Today’s Scripture Reading (July 2,
2012): Genesis 47
When
Catherine the Great became Czar of Russia, she made several moves to strengthen
the nation. In fact, Russia was revitalized under her reign. Russia became a
strong partner within the European community and was eventually recognized as
one of the great powers in Europe – all because of the moves made by Catherine
and her advisors. The reign of Catherine the Great is considered to be the
Golden Age of Russian culture and stability.
As I sat
with a friend a couple of weeks ago, he told me of his own family heritage. He
explained to me, in detail, one of the moves that Catherine made when she took
over as the leader of Russia. Catherine, who was actually born in Prussia in
what is now Northern Germany, knew that the Mennonites in that area knew how to
farm. They seemed to be able to grow abundant crops in areas where no one else
seemed to able to grow anything. Catherine knew that she needed to be able to
grow crops in all of Russia to support the growth of the nation. And crops were
needed not just in the fertile southern areas of the nation, but also in the
more hostile climates that were prevalent in the north and central parts of the
nation. So Catherine invited her Prussian Mennonite friends to come to Russia
with an offer of free land. My friend’s ancestors were Prussian Mennonites, and
part of this wave of farmers that set off for Russia, at the invitation of
Catherine, to form the core of Russian farming innovation – and without these
farmers Russia’s greatness and stability might never have been possible.
The Pharaoh
invites Jacob and his clan to move to Egypt. And Jacob seems to have
reluctantly accepted the invitation. But when Pharaoh extended it, his
invitation had included a clause that the family of Jacob was to leave all of
their possessions in Canaan and come. Everything could be bought new in Egypt.
In Pharaoh’s mind, it seems likely that he was giving Jacob an out. It is
almost as if Pharaoh was saying “I know you can’t have much and, as this famine
continues, even what you do have must be in tatters. Leave it and I will buy
you new possessions never asking you about the old ones. I will allow you to
save face and keep your pride as a family.” But Jacob arrives with possessions
in tow, proof that not only was he a rich and powerful man, but that he had also
found ways to maintain at least part of that status even when nature made war
against him. Pharaoh knew that part of the success of Egypt was going to be the
ability to grow food even in the harsh environments that was the direct cause
of the famine. These were people that he needed in control of the best growing
areas in the nation in order to feed the nation. He also needed the best of
them in charge of his own flocks. The deal seems to be to settle Jacob in these
areas. The land, as we are about to find out, is increasingly the property of
the royal family anyway. The people were selling their land in exchange for
food. As a result, the Pharaoh has the authority to settle anybody, anywhere.
So the
Pharaoh settles Jacob in the land of Goshen, a land that encompasses the
fertile area of the Eastern Nile Delta. And there Israel would grow both the
food for Egypt and stronger as a people. Joseph had devised the plan to feed
the nation through this time of famine, and now his family was able to help him
with that task by continuing to produce fresh crops, lessening the need to rely
on the reserves. The right people were in the right place, and they were ready
to make Egypt great.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis
48
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