Pardon me
if this post doesn’t have a unified message, but there’s some really
interesting things in these two chapters that may or may not have much to do
with each other.
First, you
probably noticed in the last couple of days’ readings that the Egyptians had a
hang-up with shepherds. I’d have to
check a commentary on why that is. I
know that Egyptians were a settled, agricultural society. So, perhaps the prejudice had less to do with
raising sheep and more to do with a nomadic lifestyle. (Most people don’t know that the word ‘Hebrew’
was most likely an ethnic slur to denigrate nomadic people.) Anyhow, I think it’s interesting that Joseph,
knowing the Egyptians’ prejudices, used those prejudices to keep the people of
Israel apart. Goshen was on the eastern
frontier of Egypt, removed from the population centers. Since Israel’s distinctiveness and unique
purpose in God’s plans was so important, it was important that Israel not
assimilate to the culture around them.
(This issue will come up later in the Bible when Israel takes possession
of Canaan, too.)
Reading the
story of Israel—even from her earliest days—reminds us that we Christians need
to strike a difficult balance. On the
one hand, we can’t just cut ourselves off from the world: how can you be a light for the world if you
never come in contact with the world? On
the other hand, we need to maintain a sense of our own distinctiveness apart
from the world. That’s a difficult
balance to maintain—in the world but not of the world—and it’s not as simple as
settling in the land of Goshen!
Second, I
can never read the second half of Genesis 47 without being simply amazed at the
tax policy that Joseph instituted. I
mean, it’s really harsh. First, he gets
all their money; then their livestock; then their money; then their property;
then he puts a 20% tax on them. Talk about
socialism! Pharaoh owns the means of
production and demands a significant cut of the proceeds. (Of course, I write this in the wake of last
night’s 11th hour deal that raises some tax rates to 39%, so maybe I
should just be careful.)
I guess the
lesson I’d suggest here is that an awful lot of governance decisions are left
to human discretion. To try to find
biblical support for particular political positions seems to me to be an
ill-conceived endeavor.)
Finally,
you may have noticed that Joseph is still his father’s favorite. Usually the firstborn would get a double
portion of the father’s estate. So, with
12 sons, the firstborn would get 2 out of 13 shares. Now, in the case of Jacob’s family, it was
actually the fourth-born, Judah, who became the principal heir, because Reuben,
Simeon, and Levi had behaved badly and gotten themselves passed over. Now, here’s the kicker: Jacob ‘adopts’ Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh
and Ephraim. The effect of this is that Jacob
now has 13 heirs, Judah gets two-fourteenths, and Joseph also ends up with
two-fourteenths (one for each son). Talk
about a kick-in-the-shorts for Judah.
(At least he’s still the one through whom the line will continue!)
Lessons? Well, the Lord doesn’t play favorites. The people of Israel long thought of
themselves as God’s favorites, but Peter shuts that door decisively when the
family of Cornelius, the Roman centurion, is brought under the reign of God
(Acts 10). He declares, “I now realize
how true it is that God does not show favoritism!” A good lesson for us! Grace isn’t contingent on anything in us; it
is God’s pure gift. We do well to think
on that in our churches and in our personal dealings.
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