The Crisis Begins

Is there a description of a major financial crisis in the Bible?  Let’s take a look at Genesis chapter 47.  In Genesis 47:11 the early stage of the prophesied seven year drought has begun.   

Genesis 47:11 - And Joseph situated his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt , in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses , as Pharaoh had commanded

During the former seven years, Joseph knew what would happen before it happened.  He knew that in order to survive the seven years of drought, grain must be stored during the seven abundant years.  The government acted with wisdom, it required that 20% of the grain harvest would be given to the Pharaoh.  Grain was stored in the cities. 

Genesis 41:47-49 - Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth abundantly. ⁴⁸ So he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them. ⁴⁹ Joseph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable.

Point #1 – “Be Discerning of the Times” If the people or the government lack revelation about the time they live in, they will go through times of plenty and put back nothing.  In today’s world, people have not been spiritually discerning.  Even the experts are taken by surprise when calamity comes.  We should not be just caught up in eating and drinking and miss the catching away of the saints.             (1 Thess. 4:16-17, Micah 7:4) 

Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. ⁸ But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. (1 Thess. 5:6-8)

Point #2 – “God’s people prosper in difficult times” They do not sell ownership of land, houses, or livestock during a difficult circumstance.  Jacob had probably received a grant from the royal Pharaoh to use the land of Goshen .

Genesis 47:27 - So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt , in the country of Goshen ; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly.

Point#3 – “When the money fails people trade their businesses & valuables to the government in exchange for food” Who came to Joseph needing help?  I’m going to interpret Gen. 47:13 literally; “all the Egyptian’s”.  In verse 27 we find that God’s people had ownership of possessions and multiplied exceedingly.  I see no indication that the Hebrew people had to go to their brother Joseph to offer him their flocks and herds in exchange for bread.  Most likely, the money failed for the Egyptians in the 2^nd year of the drought.

Genesis 47:13-17 - So when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For the money has failed.”

Verse 16 - Then Joseph said, “Give your livestock, and I will give you bread for your livestock, if the money is gone.” ¹⁷ So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys. Thus he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year.

Point#4 – “Fear sets in with an enduring crisis and people offer themselves as servants in exchange for food” – The Pharaoh accepts their offer, he moves all the people into the cities.  This would be the third year of the drought.

Genesis 47:18-19 - When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our herds of livestock. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands. ¹⁹ Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh; give us seed, that we may live and not die, that the land may not be desolate.”

In the third year of the drought, the Egyptians once again, approached Joseph with a desperate proposal.  They offered him their land and offered themselves as servants to Pharaoh.  Now the Egyptian government  looks more socialistic than ever.  The government now owns everything and the people are all servants of the government.

The 2009 World Financial Crisis

Let me pause here and discuss briefly what happened in the 2009 World Financial Crisis in the U.S.   Real estate values began to decline.  Overburdened with debt, many individuals were unable to make their house payments.  Highly leveraged brokerage houses, banks and insurance companies failed financially.  In some cases, major parts of the business were sold off.  Some large companies were taken over and operated by the U.S. Treasury.  In early 2009 a severe stock market decline occurred.  Certain hedge funds would short the stock of a company and cause the stock value to decline radically.  This would exacerbate credit issues.  Fear was the order of the day as investors would sell first and ask questions  later.

During the preceding 13 years of plenty from 1995–2008 real estate flourished.  Much of the, so called, prosperity was via easy credit made possible by government regulated loan programs and guarantees.  The Federal Reserve kept interest rates abnormally low.  Real estate went higher commensurate with debt levels. 

With the crash of 2009, CEO’s, individuals and local governments were crying out for the federal government to take-over troubled assets in exchange for Federal assistance.

You will see some similarity here with what happened in Genesis 47, however, there is a huge difference.  Joseph knew 14 years into the future what would happen.   Joseph had proven himself as a man of integrity.  He had the understanding of what to do, and he was in charge.  In that day not only was the government solvent with no debt, but they had gathered in the wealth of all the nations around them.  Other nations needed Pharaoh’s food supply.  Unlike the 2009 crisis, Egypt ’s drought was not manmade.

 Summary of the U.S. & Global Impacts of the 2009 Financial Crisis

·         The government has taken ownership of privately owned assets – Gen. 47:20

·         Extended government benefits such as unemployment compensation – Gen. 47:23

·         More people work in the public sector – Gen. 47:24-26

·         More people are moving into cities globally looking for work – Gen. 47:21

·         Stronger nations rule over nations with large debt and weak currencies – Gen. 47:14

·         Taxes will ultimately go up in order to service the massive national debt – Gen. 47:24

·         Monetary stimulus results in debt, currency devaluation and inflation –     Gen. 47:15

In Egypt , three hundred years later, a Pharaoh that did not know Joseph vowed to deal shrewdly with God’s people.  (Ex. 1:7-14)  Jacob entered the land of Egypt with 66 people and they had increased to approximately 2 million.  The Pharaoh set taskmasters over the people and made them toiling slaves.  They built the treasure cities of Egypt (2 Chron. 11:1 & 12:16).  God prospered even more; adversity would not stop God’s blessing. 

Point#5 – “An ungodly government will fail in an attempt to oppress God’s people”   The next great leader sent from God was about to enter the scene.  Moses would come and demand that the Pharaoh set the people free to return to Canaan .  Canaan was the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  The Pharaoh resisted Moses and the plagues began.  Finally the 10^th plague had begun.  When the Death Angel would pass over a house the first born son would die.  This would not happen if the blood of a lamb was applied to the doorpost of the home as directed by God.  So,  Pharaoh released the people.  They left Egypt with both health and wealth.

Psalms 105:37 reveals that they left with ‘…silver and gold and none feeble among His tribes.’  God’s people were one miracle away from total freedom from Egypt .  The waters of the Red Sea rolled back and the people crossed over.  Today, God’s people are one miracle away from Heaven.

Lessons from Genesis 47

·         Put something aside in prosperous times

·         Listen for the Word of the Lord. Be sober and watch at all times

·         Attend Church & Listen; you will need to know what will happen in the future

·         Continue to sow during hard times

·         Eliminate Debt

·         Own possessions & inflation proof commodities, if you can do this peacefully

·         Win the lost because the time is short and eternity is at stake

·         Know that God is your source, not the government

The last days are depicted by Jesus as times of economic increase.  People will be eating, drinking, marrying.  They will buy, sell, plant and build, in an environment of sexual perversion and violence.  This will continue right up to the day Jesus comes in the clouds for His church.  Jesus is coming for a glorious Church holy and without blemish.  We will prosper and be in health even as our soul prospers.  (Eph. 5:27, 1Thess. 4:16-17, 3 John 2) 

Mat. 24:37 - But as the days of Noe [were], so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

38. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

Luke 17:28 - Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot ; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;  29. But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed [them] all. 30. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

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