History is Complicated
Daily Reading: Genesis 47, Psalm 47, Acts 3, Proverbs 16
There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace. When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is all gone.”
“Then bring your livestock,” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.” So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys. And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.
When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. Why should we perish before your eyes—we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.”
So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other.
Genesis 47:13-21
The last portion of this story finally sunk in for me for the first time in my adult life.
For the first 44 years of my life, whenever I read the Bible, it was always more natural to focus on the warm and fuzzy parts of Joseph’s arc.
Betrayed by his brothers, thrown in prison, stayed faithful to God, but God always had a plan and he used Joseph to save Egypt and the people of Israel from a seven year famine.
It is an amazing story.
It never struck me before this reading that this particular chapter of God’s story, where Joseph is the main character, ends like this:
So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other.
In just a couple of short chapters we will be heading into Exodus and reading about the harsh treatment of the Israelites after Joseph dies and new leadership takes over in Egypt, leadership that views the people of Israel as a threat.
This next chapter in God’s story culminates in Moses leading God’s people out of Egypt in search of the promised land that God leads them to.
Another amazing story.
However, I never realized before this reading that the origin of servitude across all of Egypt, came from the mind of Joseph.
Granted, Joseph’s version of servitude was a lesser version than what it eventually became.
Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground. But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.”
Genesis 47:23-24
The people no longer had any ownership over their property, and Pharaoh was now in complete control of what they could keep from their labor to feed their families, and what belonged to him. It is not the back breaking labor we see a few chapters later. There is not the malicious intent of breaking the spirit of the people of Israel that we read about in Exodus. However, the conditions were now set for what was to come. We were now on a very slippery slope that eventually led to some extremely dark places.
History is complicated.
We so desperately want things to be black and white.
Our hearts desire things to be simple.
Good vs. Evil with good winning in the end.
Eventually, we know that is the end of this story. Many years later Jesus came to earth to pay the price for our sins and secure everlasting life for those that choose to follow him.
However, just like the Israelites, we still endure many ups and downs along the way. We are still in the midst of the long arc of history, and living in a broken and fallen world.
While we are living here on earth, waiting for God’s eternal reign, we are confronted by living in a complicated world, filled with unintended consequences.
Joseph probably thought he was doing the right thing, but it led to generations of back breaking labor for an entire nation.
Unintended consequences.
It struck me today that this story is a great cautionary tale for us today. It is a great reminder that we should never place our hope and our faith in the leaders of today. Regardless of what country we live in, what political party is in power, what system of governance we are under; we are always ruled by human beings.
Even one of our heroes of the Bible, one of our central characters, one that God “sent ahead” in order to save so many lives when the famine struck, ended up saving them in such a way that resulted in some pretty terrible consequences.
History is complicated.
This is why it is absolutely critical that Christians never put any one leader, party, or system of governance on the throne that should be reserved only for God.
Through the long arc of history, even the most well intentioned leaders are going to make mistakes, institute policies with unintended consequences, and fail from time to time. We will also be led by leaders without the best of intentions, who are looking out almost exclusively for their own self interest.
We live in a broken and fallen world.
However, there is great news.
God eventually redeems our complicated history.
God is the author of this grand story, and the final chapters have already been written.
The faith of God’s people should never have been fully placed in Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, and the list goes on.
It has always belonged fully in God.
We are in another difficult phase of history. So many challenges. So much pain and suffering.
As followers of Jesus we should always be on the front lines trying to help in any possible way we can. Through our actions, advocacy on behalf of others, prayer and financial support.
We are called by Jesus to love God and love others.
Let’s not outsource this responsibility to our political leaders, business leaders, and other prominent members of our community.
We never know when they might turn out to be wolves in sheep’s clothing or when they might have the best of intentions, but end up causing unintended consequences.
History is complicated, but the love of Christ never is.
Let’s go out into the world and spread it.
Daily Reflection & Dialogue
What are some more recent examples you can think of where there was a policy put forward by a leader that seemed good at first, but ended up having serious negative consequences?
