Genesis
44 – 47
As we move forward in Joseph life we now see how they became
slaves in Egypt. Joseph again attempts to trick them, but this time He sends
someone after them to accuse them of thievery. Verse 45:5 is after he reveals
his identity to his brothers:
Don’t be upset or
angry with yourselves any longer because of what you did. You see God
sent me here ahead of you to preserve life.
If you think about the sequence it’s very
odd, but it becomes amazing at the same time. His brothers are going to kill
him for being a bit pompous and braggadocios. Instead they sell him into
slavery. He rises to serving in a very high place, yet while he remains true to
God he gets falsely accused and tossed into prison. Even there he remains in a
good spot and grows to eventually be second in command to the Pharaoh, which
puts him in a position to save his brothers.
God did that!
Verse 46:2 has God addressing Jacob/Israel
as Jacob, but in verse 1 he is mentioned as Israel. How confusing does that get
when his name is interchanged even after God changed his name. Wonder why that
is?
As we close out the reading you see the
Pharaoh trusts Joseph and protects his brothers. It’s also unclear if all the
people end up in slavery to the Pharaoh or if his brothers are protected, but
either way most of the people end up as slaves to Pharaoh. The other thing I
notice in verse 47:26 is the first mention of a tax system:
So Joseph made a
law regarding the land of Egypt—which stands to this day—declaring Pharaoh is
due one-fifth of all the land produces. Only the land of the priests
remained personal property.
Here you have the start of property and
income tax with the church exemption.
Notice how when things get tough people have
no problem submitting to authority and becoming slaves. Once that is done they
have no problem paying taxes to maintain that authority. I wonder if we are
seeing this today. Think about when the economy failed in the 30’s and
Roosevelt enacted the New Deal, much of the nation submitted to programs like
the WPA to become slaves for the USA. They were fed and housed, for labor.
We see this in our relationship with God,
we need to completely submit to his authority and become a slave for Jesus.
Once you become dependent on God, you find yourself being less dependent on
man. Look at Joseph and his brothers, they depended on God and in a twist of
events God showed His faithfulness.
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