42 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?”2 He continued, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.” (Life or death decision) Genesis 42
Sometimes we are reluctant to step out and do what is necessary but circumstances may force our hand. There comes a time when we can delay no longer and if we do it will be to our own detriment. This may seem like a very scary situation for us, but in the case of Jacob and his family, God was behind their whole dilemma working out His deliverance! Stepping into the unknown is always scary and we should be wise and first commit our steps to the Lord.
3 Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob DID NOT SEND BENJAMIN, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him. 5 So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also.
The people of God were not immune to the famine or crisis in the land where they lived, they had to deal with it, just the same as everyone else.
7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Jeremiah 29
God later told the exiles in Babylon that He would answer THEIR prayers for the pagan city, SO THAT THEY WOULD BE BLESSED.
Jacob had been lied to by his sons and believed his favourite, Joseph, was dead. He was afraid to release Benjamin, his youngest and only son of Rachel to go down to Egypt. Yet, Benjamin would become a bargaining chip in buying the grain from Egypt because Joseph longed to see his younger brother.
Sometimes God will put His finger on something we hold dear and us to release it to Him. That can be painful but only when our hands have released the things we’re holding can He give us the new things He has for us.
In the biography of Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission, he was in a house ministering to a very poor, sick woman. They desperately needed money to help her but he only had one large coin in his pocket, all he had in the world. He was fighting an inner battle, that he’d be willing to give a part of this money and then a larger part, but it wasn’t an option. It had to be all or nothing and finally after an impassioned plea by the husband he gave the ‘half crown’, all he possessed to the needy people. In future years God trusted Hudson Taylor with vast sums of money for the Gospel in China, but he had to pass the test by giving up all he had first.
Eventually Jacob had to trust his sons and surrender Benjamin to go down with them to Egypt. Is God speaking to some today, to step out in faith or to surrender something to Him? You’ll be blessed if you yield to the Spirit’s prompting on your life.
Immanuel, Stay Strong, God is with us.