-
†. Gen 41:33-36 . . Now therefore I suggest Pharaoh look out a man
discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh
do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the
fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. And have
them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up
grain under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the
cities. And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven
years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land
perish not through the famine.
A grain czar "wise and discreet" was necessary so that the man appointed
wouldn't be tempted to profit from his own country's misfortune like so
many of Wall Street's sociopaths are wont to do. Thank God Pharaoh had the
cool to realize that what his country faced was not just long lines at the gas
pumps, but nothing less than a full blown national emergency.
On the other hand, a central bureaucracy could easily lead to despotism, red
tape, favoritism, cronyism, nepotism, corruption, payoffs, bribes, artificial
shortages, black marketing, and political manipulation; especially if all the
available food supplies were in the hands of self-serving corporations like
ENRON, Monsanto, Bechtel, and Nestlé.
The success of Joseph's plan relied heavily upon the integrity of its
administrator. The right man would be a savior; the wrong man could
become a tyrant; and if the top man was a crook, everybody under him
could be expected to be crooked too, and instead of a program intended to
help the poor, it would only serve as a golden opportunity to line the pockets
of officials like Indian Agents of the old west who embezzled Native
Americans out of thousands of dollars worth of food, tools, livestock,
implements, shelter, and clothing.
It's been shown by historians that tithing was practiced in ancient Egypt and
other nations, as a form of taxes or tribute to the king; but a 20 percent levy
would be very unusual, and might well be resisted, especially if enacted by
an unpopular sovereign. Thus, the chief administrator of Joseph's plan would
have to be skilled in diplomacy and persuasion: a veritable expert on how to
win friends and influence people.
Actually, the 20 percent wasn't a hardship. Egypt's agricultural production
was so good that no doubt at least 20 percent went to waste anyway even
after all the people were satisfied and Egypt's export commitments were
fulfilled. (Here in the USA, we waste upwards of 40% of our annual
purchases of food)
Some citizens might gripe at first, but it's hard to feel deprived when things
are going good. The seven years of plenty would be a time of bumper crops
and overabundance; and heck, you could give the children's food to the dogs
and not hurt them. The only real malcontents in Egypt would be people who
are never happy about anything anyway.
Americans themselves have so much left over that there's enough perfectly
good food thrown out in the dumpsters behind super markets and fast food
chains like Wendy's, Carl's Jr, Subway, McDonalds. Arby's, Taco Bell,
Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Burger King to easily feed every homeless
person in the USA three meals a day. And that's not even counting all the
other restaurants and food courts that are tossing out literally tons of edible
garbage every hour of the business day.
Although someone might get the wrong impression, there was really no
indication in Joseph's presentation that he was throwing his hat in the ring.
Such a thought could hardly have crossed his sheep-herder's mind. The last
thing Joseph wanted was a long-term commitment to Federal employment in
a foreign country when the only thing on his mind was getting back home to
his dad in Hebron.
Joseph was not only an alien, but a slave; and a jailbird accused of rape. He
had never held a political office of any kind whatsoever. His only experience
in business management was the oversight of Potiphar's household affairs;
nor had he any experience in either running or participating in a bureaucracy
of the magnitude of which he spoke.
But there are people like Joseph who have a God-given natural aptitude in
certain areas. The don't need training and they don't need experience.
They're like some combat platoon sergeants who, when you throw them into
the mouths of canons, don't panic and don't get flustered. They perform like
they've been doing that sort of thing all their lives.
Joseph probably wasn't aware that he had a God-given knack for running a
big show like a national food bank. But God was, and that's exactly why He's
going to persuade those big shots to put His own man in charge because the
very survival of the people of Israel heavily depends upon an effective
contingency to meet those inevitable seven years of famine; and even after
the famine ended, there would still yet be a time of recovery before Egypt
got back up to speed.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
†. Gen 41:33-36 . . Now therefore I suggest Pharaoh look out a man
discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh
do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the
fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. And have
them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up
grain under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the
cities. And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven
years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land
perish not through the famine.
A grain czar "wise and discreet" was necessary so that the man appointed
wouldn't be tempted to profit from his own country's misfortune like so
many of Wall Street's sociopaths are wont to do. Thank God Pharaoh had the
cool to realize that what his country faced was not just long lines at the gas
pumps, but nothing less than a full blown national emergency.
On the other hand, a central bureaucracy could easily lead to despotism, red
tape, favoritism, cronyism, nepotism, corruption, payoffs, bribes, artificial
shortages, black marketing, and political manipulation; especially if all the
available food supplies were in the hands of self-serving corporations like
ENRON, Monsanto, Bechtel, and Nestlé.
The success of Joseph's plan relied heavily upon the integrity of its
administrator. The right man would be a savior; the wrong man could
become a tyrant; and if the top man was a crook, everybody under him
could be expected to be crooked too, and instead of a program intended to
help the poor, it would only serve as a golden opportunity to line the pockets
of officials like Indian Agents of the old west who embezzled Native
Americans out of thousands of dollars worth of food, tools, livestock,
implements, shelter, and clothing.
It's been shown by historians that tithing was practiced in ancient Egypt and
other nations, as a form of taxes or tribute to the king; but a 20 percent levy
would be very unusual, and might well be resisted, especially if enacted by
an unpopular sovereign. Thus, the chief administrator of Joseph's plan would
have to be skilled in diplomacy and persuasion: a veritable expert on how to
win friends and influence people.
Actually, the 20 percent wasn't a hardship. Egypt's agricultural production
was so good that no doubt at least 20 percent went to waste anyway even
after all the people were satisfied and Egypt's export commitments were
fulfilled. (Here in the USA, we waste upwards of 40% of our annual
purchases of food)
Some citizens might gripe at first, but it's hard to feel deprived when things
are going good. The seven years of plenty would be a time of bumper crops
and overabundance; and heck, you could give the children's food to the dogs
and not hurt them. The only real malcontents in Egypt would be people who
are never happy about anything anyway.
Americans themselves have so much left over that there's enough perfectly
good food thrown out in the dumpsters behind super markets and fast food
chains like Wendy's, Carl's Jr, Subway, McDonalds. Arby's, Taco Bell,
Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Burger King to easily feed every homeless
person in the USA three meals a day. And that's not even counting all the
other restaurants and food courts that are tossing out literally tons of edible
garbage every hour of the business day.
Although someone might get the wrong impression, there was really no
indication in Joseph's presentation that he was throwing his hat in the ring.
Such a thought could hardly have crossed his sheep-herder's mind. The last
thing Joseph wanted was a long-term commitment to Federal employment in
a foreign country when the only thing on his mind was getting back home to
his dad in Hebron.
Joseph was not only an alien, but a slave; and a jailbird accused of rape. He
had never held a political office of any kind whatsoever. His only experience
in business management was the oversight of Potiphar's household affairs;
nor had he any experience in either running or participating in a bureaucracy
of the magnitude of which he spoke.
But there are people like Joseph who have a God-given natural aptitude in
certain areas. The don't need training and they don't need experience.
They're like some combat platoon sergeants who, when you throw them into
the mouths of canons, don't panic and don't get flustered. They perform like
they've been doing that sort of thing all their lives.
Joseph probably wasn't aware that he had a God-given knack for running a
big show like a national food bank. But God was, and that's exactly why He's
going to persuade those big shots to put His own man in charge because the
very survival of the people of Israel heavily depends upon an effective
contingency to meet those inevitable seven years of famine; and even after
the famine ended, there would still yet be a time of recovery before Egypt
got back up to speed.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=