It is very clear from Scripture that Joseph is ruler of Egypt.  Joseph sent word to his father Jacob to come to live in Egypt. He told him not to bother about his belongings, that the best of Egypt would be his. Yet Jacob took all his possessions with him. He held on to what he had. This speaks volumes about trust. Is it that Jacob didn’t quite trust that Joseph would provide for him? Is that why he held on to the old.

Quite reminiscent of the Jewish people. God sent His Son, Jesus, the new covenant, and they held on to the old.  Same thing happened to some of the early Gentile Christians. They still held on to the pagan customs and traditions of their familiar gods, even though they were believers in Jesus.  Many times Christians hold on to secular customs and traditions, many of them contrary to God's Word.

When Israel set out for Egypt he stopped at Beersheba to offer sacrifices to God.  Since this place was far inland from the Mediterranean Sea, he may have taken a shorter and/or easier route than the brothers did earlier.  Besides, this time they had lots of provisions for the journey with them.

Genesis 46 lists the sons of Israel who went to Egypt.  Often we think of Benjamin, the youngest son of Jacob, during this time of famine as being a young boy or a young man. The truth is he was old enough to have ten sons.  The number of people who arrived in Egypt with Jacob was less than 100. Four hundred years later the number had swelled to an estimated two million.

Can we even begin to imagine the scene when Israel and Joseph are reunited?

Israel and company are given premo land in Goshen, a land very conducive to raising livestock. Pharaoh may have assumed they were going to stay there temporarily, just until the famine was over. Pharaoh offers to put those with special ability from Israel's family in charge of his own personal livestock.  This is the first step in a series of events that eventually led to the dominance of the Israelites in the land of Egypt.

This Pharaoh is not the same as the Pharaoh who ruled at the time Joseph first arrived in Egypt.  This one is his son.  Pharaoh and Joseph share in the responsibility of running the country.  Pharaoh was a figurehead.  Joseph was the one who established some of the laws of the land.

As the famine becomes more and more severe, the Egyptians no longer have the money to buy grain. They begin to sell their livestock (second step in a series of events) and eventually they sell their land and then themselves into servitude (final step in a series of events). This sets the stage for the Israelites to acquire property and become dominant in the land of Egypt. At this point the Egyptians are becoming servants to the Israelites. The Israelites held on to the dominance of the Egyptians as long as any of Jacob's sons were alive.

After the son's died, the situation was reversed. The Israelites later allowed themselves to become slaves to the Egyptians.

So, how about us believers in Jesus, do we allow ourselves to become slaves to the world or do we become slaves of THE WORD!