After the settlement of his father's family in the land of Go'shen Jo'seph had little time for visiting them. In spite of all the duties which he must perform to help the nation through the distress caused by the famine, he took pains to see that every possible aid was given to his own people.
In managing the affairs of E'gypt during the years of famine, Jo'seph acted with great wisdom. His policy was to supply the needs of the people by selling them grain, not by giving it to them without charge, and thus encouraging idleness until the public peace was endangered. Sometimes he found it necessary to purchase the lands of the people for the king, and to let the people cultivate them on shares. In this way the people received the food they needed without going into debt or becoming beggars.
Jo'seph overlooked nothing that would make the famine easier to bear. Special care was taken to protect the religious leaders of the nation, the supply of food was so wisely handled that no one went hungry, and E'gypt remained strong and wealthy even in the midst of famine. Hard work and loyalty among the people brought generous rewards, and Jo'seph was not only trusted and honored by the king, but was greatly loved by the people.
After the famine of seven years had passed, the people began to prosper again. Their lands were now held by the government, but the people were far from being slaves. One fifth of what they produced was paid to the government as rental for the lands, but there was no other charge.
Ja'cob lived seventeen years after the removal of his family to E'gypt, surviving the famine by twelve years. Seventeen years he had provided for Jo'seph in his youth, and for the same number of years he was provided for by Jo'seph in his old age. Among his greatest joys was that of watching his household grow and prosper.
The family of Ja'cob lived apart from the E'gyp-tians, who regarded them as people of little account, and who therefore shut them out of society and politics. Such treatment by the E'gyp-tians was really a great blessing, for it kept the children of Is'ra-el from mingling with people who worshiped idols, and who did many things that were not to their credit.
Saved from hardship and starvation during the years of famine, settled in a fertile land most suitable for raising sheep and cattle, and free to live in their own way, the Is'ra-el-ites were prepared by the LORD for the wonderful prosperity that was soon to be granted them. The foundations for the future greatness of Is'ra-el as a nation were truly laid out during the years of sojourn in E'gypt.
When Ja'cob felt that the hour of his death was near at hand, he set his house in order for his departure to the land of the saints. He sent for Jo'seph, and made him promise not to bury his body in E'gypt, but in the grave of his father in Canaan. Thus, in his last words, he proved his faith concerning the Promised Land, warned his people against planning to stay in E'gypt forever, and reminded them that they would finally go back to the land of Ca'naan.
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