Thursday, January 21, 2016

COME AS A CHILD LESSON 103 THE EGYPTIANS BECOME SLAVES OF PHARAOH

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)






          So Jacob and all of Joseph’s brothers settled in the land of Egypt and Pharaoh gave them choice land in the district of Ramses, just as he had promised.  They prospered and did well there.  They, their children and grandchildren and their herds had food and shelter because of Joseph’s favor with Pharaoh.

          It wasn’t too long until Joseph had collected all the money in the land and placed it inside Pharaoh’s treasury in exchange for food.  Both Canaan and Egypt continued to suffer from drought and produced no crops.  When all of the people ran out of money they cried out to Joseph, “Give us food!  We have given you everything that we have and we are still hungry!”

          Joseph told the people to bring their cattle,sheep, goats, horses and donkeys  in exchange for food from Pharaoh.  They did and everyone came through that year of famine by trading all of their livestock to Pharaoh for food.



          The next year was the same story.  The horrible famine continued. The people came before Joseph needing food.  They said they had nothing left to trade for seed to plant to grow food, so they offered themselves as servants to Pharaoh and their land as collateral for food.  So Joseph bought every citizen and all of their land and put them into service for Pharaoh, except for the priest of the land, because Pharaoh allotted them land and had allotted them seed to grow their own food and they were not in need.  The rest of the Egyptians though, were now Pharaoh’s slaves.  Pharaoh owned all of their land and all of their livestock. 

          Joseph, however, was a fair man.  When all the people became slaves, he gave each of them seed to plant to grow and harvest for food.  He made a new law in the land, which remained in effect throughout time, that all of the people would give one fifth of their produce to Pharaoh.  They were able to keep four fifths of the crops they grew for seed and for food for themselves, and the other portion belonged to Pharaoh.  I guess you could say that Joseph established the first official government tax system.  Only the land that belonged to the priest of the land was not taken or taxed.  That land remained free and was used by the priest for sustaining their households.


          Not only does one begin to see how the first government taxes came about here, one also begins to see that taxation by the government is also a form of slavery.  The people were in bondage to Pharaoh, yet they were able to take what he allowed in order to sustain themselves.  It was only preferable if one had no other choice but death by starvation.  This was the case.  It could be said that Pharaoh gained all of his wealth from the suffering of his people.  They bargained with him in order that they might live.  Joseph brought balance into this equation.  He allowed the people to flourish in spite of their bondage to their leader.

          By this time Jacob's family was well established in the land of Goshen.  They multiplied and grew and were very fruitful in the land.  Their numbers increased greatly. 

          Jacob lived in Egypt for seventeen years.  He lived to be 147 years old.  When Israel was so old and tired that he could only worship God by leaning on his staff, he requested a promise from Joseph.  “Bury me in the land of my fathers.  Do not forget this!  Do not leave my bones here in the land of Egypt but let me rest with my fathers in the land of my heritage.”

          Joseph made this faithful promise to the father that he loved with all of his heart.