3. ALL THE EARTH CAME TO JOSEPH 53-57 a. Joseph is right again. We see in these closing verses that all that Joseph said would happen came true. God gave Joseph the message and Joseph delivered it. The ordering of events is in God’s hands. He caused an amazing abundance of produce for seven years and then he brought the famine. You can see the progression of the famine in the words of these verses. Verse 54 says that the famine began to come. This was not a localized famine to Egypt, but it hit all lands. As we will see in the next chapter, the land of Canaan is a part of this famine. When other areas were feeling the famine, Egypt was fine at first. Perhaps because the abundance was so great, the people themselves had stored up food. But when that ran out they too became famished and the people cried out for bread. There is a letter in historical writing from ancient Egypt from a man to his family that was written during a famine. He described that the famine was so bad that the people resorted to cannibalism to stay alive. When the famine had spread across Egypt, Joseph opened all of the storehouses and began to sell the food that he had stored up. The famine did not just extend to the land of Egypt but it reached far beyond that so much so that “all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain.” The famine was severe over all the earth. b. Joseph is obedient again. Joseph was a thirty-year-old man when he came to power. Joseph went out from the presence of the Pharaoh and went through all the land. Joseph accomplished what he was put into power to do. No doubt, Joseph worked hard as he ensured that the entire kingdom saved the abundance. He put food in every city. And then, when the famine raged, he made sure that the right amount was distributed. When the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread, he told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do.” This was the right answer because Joseph had prepared for this moment for over seven years and he had the answer.