Genesis 43-50 bring the dreams of Joseph to fruition.  His brothers would bow before him.  Joseph reveals his true identity to his brothers, and with the help of Pharaoh, he sends for his father, all the family, and all their possessions.  Because they are shepherds, Joseph's family is not expected to integrate with the Egyptians.  The Egyptians had a strong aversion to animal herders.  So they were allowed to settle in the land of Goshen.  This was part of God's plan to prevent the Israelites from marrying the Egyptians.

Gen 47 - I did not remember how Egypt gained control over all the people, but this chapter tells that the people sold their land and sold themselves into slavery for grain to plant and food for their families.  They were still allowed to farm the land, but 1/5 of the harvest was owed to the Pharaoh.  But since Joseph was in charge of the distribution, I'm not sure how his family ended up as slaves. 

Gen 48 - 50 Jacob blesses Joseph's two sons, saying that they will have an equal inheritance with Reuben and Simeon.  And as in his own situation, Jacob blesses the younger son above the older one.  Jacob then blesses each of his own sons.  In this chapter we learn that Jesus will be a descendant of Jacob's son Judah.  Something I found interesting was that the line of Asher would be famous for rich foods, candies, and sweets.  Have you noticed the names of famous candy stores or brands?    Also in chapter 50 is first time I remember the mention of embalming a body, which took 40 days.

This chapter also shows us that man has always been plagued by fear.  After all Joseph had said and done, his brothers were still afraid that he would turn on them after their father's death.  How sad is was for Joseph that he could not convince them of his love and forgiveness.  Do we treat God this way?  The devil has some sharp arrows and fear is one of the sharpest.  How sad it must be to God that we fail to trust Him even after all He has done to prove Himself faithful!

Exodus makes an abrupt change in the reading.  Joseph and his generation have died, along with the Pharaoh who favored the Israelites.  The new Pharaoh feared this large population of people, so he tried to contain them by overworking them and requiring their new born males to be killed.  But with God, the Israelites still prospered. 

Exodus 2 - The leader of the Israelites, Moses, is born.  His parents were both from the tribe of Levi.
In Ex. 3 Moses sees the burning bush and is told he will lead the Israelites out of Egypt, but Moses is not convinced he is the man for the job.  This reminded me of a song by blind Christian artist Ginny Owens called "I Am."
I'll upload the lyrics in a separate blog posting.  She focuses on Moses, Daniel, and Mary, simple people who think they have no way of doing geat things, but God tells them that there is a bigger picture and he has a plan that they don't realize or understand. She ends the song with "And through you, I will show them, I AM."

The Israelites suffered when Moses' plea was rejected by Pharaoh. But soon it was the Eqyptians who were suffering much more.

The plagues:  water to blood, frogs, gnats, flies, death of the animals, boils, hailstorm, locusts, darkness, and death of the firstborn.

I have not had a chance to study the history, but I have been told that the plagues were not random.  God is not a random God.  Each of the plagues dispelled a myth or god that was important to the Egyptians.  If you know, please comment.
One question that came to mind during the last few plagues is this:  If all the animals were killed by disease, what animals were left to be killed by boils, the hailstorm, or as firstborns? 

Ex 12 This is where we learn of the Passover, the mentioning of unleaven bread, and how the Israelites would be protected during the night of death.  God tells them to celebrate this feast as a memorial of God passing over them and leading them out of bondage.
If anyone still had a doubt to God's sovereignty, how about the day Israel left Egypt - 430 years to the day they arrived!  God always had a plan and was always in control of His plan.  And he still is!