Genesis 41: 33-49, 47:13-26
Brian Kenning
6 July 2014
Your Courage
Your Cheerfulness
Your Resolution
Will Bring
Us Victory
Freedom is
in Peril
Defend it
With All
Your Might
Keep
Calm
And
Carry
On
Joseph: Gods man in a crisis
How do we get through times of crisis and challenge?
1. Joseph believed God was in the crisis
“Do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here because
it was to save lives God sent me ahead of you”.
Genesis 45:5
God is in this!
2. Joseph faced the crisis with a plan
Genesis 41, Genesis 47
Save 20% during years of plenty
Distribute during 7 years of famine
Joseph never raised the dead – but he kept thousands from dying
Nehemiah “we prayed and we posted a guard”
Nehemiah 4:9
Sword and trowel
It’s not the flashy but the steady who survive a crisis
Roald Amundsen
Robert Falconer Scott
1911 race to the South Pole
Something to Ponder
Reading: Genesis 47: 13-25
Joseph took
• their money
• their livestock
• their land
• their freedom
“And Joseph reduced the people to servitude from one end of Egypt to the other”
Genesis 47:21
Thought: Government plans should lead to freedom not slavery
• Believe God is in the crisis
• Face the challenge with a plan
• Keep Calm and Carry on
“Is there anything I can pray for you today?”
Questions for personal reflection and group discussion
1. What do you think of when you hear the slogan “Keep Calm and carry on”?
2. What words would you use to describe Joseph’s plan as set out in Genesis 41:33-45
3. “It’s not the flashy but the steady who survive a crisis”. We told the story of Nehemiah and Roald Amundsen (race to the South Pole). Can you think of others you know who illustrate this truth?
4. Are there, have there been times in your life where “keep calm and carry on” has been an important principle for you?
5. Look now at how the food was distributed in Genesis 47:13-26. Note verse 21
(a) What do you make of the way Joseph ran the distribution part of the plan?
(b) What might this incident tell us about the role of Governments in schemes such as superannuation, Kiwisaver, Social welfare”