I think that this verse is pretty interesting...If you do the math based on the promise made to Abraham about how long Israel would be in slavery and how long they were actually in Egypt we realize fairly quickly that Joseph would have had to have been alive during some of the slavery! So then what could this passage possibly mean?
If Joseph was still alive how could a king rise up that did not know Joseph? He saved Egypt from famine! But if we compare the language used here to the language used later in Chapter 5 verse 2 we see that the same thing is said about G_d.
I think that a better understanding of this passage is that a king arose who did not recognize the authority of Joseph and therefore condemned Israel to slavery!
But how could G_d have allowed this to happen? Let me assert that it is Joseph's fault - or maybe we should say Jacob's fault. Israel (the nation not just the man) were supposed to only go to Egypt in order to avoid death by the famine...but they took the fat of the land - became comfortable and instead of using this blessing from G_d as a means to continue moving forward - they stayed! And they stayed too long...Israel was a shepherding people...nomads - yet they got used to what was offered in Egypt and forgot about the Promised Land that G_d was waiting to give them!
Somehow the people believed that this land (Egypt) was a better option than the Promised Land of G_d!
Oh how often I see this in my own life! G_d blesses me to sustain me and help me to keep moving and I confuse that blessing with the place He is trying to move me!
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2 comments:
Great insights! I had never looked at this passage this way before. I am intrigued by the idea that Joseph may have been alive during some of the slavery. I wonder if they stayed too long as you assert here? Excellent post, thanks for making my brain hurt :-)
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