Genesis 45: 1-20 “Enjoy Fat of the Land”

We are going to start today with a little bit of a word study. In our text, Pharaoh promises that Israel and His descendants will enjoy the “fat of the land.” The word “fat” in English can mean so many different things. It can be both good and bad, not to mention completely neutral. In modern slang that the children speak with me “fat” means that it is good. So, if I hear the phrase “He is really fat,” I cannot assume anything less than the boy is a good boy.

In my own generation we like to say “fat chance,” when we are sure something is not going to happen. Why do we not say “slim chance?” Is that ever going to change? Fat chance of that happening.

In the computer world “fat” stands for a type of memory filing system. It is how a hard drive is partitioned. Old computers were FAT 16; newer ones use FAT 32. Now they use a system called EXFAT–which sounds like a weight loss plan for your computer. “Why does your new laptop look so thin? Oh, it has EXFAT.”

In the bible, and specifically what we read today, “fat” means “abundance” or “fruitfulness.” The Hebrew term here is actually the name “Caleb.” You may recall from the Book of Numbers that he is the one who encouraged Joshua when the Hebrew slaves crossed the Jordan back into the Land of Canaan.

The Sons of Israel are given the land of Goshen in which to dwell. This really was the best part of the land since the drought had made farming or raising herds nearly impossible. Goshen was on the eastern side of the Nile Delta, and thus had water still from the Nile.

We should note that Pharaoh invited the Sons of Israel to leave everything behind and come into the land to enjoy the fat of the land. They did not do that. When they came, they brought their herds with them. That actually was not part of the deal. After all, where to graze herds in the middle of a seven-year drought? On top of this, the Egyptians were not herders like the Hebrews. They detested herdsmen.

This reminds me of a few years ago during a tsunami warning having a family from the valley call up and ask if they could come up to the parsonage for safety. Of course we agreed right away. When they arrived, they had their two big dogs with them. At the time we had our own dog in the kennel. Well, the family forgot to bring dogfood with them. It was too late to go back for it, so their dogs ate my dog’s food. I had enough only because the tsunami warning turned out to be a false alarm, and so they could go home again.

The Egyptians are in the same kind of situation now. They are in the middle of the worst drought ever experienced with five more years to come, and they are being asked to feed someone else’s animals rather than just feeding people. They are not making any good business doing this, but this is the hospitality code of the people in that time and that region. When people came to you in need, you helped them! Even if they were strangers.

I ask you, when does hospitality run out and the burden of hosting others becomes troublesome? When I was growing up, our German household ran very much the same way: The best bed in the house was always offered to the guest. I got quite used to sleeping on the floor in the basement while someone else was in my bed. I did not mind my grandmother or grandfather taking my bed ever. But, we hosted exchange students back then too. After sleeping on the floor for three months, you do begin to miss your real bed!

The Egyptians also wanted the fat of the land. They devised a clever way to get the land back actually–and this would eventually lead to the enslavement of the Hebrew nation. When Israel came into Egypt there were still five years of drought ahead to survive. Yes, there was grain in Egypt, but it needed to be bought and paid for. Eventually the silver ran out. The Hebrews had to come up with a new way to pay for their sustenance. They began to sell off their herds next. When the animals were all gone, they sold the land that they had been given in Goshen. When all of the land was gone, they had only themselves left to sell. They sold themselves into slavery. Yes, they survived, but they were no longer a great nation.

The example that we have today is the purchase of a new vehicle. Some car manufacturers are back to offering zero down with zero percent interest on a new vehicle loan. What’s more, they offer you three months with no payment at all. What happens in the fourth month when you realize that the price they offered was higher than it should have been, you now owe more than you can pay, and the car is already giving you mechanical issues that are not covered by the warranty?! So it was with the Hebrew nation–the new car smell was wearing off, and they found themselves buried in a debt they could not repay.

I want to go back to the word “fat” for a moment. I used the example of buying a car because that is where our society and culture somewhat matches. But, if we still lived in an agrarian society we would accept a simple truth in the notion that when we plant, the bush or vine grows up and blossoms. It then begins to produce fruit. The fruit is in great abundance and really nice looking at first. Eventually the plant begins to burn out. The plump vine turns to hardwood sticks. The fruit is less in volume and quality.

We just planted corn at the parsonage. If you have ever planted corn yourself, you know that the cornstalk produces two ears. The straight one at the top is always the best. The curved one on the lower stalk is smaller, and always less tasty. And, eventually the entire stalk dries out and looks like what you see on the road to Hanapepe now.

The word “Caleb” in Hebrew specifically refers to the better ear of corn. It refers to the best that comes first when one plants food. It is what is therefore given back to God in sacrifice. This was even the tradition for the first born son in a family to be dedicated to God. We have the story of Abraham and Isaac in which Isaac is to be offered back to God as the first born. We have the story of Hannah and her first born son Samuel being dedicated to the priesthood. Even the story of Jesus echoes this understanding of being a sacrifice unto God in heaven. Or, perhaps better put, God sacrifices the best for us.

Yes, the Israelites are given the Land of Goshen so that they may survive, but this is not the true “glory in the story.” Just surviving is not what God promises us! It is about the fat of the land. When is life sweet and full? When are we producing our best to be given back to God in thanksgiving?

Last week I pointed out and gave the homework assignment to look at all the times that Joseph weeps. Instead of looking at Joseph’s life as a timeline or a sojourn, let’s look at it as a acreage. Look how he has grown! Look at the fruit he has borne! He discovers that just throwing his brothers into prison did not satisfy his needs. Declaring himself and crying upon the shoulders of his brother in utter happiness does. Meeting his young brother and crying upon his neck in joy is his best growth. Seeing his beloved father and being able to care for him in his old age is the fruit he can offer back, again with tears in his eyes for the happiness this brings him in life.

I have to compare this to the ministry of Jesus and how he was always sharing in parables about seeds growing up and bearing fruit. We have the Parable of Sower. In Matthew 13:37 we hear Jesus telling his disciples: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed means the sons of the kingdom. . .”

The disciples at the time of the crucifixion go bury themselves and hide away. Then, Jesus comes back to them and they are filled with the joy and love of the Lord. Check out John 21. That is the great confession of love by Peter. The disciples had been with Jesus all that time experience the best of their lives. They had survived as fisherman or other trades, but Jesus offers them more: the abundance of life everlasting and the first fruits of the Kingdom of God.

Weep with another today and grow the land that Jesus has given us. Weep for joy that we are together in this place meeting our Lord. God has given that which we sacrifice back to him this day: our love, our joy. The future in the true Promised Land is ours.

Amen.