Genesis 146 – Placed at His Feet

The Word of God is from Genesis 47, verses 20 through 27.

 

“So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them; the land became Pharaoh’s. Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other. However, he did not buy the land of the priests, because they received a fixed allowance from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allowance Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land. Joseph said to the people, ‘Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground. But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.’ ‘You have saved our lives,’ they said. ‘May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.’ So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s. Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen; they acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.” Amen.

 

Joseph's Land Policy and Its Theological Difficulty

Saints, when we encounter the life of Joseph, we often focus on his heroic aspects—how he interpreted dreams and exercised wisdom to save all people from a seven-year great famine. However, the text we face today poses a somewhat unfamiliar and perplexing question to us. While it is clear that Joseph provided grain during the time of famine, the point is that it was not a free gift of charity but a thorough transaction. As the famine deepened, the people gave up their money, then their livestock, and finally even their land, which was like their very lives, to Pharaoh.

 

Ultimately, all private property in Egypt was reverted to the state, and the people, who were free, fell overnight to the status of tenant farmers tied to the land, that is, the status of servants. This evokes a sense of rejection in us who live in a modern capitalist society, such as the deprivation of private property rights or the nationalization of land. How should we understand these actions of Joseph? We fall into deep thought about whether this policy, which maximized national power by using the distress of others, is truly a matter to be praised as the wisdom of God.

 

A Choice for Survival and the Return of Freedom

The people in the text confess toward themselves, "We will be Pharaoh's servants." As a result of Joseph's policy, they lost their freedom but paradoxically came to preserve their lives. Before the massive shadow of death called famine, Joseph opened a path of survival through a national system, but the price was by no means light. By all land becoming the possession of Pharaoh, Egypt transformed into a strong centralized system, and the people came to live lives subordinate to the king.

 

At this point, we experience spiritual conflict. How should we accept the fact that Joseph, whom the Bible praises, took the lead in enslaving the people? A question arises whether this was truly a righteous governance consistent with God's principle of rule, or just a cold political skill using a crisis situation. Through this difficult text, we cannot help but ask again what the nature of the true salvation was that God intended to achieve through Joseph.

 

Principles of Biblical Interpretation and the Application of the Eternal Word

An even more difficult point is this. In the flow of the Bible, Joseph is clearly a good person and his steps must have been within God's providence, so if so, must we follow Joseph's way literally? If we were to implement this policy as it is here in the United States where we live, what would happen? It would probably be difficult to handle. No one would readily step forward to go to the state and say, "I will sell all my land, so from now on let the country manage everything, and I will just be a tenant farmer." Could you willingly give up the precious foundation you possess to the country?

 

However, Joseph in today's text took the lead in buying all the land and making it belong to Pharaoh. Looking at it from our view today, it is like making free people into slaves. Regarding this, you might perhaps have this thought. "Since this event happened about 4,000 years ago, around 2000 B.C., it must have been a method unique to Egypt, which was an ancient agricultural society. So it is unreasonable to apply it the same way today when so much time has passed." This interpretation is also not without logic. However, do we not always confess that the Word of God is eternal?

 

Should the Word of God be trapped in the limits of a specific era? If the standards change such that it is like this at one time and like that at another time according to the era, how can it be called the truth? Since the Word of God is eternal, we try to apply that Word to our lives as it is, and we call that 'biblical.' This part is a section where history proves how one can fall into a wrong understanding depending on our attitude toward the Bible. We often believe that it is right to somehow move and plant the literal content of the Bible into reality. If we follow that logic, we should naturally establish national economic policies by modeling Joseph's way. However, there will be no one among you who does not feel "that is a bit strange."

 

The Bible as a History of Salvation

When we say that the Bible is a book that transcends the times, its meaning is not that the Bible is an encyclopedia covering all fields of the world. The Bible is not a science book, nor an economic book, and not even a general history book. This is because the Bible has a clear purpose of recording. There is a keyword you must remember when interpreting the events recorded in the Bible, and that is the word 'Salvation.' God recorded this Bible selectively only for salvation.

 

Also, one of the important characteristics of the Bible is that it was recorded within actual history. The Bible is not a book that collects good words that humans realized through deep contemplation like the teachings of Confucius or Buddhist scriptures. Uniquely, the Bible shows what kind of work God specifically performed in history. As the Bible itself testifies, it reveals the fact that the living God directly intervenes and works in the lives of humans living now. Therefore, the Bible is not a collection of dead words and not the words of the dead, but a vivid record testifying to the God of only the living.

 

As such, the Bible thoroughly possesses historicity. Living itself is history. There is a history of the individual and a history of the nation. If we forget this point, we fall into a great error when interpreting the Bible. One would reject Joseph's economic policy saying, "The standard of this time does not fit now, so let's exclude it," and then seeing the scene of David's rule a little later, say, "This is good, so let's do the same." If that happens, it becomes very difficult to read the Bible correctly.

 

In particular, this attitude becomes even more prominent when it is related to my profit or what I want. We often have a tendency to interpret the Bible to suit our own taste. However, such an attitude becomes a stumbling block that makes it most difficult for us to understand the Bible correctly.

 

The Attitude of a Christian in the World

The Bible is a history of salvation. If we were to take out the core called salvation from the Bible, we fall into the misunderstanding that even today we must pick a king like the time of King David and establish a theocratic nation ruled by that king. Even many people often think that just as Israel was a country under God's ruling, we should remodel this America where we live into a physical nation that God governs.

 

I tell you clearly, no matter what way we take, turning this world as a whole into the kingdom of God is not what the Bible demands. Often, saying 'let the green season of Christ come,' we consider it our supreme mission for everyone to believe in Jesus and for the laws of the world to change according to the Bible, but in fact, it is not so.

 

Looking at the Book of Revelation, we can see that we should seek God's kingdom and righteousness within the world, but at the same time, the Bible is quite pessimistic about the end of the world. Does the world become better when the end comes? Rather, evil prevails and the world moves further away from God. This means that we should earnestly seek God's kingdom, but we do not build that kingdom on earth by our own power. That kingdom is given to us as a gift at God's time and period, at the point where the salvation of us humans and the history of God are completed.

 

Living as a Pessimistic Optimist

Then, since the world will get bad anyway, should we also live roughly and wickedly? God never leaves us to live like that. No matter how wicked the world is, God commands us to "live holily." It is the portion given to us to keep holiness until God completely accomplishes that kingdom. Professor Son Bong-ho expressed a Christian as a 'pessimistic optimist' regarding this. It is pessimistic in the sense that the world eventually goes toward judgment, but he is an optimist because he lives joyfully while enjoying the peace and blessing that God gives even in that.

 

Therefore, believing in Jesus is not a matter of reading the stories of Joseph or David and struggling to pick a king like them. Also, it is not our mission to drive out the idol worshippers around us. When Paul went to Athens, did he go out secretly at night and strike the necks of idols and flip over the statues? It was not so. Rather, he made it a point of contact to preach the gospel saying, "This god you do not know, I will let you know." This is because physically breaking all the idols of this land is not the purpose. Seeing the appearance of destroying idols within the Israel of the Old Testament, one should not misunderstand that as our mission today.

 

We are not those who flip the world over through revolution and establish God's kingdom by our power. Rather, even if we look like the weak ones, like the ones who are being treated unfairly, and like those who have nothing in the world, we are called to live as those who have everything in Christ and enjoy peace and joy. The life of a believer is paradoxical like this. You have to die to live, and if you seek to live, you die.

 

Spiritual Passion and the True Purpose of the Gospel

We must be careful of this part as we live on this earth. It is something that was reported occasionally in the newspapers in Korea in the past, where young people who had such burning passion secretly broke and cut off idols like Cheonhajanggun or Jihayeojanggun set up in the town and caused problems. Everyone, I understand that pure spiritual passion, but that is not a task for a believer to do. It is a matter that arises because we misunderstand our mission. They are not the targets we should kick out and cut down, but rather people who should be invited to correctly realize what they were misunderstanding by preaching the gospel with love.

 

The thing that became the biggest problem related to this in history is precisely the Crusades. People at that time called it a holy war. They probably thought they would naturally win because we were going out with the cross and the opponent was Muslim. However, at that time, many people came to see the ‘hot taste’ of God. They probably came to finally know a little bit about who God is, up to whom He loves, and up to what kind of people He endures and is patient with. In fact, those actions at that time were so often for their own greed and profit rather than pure passion.

 

Jesus Christ, the Sign of All the Bible

Therefore, everyone, the events of the Bible, especially the Old Testament stories until before Jesus Christ came, are all the history of salvation. The reason I repeatedly emphasize “we must see Jesus” in our church is that the core of the salvation history is precisely Jesus Christ. If you take out Jesus, what would remain in the history of salvation? The word that Christ is in all the Bible means that all the contents of the Old Testament look toward Jesus Christ like a sign or a signal.

 

The events of the Bible eventually make us look at Jesus. Whether it is an event of Joseph or an event of David, it is not to apply that itself literally to our lives but we should see the Jesus and the cross beyond it. This policy of Joseph is also not a guide we should follow as it is, but we should know what this is trying to show and what it is signaling.

 

Out of this vast content today, I intend to tell you about three things briefly. I will share with you the basic 'principles of creation' of God that are always made known even to believers, unbelievers, or even Gentiles, and specifically the principles that we people of faith should know.

 

The First Principle: The Principle of Life

The first is a content that is not that difficult because we already talked about it several times. What Joseph did in Egypt was eventually a task of saving and rescuing them. That is, as you and I live in the world and decide and execute some task, whether I am doing a task that saves life or rather a task that kills becomes a very important requirement in making a decision.

 

We discover the 'principle of life' here. Joseph performed this task to save both the people of Egypt and Israel. This is because he was clearly realizing God's purpose. As Joseph confessed, the reason God sent himself earlier than the brothers was to save life. Because he held this principle of life in his heart, he sought the 'way of saving' by finding the best wisdom that could be mobilized in the situation of the ancient Egyptian society he faced.

 

The specific means he used might change according to the era, but the principle of life he showed does not change. It is the same in your workplace. With what kind of heart are you treating the people who visit the workplace? When I was in Korea, there was one lady who sold bungeo-ppang and hotteok in the neighborhood alley. I found out later she was a person who was pulling a handcart and raising one child alone after losing three out of four children.

 

Buying bungeo-ppang there goes beyond the simple act of eating a snack and becomes a task of saving her family. She also is not seeking sympathy from me, but is doing the 'task of saving' making us happy and healthy with delicious food through honest labor. Everyone, do not think of the task of saving only in a grand way. A warm smile once, and those small actions of considering the opponent's heart when buying and selling goods can become a task of saving each other.

 

On a small scale it is so, and looking at it largely, it also explains why we must oppose war. The reason we Christians always oppose aggressive war except for the purpose of defense is precisely because of this principle of saving life. Also, the reason we have deep interest in the life that is not yet born and value that life is the same. Like this, respecting life is precisely the will of God. Whatever work we do, whatever we decide, we must always remember this principle of life in our hearts.

 

The Second Principle: The Principle of Mercy

The second principle is the fact that Joseph never abused his position, ability, and the power he possessed. Joseph made all these things happen voluntarily.

 

If Joseph's purpose was just to make the king rich, he could have sufficiently used other ways. Like an ancient decree of land reform, he could have just unilaterally proclaimed, "From now on all land is the king's, so come work and take food." However, he did not do so. Rather, those who brought the land and requested earnestly were the people of Egypt. "We cannot die holding this land. The land will become desolate, so please make this land the king's possession and give us food. Please let us live while continuing to work this land."

 

In this process, Joseph not only respected the opinions of the people but also never used a forced or violent way. Therefore, he later hears the confession from the Egyptians, "Since the Lord has saved us, we will receive grace from the Lord and become Pharaoh's servants." Here 'Lord' refers to Joseph. They express that they have 'received grace.' Isn't grace a gift given to those who are not qualified to receive? This was an expression of respect, honor, and love that the people sent to Joseph.

 

Looking with our eyes now, the appearance of Joseph who nationalized the land can look unfair. A question like 'why does he take the individual's land' might arise. However, Joseph did not lose the purpose of trying to save life and showed them mercy. So I want to call this the 'principle of mercy.'

 

You and I are people called to not abuse our power and strength when we are in a position where there is power or decision-making authority. Even if we cannot be perfect, our hearts should always point toward that direction. The same principle is applied to economic activities, business, or when teaching children at home. The Bible teaches this principle as an unchanging truth. It is just like Apostle Paul exhorting the relationship between masters and servants saying, "Masters, do the same to them and stop the threatening." It means you should not abuse that strength just because you are above.

 

This principle is the same for politicians as well. Especially if one is a Christian politician, it is a basic principle that must be equipped. One must clearly realize where the power came from, how that strength should be used, and what meaning it is before God to abuse the strength. This is not a matter of party or ideology.

 

Joseph did not take the land by force and did not put forward any ideology. In fact, how many people has an ideology that doesn't even have a substance made miserable? We are still living under the influence of the 6.25 War. Because we are a divided nation, there are restrictions on various policies and systems like emergency martial law also exist. The start of all that pain was precisely the war, and the result created by the fight of regime and ideology was nothing but misery.

 

Therefore, we should see what Joseph was truly trying to do. Although he was not the king, he tried to protect the people until the end and found the best way. So Joseph was loved by the Egyptians. God is pleased to reveal this kind of appearance even if we live like strangers on this earth. The attitude of trying to move toward the position of loving, showing mercy, restraining the power possessed and serving, that is the right posture of a saint. The church is the same. No matter how much it is emphasized, it is not excessive. The church must do its best to become lower and to become more humble.

 

The Third Principle: The Principle of the King

Everyone, Ephesians chapter 6 contains the third principle I am trying to tell you. I will read verse 9.

 

“Masters, do the same to them and stop the threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with Him.”

 

In other words, it is the question: are you the master and the boss now, are you at the very top of that work? The Bible answers. “No. Above you, God exists.” It is to remember the ‘principle of the king.’ As long as we do not forget the fact that there is a true King to me, we cannot help but be humble. Because when we realize the fact that God exists above me, we come to know how foolish it is to live only for my greed and profit.

 

Everyone, this is not something that happens only in the workplace. It is the same at home. We act or speak as if I am the final decision-maker before the children, as if I hold the child's life in my hand. Of course, since I am a parent, you might think you have that right. However, even then, we should not forget who exists above that child. Precisely God exists. Remembering that, we should realize, “Ah, I am not making the child according to my strength and will, but in fact, this child is being raised by God's grace and living by God's grace.”

 

Don't all of you who have raised children know? How many cases would there be where the child grows up according to the parent's mind? I want to say there is not even one person, but I am careful in case anyone would raise their hand. At least there is no one in our house. They don't even grow up similarly. After the children grow up all the way, how many moments are there when you realize, “Ah, there were so many times I tried to do as I pleased thinking it was only my child”?

 

In that meaning, we should remember the ‘principle of the king’ that God exists above us. I will repeat once more.

 

First is the principle of life. It is a very important principle when we live in the world. We came to this earth to do the work of saving. We should save the hearts of others and somehow save them within God's grace. We should remember this saving work when doing workplace life or economic activities.

 

Second is the principle of mercy. It is because it lets us know with what kind of heart the Lord treats us and with what kind of heart we should perform the work.

 

The last third is the principle of the king as we just saw. God is always above me, and God is also above everything I say. Therefore, one must have the attitude and heart of performing everything I do and say under the authority of God.

 

If these three principles become the basis of our lives, finally, there is one more most essential principle I definitely want to share with you. It is the 'principle of grace and salvation' that we believers should hold onto until the end of life.

 

The Fourth Principle: The Principle of Grace and Salvation

All these principles are important, but I intend to share one more thing with you. This is a principle that especially we believers must hold onto. It was very difficult to name, but it could be called the 'principle of grace,' the 'principle of salvation,' or the 'principle of the cross.' Looking at Joseph, he truly did his best in the situation at that time. Joseph's ministry made the Egyptians happy and saved them. So the people even confessed that they received grace from him. However, it was clearly not a complete solution.

 

Even looking at it with our eyes today, but in fact even at that time, it could not become a complete method. This kind of way eventually makes the power concentrate toward the center, and concentrated power is bound to become corrupt. Then eventually the people become oppressed and exploited. In history, this task has been repeated without even a single exception. So humans had to fight with these absurdities throughout history and had to spend hard and difficult times within that.

 

Eventually, this kind of structure creates social and economic inequality and makes people lose freedom. Why did the French Revolution occur and why did America do the War of Independence? Because in its background, there was the human heart longing for freedom. It was not just a matter of policy or system. When Joseph first implemented the policy, people were satisfied, thankful, and rejoiced as grace. But what happened later? Israel becomes slaves. Although it was Israel who lived in the land of Goshen receiving treatment different from Egyptians, eventually a Pharaoh who does not know Joseph appears and the situation is reversed. Here, not knowing Joseph doesn't simply mean not knowing the person, but it means that injustice has begun. Eventually, they become exploited and fall into slaves.

 

Since even Israel who lived as foreigners became slaves, what would the life of ordinary Egyptians have been like? Until the time of Exodus, the system Joseph had set up remained, and the Israelites had to become the servants of servants and bake bricks. Was it because the policy was bad at first? There would have been flaws in the policy itself, but the bigger problem is that the human operating that system was corrupt.

 

It is a story we share often, but even in Korea around the time of liberation, many intellectuals were fascinated by communism. Theoretically, how attractive is communism? Just as the appearance of putting out one's own things and sharing and using them together appears in the Book of Acts, at that time that ideal would have been evaluated highly by the intellectuals. However, the most fatal weakness of communism is the point that it overlooked the fact that human is a sinner. No matter how good the theory is, if it enters the hand of a fallen human, it rather becomes a tool for terrifying dictatorship and slaughter and creates the tragedy of splitting a nation into two.

 

Then, is capitalism perfect? Are you not experiencing it personally? "Why do I ride a small car but that person rides a big and good car?", "Our house is modest but why does someone live in a mansion worth tens of millions of dollars?" This kind of wealth gap is a pain that capitalism holds. There is something I felt after going to the Amazon mission. If they were left to live as the previous way, although it might be a bit uncomfortable, they would not do a murderous competition like now. But as money flowed in, they lost peace. Previously they ate and lived similarly, but now who uses a gas stove has become a symbol of wealth and the standard that divides happiness. Although capitalism contains the utilitarian value of 'the greatest happiness for the greatest number,' the humans inside it endlessly act on greed.

 

I remember a cartoon I saw when I was young. These days it is an era where even lawyers worry in case they lose their job because of AI and robots, but the cartoon I saw when I was young depicted a world where if a robot with high intelligence did the human's work instead, the whole family would leisurely go around playing. However, the reality is not so. It is because of human greed. Because they want to have more, and try to grab big money by raising the mass productivity with less cost, even if there is a good system, the benefit does not go around evenly. No matter how good the system is, if the human inside it does not change, true change is difficult. The reason the Bible talks about the gospel is precisely here.

 

God, who knows best who humans are, wants to restore humans and at the same time wants to go on making the true structure we should rightly enjoy. God allowed that system to us in the name of 'God's kingdom.' We are still walking that path, but because we are living in this land, it is hard and exhausting. Although some '주의(-ism)' might not make us completely happy, we often face our own appearance of having no choice but to conform to this land.

 

The True Sign, Jesus Christ

Everyone, therefore, these actions and policies of Joseph are also in fact a single sign. What would this be for showing? It is to show God's kingdom and Jesus Christ. So Genesis never ends here. Reaching the Book of Exodus, all these systems fail and the Israelites come to wail in pain. At that time, God leads them out. But the Bible is indeed such a profound and interesting book. God leads them, who came into Egypt to avoid famine, back into the wilderness where there is no food. And He feeds them there, saving them precisely with 'manna.' He saved the people suffering from famine through manna.

 

However, this also was a sign. If it had stopped here, history would have ended there. If God called out Israel and made them live forever with manna. But it was not the end. One day, a small child appears before a man. And he lays down all he has before his feet. Five barley loaves and two fish, with that, the numerous people gathered in the wilderness come to eat until they are full.

 

Even this was not the end. If Jesus on that day only said, “All humanity who have lived until now, all come to me. I will let you eat forever,” the situation might have been simple. People thought, “If only this person becomes king, there will be no problem eating and living.” At that time, Jesus said. “The reason you are looking for me is not because you saw the sign but because of the reason you ate the bread and were full.” They were not seeing the essence beyond the sign.

 

This event of Jesus was also a sign. Where does this event ultimately lead? It leads to the scene where, when Jesus Christ ascended and the Holy Spirit came, numerous people bring all their assets before the feet of the apostles. Many people even now often ask if we should do like this. Whether we should offer all the assets to the church. In the past, there were indeed many such sermons. The most representative case among them was Mr. Park Tae-son. You would have heard of Sinangchon. There was also a Cashmilon blanket made in Sinangchon in my house. Even my mother said, “Since the people who believe in Jesus made it, we should buy it.” But to enter there, one had to put out all the assets.

 

Later it was revealed to be a huge fraud, but the believers at that time thought it was biblically right. They were deceived by a wrong biblical interpretation. It is because even that appearance of putting out assets before the apostles and sharing them together was a single sign. If that time was the completed God's kingdom, history should have stopped there. However, it was a sign showing in advance that God's true kingdom would come in the future. We are now in the process of walking toward that true kingdom.

 

Laying Down Everything Before the Lord

Everyone, therefore, even that appearance of giving all that one possesses before the feet of the apostles is a single sign. It is for showing that in the eternal kingdom of God in the future, the appearance of the saint who gives even the crown they possess all to the Lord, the owner of all things, will finally be completed. That day comes. That day will surely come. But until we reach that day, we should remember what these signs are pointing toward. On that day when we place our own selves completely before the feet of God, on that day of entering into eternal praise, we will sing a new song and enjoy the glory of glory.

 

On that day when all of mine is placed before the Lord's feet, we will eternally sing of that One who was with us and became my life, became my feet, and became my tears and sighs, and also became my joy and the song of the lips and even bore my wounds together. Together with Him, we will finally achieve the true completion of our life.

 

Therefore, saints, let's go out before the feet of Jesus Christ today, now. Let's put out your own selves to Him. If among you there is a person who feels, “I also want to lay everything down but I don't know what to do,” today let's start from the confession of the lips. Let's at least say, “Lord, I don't know well but since You say to let go all, I will let go as it is recorded in the Bible.” Let's start that way.

 

If Jesus asks you, I will tell you, so try to answer like this. “Lord, I am lacking so I don't know well but I will still lay everything down. Because as I see it, Jesus is much more precious than I am. I also want to be a precious existence by being placed before Jesus. I want to be with that Christ who is more precious than I am. I want that Christ to become all my preciousness.”

 

Everyone, place your own selves there. Embrace that precious Lord who became your life and joy and my day, the One who becomes all of mine. There is nothing more precious than this Lord. He is precisely the One who becomes my wound, becomes my tears, and becomes my glory. There is nothing more precious than the Lord Jesus.

 

Let us pray.

God Father, the reason we can put out even life before the Lord is that we know and believe in the Lord who is more precious than my life.

 

Therefore Lord, today as we have come before that Lord, let us deeply realize who we are and why we are standing before the Lord. Thus, let our whole life go forward embraced in the warm bosom of the Lord.

 

We pray in the name of Jesus Christ who becomes our Savior. Amen.