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†. Gen 41:46b . . Leaving Pharaoh's presence, Joseph traveled
through all the land of Egypt.
That reminds me of how U.S. Presidents fly over disaster areas in a
helicopter to "assess" the situation. Well Joseph didn't have a whirlybird at
his disposal. If he was going to assess Egypt's agricultural assets first hand,
and decide where to strategically locate his granaries, then he would have to
do it in that spiffy government-provided conveyance that came with his job.
Joseph would actually get himself dirty down on the ground on Egypt's
highways, byways, townships, and farmlands, rather than cruising aloft in
the luxury and comfort of an Air Force One and delegating all the leg work to
a corps of go-fers and fact-finders.
Joseph hasn't seen his dad for 13 years now, and if there ever was a golden
opportunity for him to escape and get back to Canaan, this was it. But he
couldn't. Joseph was in a catch-22. If he went back home at this point, the
coming famine might destroy his own family. He had to stay and make sure
Egypt became the world's bread basket so his kin would have somewhere to
go and get food when those seven years of desperate want finally came
along.
True; Pharaoh could just appoint someone else to the task if Joseph
deserted his post, but Joseph couldn't take the chance his replacement
wouldn't be a devil instead of a savior. Sometimes, when you want the job
done right, you just have to do it yourself.
Then too, taking off now might cause Pharaoh to lose confidence in Joseph's
predictions. He might suspect, and who wouldn't, that Joseph made it all up
just so's he could get out of jail. Then Pharaoh would probably cancel any
and all preparations for the years ahead; with tragic consequences. No,
Joseph was stuck.
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†. Gen 41:46b . . Leaving Pharaoh's presence, Joseph traveled
through all the land of Egypt.
That reminds me of how U.S. Presidents fly over disaster areas in a
helicopter to "assess" the situation. Well Joseph didn't have a whirlybird at
his disposal. If he was going to assess Egypt's agricultural assets first hand,
and decide where to strategically locate his granaries, then he would have to
do it in that spiffy government-provided conveyance that came with his job.
Joseph would actually get himself dirty down on the ground on Egypt's
highways, byways, townships, and farmlands, rather than cruising aloft in
the luxury and comfort of an Air Force One and delegating all the leg work to
a corps of go-fers and fact-finders.
Joseph hasn't seen his dad for 13 years now, and if there ever was a golden
opportunity for him to escape and get back to Canaan, this was it. But he
couldn't. Joseph was in a catch-22. If he went back home at this point, the
coming famine might destroy his own family. He had to stay and make sure
Egypt became the world's bread basket so his kin would have somewhere to
go and get food when those seven years of desperate want finally came
along.
True; Pharaoh could just appoint someone else to the task if Joseph
deserted his post, but Joseph couldn't take the chance his replacement
wouldn't be a devil instead of a savior. Sometimes, when you want the job
done right, you just have to do it yourself.
Then too, taking off now might cause Pharaoh to lose confidence in Joseph's
predictions. He might suspect, and who wouldn't, that Joseph made it all up
just so's he could get out of jail. Then Pharaoh would probably cancel any
and all preparations for the years ahead; with tragic consequences. No,
Joseph was stuck.
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