okieinexile
Well-Known Member
What to do with the upper hand
By Bobby Neal Winters
There is a story in the 47th chapter of the book of Genesis that some might legitimately find to be disturbing. It occupies verses 13 through 36, very little space at all. I’ve rarely seen it referred to by those doing exegesis of the Bible, and I’ve never heard it preached from the pulpit. In case you are ignorant of its contents, let me quickly summarize.
This piece of scripture occurs near the end of the Joseph story. Those familiar with the story know that Joseph rises to be second in power in all of Egypt exceeded in authority only by Pharaoh himself. During the time of plenty, he is in charge of saving a portion of the grain, and, during the time of famine, he is in charge of distributing it to the hungry. In this particular portion of the scripture, it is made clear that the grain is being sold, not given.
At first, those who come for the grain only give silver in exchange for it. When the silver is gone, they exchange their livestock. After the money is gone and the livestock is gone, they only have themselves left which they exchange for food enough to eat.
At the end of the process, they are slaves to Pharaoh, but they are grateful to him because through him they have been saved. They have exchanged everything for their lives, and more than that, they have exchanged the freedom of their children and their children’s children and so on.
This is something that should stir emotions, inspire thought, and create the opportunity for discussions. Indeed, I presented this in a Bible study where it did all of those things.
One of the members of the group, who is a successful businessman, pointed out an hard, inarguable fact that bleeding-heart academics like myself would like to ignore. Had it not been for Joseph’s action, these people would have died along with their children, and their children’s children would never have been born. Those who were slaves generations later owed their lives to the foresight of Joseph.
We know from the Bible that the Children of Israel were brought out of Egypt, and history tells us that the serfdom of those in the Egyptian Empire eventually came to an end.
It might be tempting for some to say all’s well that ends well and use this as a lesson for the so-called “prosperity gospel.” However, those who know me best will realize that is not where this is headed.
It is not for someone like me to judge Joseph. This was ground where not even the author of Genesis trod. He simply laid out the facts of the matter for the perusal of later generations. For those who have read the Book of Genesis, it is easy at this point to take the lesson that things we do can have consequences far beyond the span of our lives.
However, I must ask myself a question. If I were like Joseph to find myself in a place where I had the upper hand over a group of individuals in the same way he does, what would be the appropriate action? Should I press my advantage to achieve maximum benefits for myself and my descendants?
This is too large a question for such a small space. There have been books written on this. A Theory of Justice by John Rawls pops to mind. However, there is space to comment.
We, like Joseph, are given our particular gifts by God. God is all powerful, but along with His power comes His grace. Though God gives us the upper hand with our brother, He also gives us the grace not to press an advantage to our brother’s detriment. Gaining the wisdom to balance power with grace is growing in righteousness and favor with the Lord.
And this is what we are to be about.
(Bobby Winters is a Professor of Mathematics, writer, and speaker. You may contact him at bwinters1@cox.net or visit his web site www.okieinexilepress.com.)<
By Bobby Neal Winters
There is a story in the 47th chapter of the book of Genesis that some might legitimately find to be disturbing. It occupies verses 13 through 36, very little space at all. I’ve rarely seen it referred to by those doing exegesis of the Bible, and I’ve never heard it preached from the pulpit. In case you are ignorant of its contents, let me quickly summarize.
This piece of scripture occurs near the end of the Joseph story. Those familiar with the story know that Joseph rises to be second in power in all of Egypt exceeded in authority only by Pharaoh himself. During the time of plenty, he is in charge of saving a portion of the grain, and, during the time of famine, he is in charge of distributing it to the hungry. In this particular portion of the scripture, it is made clear that the grain is being sold, not given.
At first, those who come for the grain only give silver in exchange for it. When the silver is gone, they exchange their livestock. After the money is gone and the livestock is gone, they only have themselves left which they exchange for food enough to eat.
At the end of the process, they are slaves to Pharaoh, but they are grateful to him because through him they have been saved. They have exchanged everything for their lives, and more than that, they have exchanged the freedom of their children and their children’s children and so on.
This is something that should stir emotions, inspire thought, and create the opportunity for discussions. Indeed, I presented this in a Bible study where it did all of those things.
One of the members of the group, who is a successful businessman, pointed out an hard, inarguable fact that bleeding-heart academics like myself would like to ignore. Had it not been for Joseph’s action, these people would have died along with their children, and their children’s children would never have been born. Those who were slaves generations later owed their lives to the foresight of Joseph.
We know from the Bible that the Children of Israel were brought out of Egypt, and history tells us that the serfdom of those in the Egyptian Empire eventually came to an end.
It might be tempting for some to say all’s well that ends well and use this as a lesson for the so-called “prosperity gospel.” However, those who know me best will realize that is not where this is headed.
It is not for someone like me to judge Joseph. This was ground where not even the author of Genesis trod. He simply laid out the facts of the matter for the perusal of later generations. For those who have read the Book of Genesis, it is easy at this point to take the lesson that things we do can have consequences far beyond the span of our lives.
However, I must ask myself a question. If I were like Joseph to find myself in a place where I had the upper hand over a group of individuals in the same way he does, what would be the appropriate action? Should I press my advantage to achieve maximum benefits for myself and my descendants?
This is too large a question for such a small space. There have been books written on this. A Theory of Justice by John Rawls pops to mind. However, there is space to comment.
We, like Joseph, are given our particular gifts by God. God is all powerful, but along with His power comes His grace. Though God gives us the upper hand with our brother, He also gives us the grace not to press an advantage to our brother’s detriment. Gaining the wisdom to balance power with grace is growing in righteousness and favor with the Lord.
And this is what we are to be about.
(Bobby Winters is a Professor of Mathematics, writer, and speaker. You may contact him at bwinters1@cox.net or visit his web site www.okieinexilepress.com.)<
