Free things

I recently attended a wonderful biblical seminar that brought to my attention a few things. I will be sharing as we progress.

But one of the things that caught my attention was a statement that said

“One of the reason as to what Africa is poor is because we want free things”

And I thought! How true! So I have had a personal talk to myself that I am going to avoid free things to the best of my knowledge.

Tell me. How can such a rich continent like Africa be begging? Well, first – our minds are crazy poor and the systems of the world help us to remain so and we have chosen to remain so.…we call it famine or even drought-sub Saharan Africa! Let me share with you a quick snapshot of how Joseph dealt with famine in Egypt and that’s how God economy works.

 Nothing is for free.  Salvation is not for free either, someone died (Jesus) for you to have it! So my dear African….quit the free stuff, the bible says, you better be poor with some level of integrity Proverbs 19:1! 

Please read this carefully!

 In the course of time there was no food in all the land, for the famine was distressingly severe, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan hung in doubt and wavered by reason of the hunger (destitution, starvation) of the famine.

And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan in payment for the grain which they bought, and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house.

 And when the money was exhausted in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, Give us food! Why should we die before your very eyes? For we have no money left. (Wanting free things)

 Joseph said, Give up your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for them if your money is gone. ( They had livestock, so how could they say they have nothing?)

So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for the horses, flocks, cattle of the herds, and the donkeys; and he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. 
 When that year was ended, they came to Joseph the second year and said to him, We will not hide from my lord the fact that our money is spent; my lord also has our herds of livestock; there is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands.

Why should we perish before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed [to plant that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate. (At this point they had known you don’t get free things from Joseph)

And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field because of the overwhelming severity of the famine upon them. The land became Pharaoh’s, And as for the people, he removed them to cities and practically made slaves of them at their own request, from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other.Only the priests’ land he did not buy, for the priests had a fixed pension from Pharaoh and lived on the amount Pharaoh gave them. So they did not sell their land.

 Then Joseph said to the people, Behold, I have today bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you and you shall sow the land. (You empower people by giving them seeds)

At harvest time when you reap the increase, you shall give one-fifth of it to Pharaoh, and four-fifths shall be your own to use for seed for the field and as food for you and those of your households and for your little ones. (They need to learn to pay their taxes)

 And they said, You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord; and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt—to this day—that Pharaoh should have the fifth part [of the crops]; it was the priests’ land only which did not become Pharaoh’s.

And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they gained possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly. (One big happy family)

Was Joseph fair? No. But he was JUST!