How should a Christian engage with the world? Jesus called His followers to be in the world but not of it (John 17:14–16). Both the terms “in” and “not of” are important. They call us to be deeply engaged with the world, but not to become like the world. As many have noted, we often seem to get this backward. We are “of” the world, but not really “in” it.

Genesis 47 shows how Joseph and his family tried to maintain this balance. Joseph was careful to ensure that his family lived in a separate region of Egypt. Because Egyptians despised shepherds, it would be easy for them to maintain their own identity. Joseph’s father also affirmed his commitment not to become assimilated to Egypt. After living in Egypt for 17 years, Jacob made Joseph swear that he would not bury him in Egypt (vv. 29–30). He wanted to be buried in Canaan, the land God had promised. Joseph and his family were committed to not being “of” Egypt.

Even so, Joseph was a leader in the Egyptian government. Throughout the famine, Joseph wisely distributed the food in a way that was beneficial to the people and to Pharaoh. After people ran out of money to pay for grain, they negotiated with Joseph to sell first their livestock and then their land to get food (vv. 16–19). By the end of the famine, the people were essentially sharecroppers. Pharaoh owned the land technically, but the people could use and farm it provided they paid a 1/5 tax. This was the same level of taxation that existed before the famine. The people were grateful to Joseph for this arrangement, they declared, “you have saved our lives” (v. 25).

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