“Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt and the land of Goshen and they gained possessions in it and were fruitful and multiplied greatly.”
– Genesis 47:27
So I read this verse, I think about the whole context, not just of what has happened to lead to this point, but what will happen from this point? So this was not the original plan by any means. This is not the land that God had led Abraham and Isaac and Jacob to. Jacob and his entire family are now settled in the land of Egypt, a place where they had not planned to be, but they’d been driven there by famine and God has provided for them there abundantly. The beauty of this verse, they gained possessions in it and were fruitful and multiplied greatly, and how God has provided through the sale of Joseph into slavery, through years in a dungeon, through eventually being elevated to a prominent position, basically Prime Minister of Egypt, where he has now provided for his family, how God has worked.
God Delivering His People
And yet this is not where God is ultimately leading his people. The day will come after they have been fruitful and multiplied in even greater ways than this, that God will deliver them out of Egypt, specifically out of slavery in Egypt, once a ruler arises who doesn’t know Joseph. There will be many hard years to come, but God will still be working in that and will eventually lead his people back to the Promised Land. I mean this is the whole story of the Old Testament. The reason I read this verse though is because at this point in the story, it’s a beautiful picture of God blessing his people, even in less than ideal circumstances. God, with his people, even in what will prove to be a very difficult place.
And I’m guessing there are some of you listening to this Pray the Word episode right now who are in a difficult place, in less than ideal circumstances, and that’s probably a major understatement for some of you. And yet to know that no matter where you are, no matter what circumstances are going on around you, and no matter what the immediate days ahead hold, God is with you. You are not alone in that land and God is leading you and he will ultimately lead you from that land. And so there’s a way to thrive. As I read Genesis 47:27, I just see this picture of thriving.
Genesis 47:27 Is a Reminder that God is With Us in Difficult Circumstances
Even amidst hard, difficult circumstances, even in a foreign and unfamiliar place when we don’t understand why we are there, we can know that we are not there alone. God, I pray this over every single person listening to this right now that they would know wherever they find themselves right now, that all who’ve trusted in you, you have promised to be with them and to lead them and to guide them, to direct them, to bless them, to draw them closer and closer and closer to you in this and to work in the circumstances around them for their good.
God, I pray for those who are really struggling right now, who are in a really difficult place and a really hard place surrounded by really hard circumstances. I’m thinking about specific people in my life right now who I know are walking through those kinds of places right now. God, please show your presence, your power, your strength, your mercy on their behalf. God, we praise you that in the land of Goshen, in the land of Egypt, you caused Jacob and his family to gain possessions and to be fruitful and to multiply greatly.
Genesis 47:27 Puts Full Trust in God
So God, I pray that you would bring fruit for all of us. Wherever we are, that you would bear fruit in us, through us, that you would help us to trust in you. And that you would indeed work the circumstances around us for our good and for your glory and for the spread of your gospel, for the spread of your glory through our lives, no matter what our circumstances may be. God we trust in you, not in ourselves. We put all our trust, all our hope in you. We find our joy in you and we pray that you would help us to thrive in you regardless of what circumstances we find ourselves in, regardless of what place we are in. God, we pray that you would help us to thrive in your presence. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
