THE ROAD TO SERVITUDE

What causes people and groups of people to end up losing their prosperity and embracing poverty? The role of disparities, social injustice and oppression cannot be denied but Bible maintains that more prominent than all these is the opposition to God and his will. The book of Genesis tells us of how Egypt was about to enter a period of severe famine. The nation however was blessed to have a Pharaoh, who was willing to listen to God’s warnings. Not only does he earnestly seek to find interpretations for his troubling dreams, he is able to reach out cross-culturally to an Israelite, and accept Joseph’s interpretation for his dream. Here we see a Pharaoh who despite his alien heritage, truly sought the living God, received input from God and submitted to God. He goes further and appoints Joseph as head of his empire- an unconventional step for an Egyptian king, unless his heart was inclined toward the true God in the first place. 

The famine arrived after the seven years of plenty, just as Joseph had predicted. We trace the story in Genesis 47,

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)

We see two progressions here- one of the people of Egypt going from prosperity to servitude and that of Pharaoh, going from strength to strength as the crisis unfolded. The story appears to be one of injustice and while Joseph appears to be perpetrating 

the road to disparity and injustice for the people, that is far from true. Just like the Pharaoh, all the Egyptians would have heard of his dream and its interpretation. And just like in Noah’s days, everyone but the Pharaoh most likely scoffed at Joseph’s prediction. They all had a chance to prepare for the future and if they had done so, they would have had enough to eat and would not have lost their possessions and their independence. But unless a heart is inclined toward God, there is little aptitude to listen. Only the Pharaoh listened and he came out triumphant.

Being on God’s side is the safest place to be but the road to servitude is one of defiance to God.

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