one struck harder, because many had barely believed a change so damaging to comfort and more and more dangerous to life.
Joseph now controls the region's food. The men who put him in a pit and a prison are inside that region.
His brothers had put him in the pit; the Gentiles had thrown him into prison. Will Joseph seize the moment of the world's extremity and his brothers' need, and use his power to take revenge? Nature might act that way, but grace will take another path. Joseph will use his place of supremacy and power for universal blessing. But while showing grace he will still maintain righteousness. So need will wring a cry from the Gentiles, and they must submit themselves to Joseph before they receive the blessing.
During the good years nobody needed him. Hunger changed that, for the Gentiles and for his own family alike.
During the days of plenty the world paid little attention to Joseph. Of his brothers we hear nothing; they were completely indifferent to him. When the shortage set in, need awoke... The need calls out a cry for bread. The Gentiles have to learn, and the brothers discover, that no one can meet the need except the one they once scorned and rejected... The once rejected but now exalted man is the only resource, for the Gentile nations as much as for Jacob and his sons.
The verse says Joseph opened the stores and sold the grain. One writer draws the line from that act to Christ, and marks where the two part ways.
Joseph opened all the storehouses of Egypt (v. 56). In the same way the Lord Jesus has opened the storehouses of heaven, through His great sacrifice at Calvary, for the blessing of those who have found themselves reduced to spiritual poverty. There is one great contrast: the Lord Jesus gives freely, "without money and without price." People from all countries came to Egypt to buy food (v. 57). The grace of God in Christ is available for all the nations today, while the whole world lies in spiritual famine.
Commentators differ on where this scene points. Some apply it to the present offer of the gospel, as above. Others read the worldwide famine as a picture of a worldwide trial still to come.
The famine foretold by Joseph was not limited to the land of Egypt... This famine, we have seen, is a picture of "the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth" (Rev. 3:10)... Joseph opened all the storehouses to these starving peoples, just as Christ will open to the nations outside the Christian world the rich, full stores of the grace of God. Joseph's brothers passed through painful trials and experiences before he made himself known to them. All of that foreshadows the sorrows and repentance of the Jewish remnant before they accept Christ in the last days.
The same lesson presses on people who already believe. Bread existed in Egypt, but only for those who dealt with the man who held it.
In Joseph's day, only those who dealt with Joseph in their need had bread. It is the same now. Christ is the One who sustains our life. Many are faint, confused and unsure, because they do not go to Him to feed on His truth. In the old days the people came to Joseph and said, "Give us bread." In the same way, all believers have to learn that there is famine everywhere apart from the blessing of the One greater than Joseph.
- Word proved. The plenty sealed Joseph's prophecy once. The famine sealed it again, and harder.
- Stores filled. Wise use of the good years, not the emergency itself, is what put bread in the storehouses.
- Need felt. Plenty left the world indifferent to Joseph. Hunger made the rejected man the only resource, for Gentile and brother alike.
- Stores opened. Christ has opened heaven's stores through the cross. He gives without money and without price.
- Bread now. There is famine everywhere apart from the One greater than Joseph. Believers grow faint when they do not come to Him for food.
And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph, to buy [grain], because the famine was grievous on the whole earth.
Seven years of plenty end, and the famine spreads far past Egypt's borders. Commentators ask why God let hunger reach every land, and who this ruler with the grain points to.
Through the good years nobody needed Joseph. The famine changed that — for foreigners and for his own family alike.
During the days of plenty the world paid little heed to Joseph. Of his brothers we hear nothing, they were completely indifferent to him. When, however, the shortage set in, need is awakened... The need calls out a cry for bread. The Gentiles have to learn, and the brothers discover, that no one can meet the need except the one they once scorned and rejected. The Gentiles must "go to Joseph," and the brothers must bow before him with their faces to the ground. The once rejected but now exalted man is alone the resource, both for Gentile nations and for Jacob and his sons.
The world could come to Egypt only because one man had saved through the good years. His provision reached far beyond his own country.
The details that follow reveal the admirable administration of Joseph. For most people, huge plenty leads to reckless spending and waste. But he knew in Whom he believed. He wisely took up the duty that fell on him more than on anyone else in Egypt, and he provided for the years of extreme want. So everyone living on the land was to benefit to the highest degree, from the king down to every subject — and far beyond that land as well.
The hunger that pushed every nation toward Egypt was not an accident of weather. God sent it, and feeding hungry people was not His main aim.
Egypt is prepared for them; then God sends famine, and drives them there. Truly His hand is seen at every step. God could have fed them in the land despite the famine, as He did with both Abraham and Isaac. But principles had to be learned there which could be learned nowhere else... To provide food was not the main object. It was a smaller purpose serving a greater one: that in Joseph there might be a picture of one greater than himself, who suffered from a deeper hatred, and who is a greater Deliverer from a worse famine.
Hungry Egyptians appealed to Pharaoh, and Pharaoh sent them to Joseph. One writer sees the same pattern in the way God's blessing reaches people now.
As in the famine in Egypt all who came to Pharaoh were told to "Go to Joseph," so now all who come to God must come through the Lord Jesus... He has fought the fight, He has gained the victory, He has glorified God. Now He is raised and glorified. As the result of Christ's victory, God gives every blessing He has for man through Christ as Lord.
The comparison holds at every point but one — the price. The nations paid; the greater than Joseph does not charge.
Joseph opened all the storehouses of Egypt. In the same way, the Lord Jesus has opened the storehouses of heaven through His great sacrifice at Calvary, to bless those who have found themselves reduced to spiritual poverty. One great contrast, however, is that the Lord Jesus gives freely, "without money and without price." People from all countries came to Egypt to buy food (v. 57). The grace of God in Christ is available for all the nations today, at a time when the whole world is in a state of spiritual famine.
Commentators differ on where the picture lands. Grant applies it to the world's hunger today. Another writer reads the famine as a preview of a coming time of trial.
This famine, we have seen, is a picture of "the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth" (Rev. 3:10)... The nations flocking to Joseph to buy grain picture the great gospel movement among the nations that do not know God, after the removal of the Church. Joseph opened all the storehouses to these starving peoples. In the same way, Christ will open the rich, full stores of the grace of God to the nations outside of Christendom.
- Sent. The famine reached every land by God's hand, not by chance; His purpose ran deeper than feeding people.
- Stored. One man believed the warning and saved through the good years, so the benefit ran far beyond his own country.
- Scorned. In plenty the world ignored him. In want he was the only resource — for foreigners and for the brothers who rejected him.
- Sent onward. Pharaoh's answer to every plea was "Go to Joseph." All who come to God now come through the Lord Jesus, and God gives every blessing through Him.
- Free. The nations paid for their grain. Christ opens His storehouses "without money and without price" to a world in spiritual famine.