Rescued by Famine (Gen 47:13-26)

13 Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished by reason of the famine. 14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that they bought. And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. 15 And when the money was all spent 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 eyes? For our money is gone.” 16 And Joseph answered, “Give your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. He supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. 18 And when that year was ended, they came to him the following year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent. The herds of livestock are my lord's. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.”

In the deserts of life there is a road to recovery

20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for all the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe on them. The land became Pharaoh's. 21 As for the people, he made servants of them from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land.23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. 24 And at the harvests you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones.” 25 And they said, “You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh.” 26 So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh's.

 I have always felt this short story strange and a bit cruel. It does not seem to fit in the midst of the big-picture story of Joseph being the hero who God used to save the lives of the Egyptians and his entire family (who later made up the nation of Israel). Why will Joseph in this story take advantage of the people by allowing them to sell not only their land and livestock but themselves in slavery to Pharaoh in exchange for grain. They were left with nothing and were facing death, but they realized that their only hope was to sell themselves as slaves, so they said to Joseph " There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land.Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.” 

Deserts can bring a harvest through Surrender in Him

Joseph did what the people asked but he made a greater provision for them, he said“Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.And at the harvests you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four fifths shall be your own." Pharaoh owned them completely however they received life and were able to still work on their land and only give 1/5 of their proceeds as a tax to Pharaoh. With this gracious gift all the people declared with joy, “You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh.” . It looks like a win win deal, and it was. They gave of themselves to their king and their kind king gave them life and the ability to create wealth for their families (Gen 47:23-24).
What If…

What if this story is a metaphor for God's plan for all mankind, what if God masterfully put this snippet here like an artist who inserts a key, not obvious to the leisure observer. What if there is a strong message the creator and king of the universe is trying to tell his creation. What if He is saying, "You are in severe famine since sin came into your world, and if you live long enough you will see how hungry you become...hungry to the point of death. But in Me, you have grain to rescue you from death, but I need all of you. I know you need faith to believe in me, so I will give you grace to believe, my hands are open to you, will your free will bring you to me just as you are? I will give you all you need because I am good and I love you. I know you might have heard this before and have been let down by your world but I am outside of your world, I made you and know you (Ps 139). In the day you surrender you will be filled with joy unending and will have life forever more (Ps 16:11)". 
Just maybe there is a whisper from this strange story saying to you today...."Come to me and live". Think about it, ask God about this life found in total surrender to Him (John 12:24). For maybe your famine is the road towards rescue and true comfort for your soul.