So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for all the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe on them. The land became Pharaoh's.
The famine has already taken Egypt's money and its livestock. Now the land itself changes hands, which raises two questions: why Joseph takes everything, and in whose name he buys it.
Everything surrendered, step by step
The sale of the land is the third stage in a process. One writer lists the stages and names the force behind them:
W. T. P. WolstonThere we read that when there was "no bread in all the land," the people "fainted because of the famine," and had to go to Joseph to buy grain. So, first, "Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt" (Gen. 47:14); second, he "fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year" (v. 17); third, he "bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh" (v. 20); and last, he says, "I have bought you this day" (v. 23). Nothing brings a man down like hunger.
Bought for Pharaoh, not for Joseph
The verse does not stop at "Joseph bought" — it says for whom. That small phrase decides how we read the whole transaction:
Hamilton SmithA second great fact is noticeable: in claiming all, Joseph does so for Pharaoh. If Joseph gathers up all the money, we read he "brought the money into Pharaoh's house" (v. 14); again, if the land comes under Joseph's control, we read he "bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh" (v. 20). So too of the people Joseph can say, "I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh." So Joseph uses his supreme power, not for his own advancement, but for the glory of Pharaoh.
A claim no ruler has matched
The scale of this sale is not the only remarkable thing about it. No one protested:
Hamilton SmithNever, before or since, has any earthly king made such claims. The historical fact is without parallel in the history of the world. Many a ruler has made crushing claims, but not one ever dared to claim everything the way Joseph did. Others who made large claims on their subjects could not make them good. In trying, they provoked rebellion and revolution. Joseph, however, not only makes unheard-of claims — he makes them good. No one raises a voice in rebellion.
The one exception
The verse says Joseph bought all the land, yet the priests kept theirs. One writer sees a picture in that exception:
L. M. GrantThe land of the priests was exempt from this decree. Pharaoh already supported them, and nothing here changed that (v. 22). These priests were not appointed by God. Even so, they picture the liberty true believers in the Lord Jesus enjoy today. The people picture the area of government, while the priests picture the free working of the Spirit of God in grace.
Joseph as a picture of Christ's lordship
Joseph's control over Egypt now covers everything. Commentators read it as a picture of something larger:
F. B. HoleThough this action of Joseph strikes us as oppressive — especially his moving the people from one end of the land to the other — we cannot help thinking it has value as a picture. It shows how fully he was "lord of all Egypt," and so a figure of Christ. Now the Lordship of Christ is absolute, for if He is not Lord of all and of every detail, He is not Lord at all.
The whole earth owned again
One writer sets this sale beside the claims God makes over the world:
L. M. GrantAs Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, so the Lord Jesus has by His sacrifice at Calvary bought "the field" (Matt. 13:44), that is, the world (Matt. 13:38), so that in the millennial age it will be declared, "The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof" (Ps. 24:1). More than this, Joseph bought the people themselves, and God tells us in Ezekiel 14:8, "All souls are mine."
What it costs us to hold on
Egypt lost its fields. One writer turns that on the reader:
L. M. GrantOur natural selfishness in thinking that what we have is strictly our own has been through the years a terrible harm to our own happiness. For nothing really belongs to us, as Israel will learn in a very practical way in the millennium. Let believers now remember that we are only stewards, put in charge of what belongs to our Lord, and responsible to give Him some return for all the goodness He shows us. Only this attitude will give true happiness.
Summary
- Hunger empties. Money, then cattle, then land, then the people themselves. Famine stripped Egypt of all it held, for "nothing brings a man down like hunger."
- Hunger is met. Egypt gave up its fields and received bread, because the people "had to go to Joseph to buy grain."
- The gain goes to the throne. Joseph bought the land "for Pharaoh" — supreme power used "not for his own advancement, but for the glory of Pharaoh."
- The reach is total. Such claims are "without parallel in the history of the world." They picture a Lordship that is "of all and of every detail" — or nothing.
- The result is freedom. Claiming things as "strictly our own" only costs us happiness; we are "only stewards, put in charge of what belongs to our Lord."