Jacob sends ten of his sons to Egypt to buy food because a famine is in the land of Canaan. This is the second year of the famine which will last for another five years. Jacob doesn’t realize he is sending his ten sons to meet with his other son whom they had sold into slavery that he thinks is dead.

One of the questions that can get your mind all twisted up is: Did God cause the famine to happen so that Joseph’s brothers would have to come to Egypt? Or did God know that the famine was going to happen and so He caused events to happen in Joseph’s life so that he would be reunited with his family as a result of the famine? Scripture doesn’t answer that question and so that means that we don’t need to know the answer.

What we do need to take from that though is that God could do either one. It is kind of fascinating to think of questions like that because it gives you a picture of some of the things that God could do to carry out His will and plans in this world. There is nothing that is beyond the ability of God. If God wanted to change the weather patterns to cause a famine, that is no great feat for Him. If God wanted to arrange that Joseph was able to interpret dreams, that is nothing to Him.

God was using circumstances to bring His plan to pass. He was reuniting the sons of Jacob and setting them up to grow into a great nation. While they are living in Egypt they grow to be well over one million people; all descendants of Jacob and his twelve sons. As we go through life there are going to be famines. They will be of all kinds and causes. They can be material, physical, emotional, relational, or spiritual. Some of them we bring on ourselves. Others are imposed upon us by others. And some might even be brought on by God. Regardless how it happens God is still in control and has a plan that He is working out in your life and in the lives of everyone around you.

“Can God make a rock that is too big for Him to lift?” is a stupid question. “Can God rearrange the world and nature to cause His plan for my life to happen?” is a great question. These types of questions should remind us of the grace, mercy, and power of God. They should bring us back to His incredible love for us. And ultimately, they should bring us back to the cross.

Any time we come to a question about God that His word doesn’t answer then we need to go back to His character and nature; they will answer the question for us. Jesus, teach to let our questions draw us closer to You.