Well known facts about Joseph and Pharaoh but
What were the implications of Joseph’s actions?
Nearly everyone attending Sunday School has heard the story of how Joseph saved Egypt from famine becoming the hero of the story; with God’s help, of course. However, few lessons have been taught concerning the implications of Joseph’s plans for Egypt and for subsequent governments. This post will look at how Joseph developed socialism in Egypt, enslaving the native population and what we can learn about our own governmental actions today in comparison.
The story of Joseph is an inspiring rags to riches story proving the concept that anyone can achieve riches, power and fame if faithful to God (Ge 41). However, is this the true lesson to learn from Joseph’s experiences? Many faithful people in both testaments were called faithful but were not given wealth, fame and power; in addition, new covenant salvation teaches humility as the greatest attribute of the new nature as embodied in the Beatitudes (Mt 5:2-12). I propose a different perspective to gain wisdom from these events that is more applicable to reality.
As I have written previously (Slavery of the Gods: True Nihilism), Cain began government which is required when amassing sinful people together in small spaces; i.e., cities (Ge 4:16-17). Cain, the first murderer, understood the need for controlling people’s violent urges to maintain power; a leader has no power when he, she, has no population to control (Pr 14:28). After Noah’s Cataclysm, Nimrod also instituted a single government over all the people until God intervened at Babel instilling at least three different languages groups. Sin hates differences which caused the people to separate, read discriminate, from each other. As subgroups appeared this differentiation continued with people spreading out across the globe. One such group settled in the Nile River valley and eventually coalesced into the Mizraim, or Egypt in the English. As was common in the very ancient kingdoms, one man was both government and priestly ruler; in Mizraim this man was both King and Pharaoh, high priest.
Documentation in Rock
Recording Truth of Joseph
Joseph, son of Jacob and Rachel, was appointed as heir apparent to Jacob and thus despised by his elder brothers. Though most of the brothers wanted to kill this upstart heir, the eldest talked them into selling Joseph into slavery to a caravan going to Egypt. Eventually Joseph, though innocent, ended up in prison; prison in those days was usually for political prisoners since the death penalty was the usual punishment for most crimes. While in prison, Joseph interpreted the dreams of two of the King’s household staff; cup bearer and baker. When Joseph’s interpretations proved correct, he was eventually brought to to the King when he had a dream that his wise advisors could not interpret. He dreamt he saw seven fat cows at the Nile River which were later eaten by seven starving cows. Joseph interpreted the dream, under God’s guidance, as seven years of great plenty followed by seven years of terrible famine. Joseph also suggested a plan for the King: during the plentiful years the government could appropriate 1/5 of the total yield of grain and store it against the famine years. King of Egypt liked the plan and appointed Joseph as Vizier, second in Egypt under himself. Joseph was still a slave but a very valuable slave who was given great power in this one area.
True Face of ALL Socialism
Taking Everything, Giving Little
Notice, the government took one-fifth of the produce. The government did not buy the grain but appropriated it from the people for seven years. The implication is that the people consented because they believed the truth of Jospeh’s interpretation and agreed with the Plan. However, noticed what occurred during the famine years; the government sold the grain to the people. The famine was wide-spread so people from the Levant, Canaan, also came which included Joseph’s brothers. The government’s prices were such that before famine ended, the general populace funds were depleted (Ge 47:13-26). Joseph then agreed to take all their livestock in exchange for grain. When this resource all belonged to the King of Egypt the people agreed to exchange their land and their bodies in exchange for food. Thus, the entire populace, during an emergency, agreed to be permanently enslaved to the government by giving one-fifth of their produce annually for perpetuity, forever. This is socialism as defined by the Free Dictionary, “Any of various theories or systems of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy {underline added}.”
Joseph brought his clan and settled them in Goshen, some of the best land in the Nile Delta region. This means that Jospeh’s family was probably exempt from the perpetuity one-fifth tax which made them very wealthy compared to the actual Egyptian citizens. Covetousness is the root of all sin, especially rebellion. This probably chaffed the Egyptians who enviously eyed the Hebrews wealth and untaxed status. Thus, when a different King of Egypt came to the throne he had to fix the situation of else lose control of a very malcontented population. His plan? Enslave the Hebrews! This meant taking nearly all their wealth, by force for government is the use of force, and lowering their social status below that of the average Egyptian citizen. This would make the Egyptian citizen feel elevated since there were people worse off than themselves. God paid the Egyptian government handsomely for protecting the very small Hebrew clan during its formative years of growth. God was also teaching the Egyptians, and us, that governments always strive for power until their populace is enslaved; i.e., socialism.
All governments spring from Cain and thus belong to Satan, though used of God to achieve His ends (Mt 4:8-10). The course of modern governments since the Enlightenment have agitated for socialism beginning with the French Revolution, the first attempt to form a scientific, read socialism, government. This exercise in force failed but was not out. The next 150 would explore various so-called theories to justify socialism, such as Marx and Engels, and lead to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Communist China socialism governments; also based on force. Forced socialism fails because: force! Communist China succeeded because it morphed into a hybrid that has allowed commerce to flourish, under strict government control. Western governments have migrated into socialism in various flavors during the early 20th century with the consent of the people; like Joseph taught the Egyptian King. As people demand more government they must give more wealth until all they have left is themselves and their labor. The biggest push is for international socialism such as existed in the antediluvian world and later under Nimrod for a short period.
However, the promise of security in exchange for more control is self-defeating. As government make more laws to control the violence of sinful people; the people become more violent and degradation becomes the norm. This is because laws, commandments, paradoxically promotes sin; the stiffer the laws, the greater the penalties, the more prevalent the sinful behavior (Ro 7:8-11). The more modern man rejects the Bible, the more man is ensnared by his ignorance contained therein.
Of course, the enslavement of the Hebrews set the stage for God, through Moses, to take back the wealth given to Egypt during Joseph’s administration. That will be next week’s post.