Scripture: Genesis 47:11-27
Video Link: https://youtu.be/blDEH450NmM
Audio Link: https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/sermon-26-may-2024-josephs-policy
Structure:
- Introduction
- The best is the enemy of the good
- Conclusion
Introduction:
Voltaire, a French philosopher of the 18th Century, once wrote…
The best is the enemy of the good.
These days you might hear it paraphrased as, ‘perfect is the enemy of good’.
In other words, pursuit of perfection can become an obstacle to getting the job done. Better to do what good you can, than to do nothing for fear it won’t meet some theoretical ideal.
Imagine, for example, you are with someone in the bush and they break their leg. You wouldn’t say, “It’s a shame I don’t have all the right medical equipment with me. Sorry, but I’m going to have to leave you here to die.”
No. You would do what good you can. You would find some wooden sticks and flax to make a splint and stabilize the leg. It may not be the best modern medicine has to offer, but it is good enough to do the job until you get the injured person to a hospital.
Today we continue our series in the life of Joseph. Last week we heard how Joseph was reunited with his father Jacob and the family were settled in Egypt.
This morning we hear how Joseph managed the food crisis and kept people alive through the famine. Joseph’s economic policy may seem less than ideal to many affluent 21st Century western readers. But we have to remember it was not an ideal situation. Joseph does not let the best become the enemy of the good. Joseph does what he can to save the people. From Genesis 47, verse 11, we read…
11 So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh directed. 12 Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their children. 13 There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. 14 Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace. 15 When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is all gone.” 16 “Then bring your livestock,” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys. And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock. 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. 23 Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground. 24 But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.” 25 “You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favour in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.” 26 So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s. 27 Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.
May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.
The best is the enemy of the good:
Our message began today with a quote from Voltaire. ‘The best is the enemy of the good.’
Some of you may think it strange to be quoting Voltaire in a sermon. After all, Voltaire was a critic of the church of his day. He used his pen and his wit to satirize the church leadership of France. Among other things he advocated for the separation of church and state and the abolition of slavery.
Some of Voltaire’s wisdom was borrowed from the Bible. Jesus also criticized the religious leaders of his day. Jesus often pointed out how the Pharisees made the best the enemy of the good.
The Pharisees gave a tenth of their spices… but neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness… They strained out a gnat but swallowed a camel. They put heavy loads [of rules and regulations] on people’s backs but did not lift a finger to help them.
One classic example of the religious leaders making the best the enemy of the good was their criticism of Jesus for healing a woman on the Sabbath. In Luke 13 we read…
14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”
15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”
The Pharisees’ rules around best practice for keeping the Sabbath actually prevented people from doing good. Jesus’ healing of the woman on the Sabbath shows that God’s purpose is to give people the best without sacrificing the good.
The people of Joseph’s day were bound by famine for seven long years.
A humanitarian disaster threatened. This was not a time to let perfection become the enemy of good.
A famine is an extreme scarcity of food. Depending on what website you go to, around 113 million people are facing acute hunger in the world today. And approximately 9 million people starve to death globally, each year.
Famines can be caused by a variety of factors including drought, disease and war. Corrupt or unstable government only make matters worse.
By God’s grace we have not had a famine in New Zealand in recent decades, but we do have lean times, when we must tighten our belts. Some of you will remember the great depression of the 1930’s and the rationing of World War Two. Others today may be facing job cuts and the financial pressure that brings.
While these lean times are difficult, they are not as bad as the famine described in Genesis 47. Egypt’s famine appears to be naturally occurring and not the consequence of war or bad government. In fact, it is through Joseph’s wise management that many lives are saved.
Verse 14 says that Joseph collected all the money to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain and brought the money to Pharaoh’s palace.
Some may be thinking, ‘Hmmm, was that the best thing to do? It doesn’t seem fair that Joseph should commandeer grain from people during the years of plenty and then sell it back to them during the years of famine’.
Well, when you pay for something, you tend to value it more. If Joseph gave the grain away, people might take it for granted and be less careful with it. They might also take more than they needed and sell it at a higher price later.
Giving the grain away might seem like the best thing to do, but in this context it risked undermining the good. By requiring payment Joseph was better able to drip feed the supply, so the grain lasted.
Besides, the grain wasn’t Joseph’s to give away. Joseph needed to give account to Pharaoh. Storing and distributing grain comes with overheads. Joseph had to charge something to cover expenses and keep Pharaoh’s palace running.
Some might accuse Joseph of colluding with the empire. Making the king rich at the expense of the people. What Egypt needs in this crisis though is stable government, not revolution. Joseph’s policies support stable government.
In any case, selling the grain does more good than hoarding it. Joseph is not like the rich man, in Jesus’ parable, who had a bumper crop one year and decided to keep it all for himself. Joseph stores the grain with a view to feeding the community.
John Goldingay, an Old Testament scholar, says that justice and righteousness is about the faithful exercise of power in community.
Joseph shows us what justice and righteousness look like. There is no hint of greed or profiteering with Joseph. He does not skim the cream off for himself. He takes all the money to Pharaoh’s palace. Joseph is shown to be a man of integrity.
Rather than criticizing Joseph, because his policies don’t meet some theoretical ideal, we do better to think about how we exercise the power we have. Power comes in many forms. Knowledge, skill, physical strength, money, social standing, relationship capital; these are all examples of power.
So the question is, what power has God given us? And are we exercising our power faithfully at home, at school, at work and in the wider community?
Are we righteous and just in our dealings with others?
When the people ran out of money, Joseph took their livestock in exchange for food. He was doing them a favour really. During a drought too much stock becomes a problem because there isn’t enough feed for them. By taking the animals, Joseph relieved the people of a burden.
The best you can hope for during a drought is to keep your animals alive. But the best is the enemy of the good. Joseph probably had to face the difficult decision of culling some of the stock to save the rest.
The mention of livestock alerts us to the suffering of animals during a famine. God cares about all of His creation, human and non-human.
Eventually, when the people have no money and no animals left, they come to Joseph and offer to trade their land and their labour in exchange for food. The people are basically transferring ownership of their land to the crown and making themselves tenant farmers.
Normally, the best thing to do is not sell your land. But the famine gives the people little choice. They can see the best is the enemy of the good. If they don’t sell their land they will die. And what good would that do?
Note though that it is not Joseph who suggests this arrangement. It is the people themselves who ask for this. Although Egypt at this time was not a democracy, Joseph does the very democratic thing of listening to the voice of the people.
We see Joseph’s justice and righteousness again in verse 24 where he tells the people to give 20% of their crops to Pharaoh as rent for using the land as tenant farmers. They can keep the other 80% for themselves.
The average rate of rent for tenant farmers in the ancient near east was 33% of the produce. This means Joseph is renting the land to the people at a discounted rate.
Given the desperation of the people, Joseph could have haggled and charged more if he wanted to, but he does not take advantage of the situation. Joseph does not oppress the people.
Perhaps Joseph would have liked to charge an even lower rate, but he walks a fine line as it is. Joseph cannot allow the best to become the enemy of the good. Joseph must keep Pharaoh on side. If Joseph were to require only 10% of the crop, then Pharaoh may become unhappy with that arrangement and replace him with someone who was ruthless and charged more.
Joseph exercises his power faithfully for the well-being of the community and the people appreciate it. The people know Joseph has been kind and fair and they express their gratitude saying, “You have saved our lives. May we find favour in the eyes of our lord.”
Verse 26 indicates that Joseph’s law, of giving 20% of the crops to Pharaoh, remained in force for hundreds of years. Joseph may not have intended his edict to last this long. We see the contrast between Egyptian law and Israelite law here.
God’s law, given through Moses 430 years after Joseph, stipulated that debts must be forgiven and slaves set free every seven years. What’s more, if someone fell on hard times and had to sell the family farm to survive, their land must be returned in the year of Jubilee.
God’s law prohibited the king from owning other people’s land in perpetuity, like Pharaoh did. God’s law is concerned with restoring what is lost and protecting the poor. This shows us the Lord is able to give people the best, without sacrificing the good.
Verse 22 notes that the priests of Egypt received an allotment of food from Pharaoh and so they did not need to sell their land in order to survive.
Religion, in the ancient world, was usually hijacked for political gain. To control the people, you had to show them you had the gods on your side. And maintaining a priesthood enabled the king to do that.
Of course, the Egyptian priests facilitated the worship of the Egyptian gods. They did not worship Yahweh, the living God of Israel. Which begs the question, was it the best thing for Joseph to be working for a pagan regime?
Well, Joseph is Prime Minister of Egypt because God put him there. And Joseph does not believe in the Egyptian gods anyway. To him they are no gods. Joseph can see the Egyptian religion is just smoke and mirrors.
Joseph does not compromise his loyalty to the God of Israel. Nor does he let the best become the enemy of the good. Joseph’s faith is spacious enough to trust that the one true God is able to use him to do good, even from within a system that is based on a lie. This all points to the awesome grace of God.
We are reminded of what the apostle Paul says in his letter to the Romans…
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
While the people of Egypt were still worshipping idols, God sent Joseph to save them. God loves the Egyptians.
Today’s reading is book ended with twin comments about Joseph’s family.
While the Egyptians were having to sell their land to survive, the Israelites were acquiring land and flourishing. The message here is that God is faithful through good times and bad.
What was it Jesus said? 31 Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’… 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Jesus is not saying we should be careless and abandon all attempts at planning or budgeting. We still have a responsibility to be good managers of what God has given us. After all, Joseph saved many lives through his wise stewardship.
The point is, trust God and be ready to serve His purpose in the present.
If you are always thinking about tomorrow, you will miss what God is doing today. Don’t worry about the things you can’t control. Don’t let fear rob your joy and perspective. Most of the things we worry about never happen anyway.
Conclusion:
I imagine the majority of you welcome the wisdom of not letting the best undermine the good. But there may be some who struggle with this.
If you have perfectionist tendencies, then the thought of sacrificing the best will cause you to have conniptions.
As one perfectionist to another, let me remind you of the Lord’s words to the apostle Paul, that most famous of perfectionists…
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power in made perfect in weakness.
Don’t let the best become the enemy of God’s good purpose. Embrace your weakness. Make friends with it.
Let us pray…
Gracious God, we thank you for knowing our needs and providing for us. Help us by your Spirit to serve your purpose without fear, day by day. Give us a right perspective that we would not let the best become the enemy of the good. Help us to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with you. Through Jesus we pray. Amen.
Questions for discussion or reflection:
- What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
- What does ‘the best is the enemy of the good’ mean? Can you think of an example from your own life (or from Scripture) where the best undermined the good? What happened?
- How do you feel when you consider the worlds hungry?
- Discuss / reflect on Joseph’s policy for managing Egypt’s food security. Why does Joseph charge the people for grain and not just give it away?
- What is justice and righteousness, in the Bible? What power has God given you? How do you use your power?
- In what ways do we see God’s grace at work in Genesis 47?
- How does Egypt’s law (established by Joseph in verse 26) compare/contrast with God’s law?
Tawa Baptist 