|
Confessions of a Homeschool Dad
Sep. 4, 2006
Joseph and Katrina
We were just reading through the story of Joseph with our kids and, with all of the Katrina "rememberances" going on, something struck me.
For those of you who haven't read about Good 'Ol Joseph, let me summarize what happened with him in Egypt. The first part, you'll remember. The second part, not so much.
You probably remember that Pharoah had a dream that nobody could interpret. But Joseph told him it meant that there would be 7 years of abundant harvest and then 7 years of famine.
As everyone learned in Sunday School, Pharoah put Joseph in charge as his #2 to collect grain so that people didn't starve. He built a ton of storage facilities all over Egypt and filled them up during the 7 good years.
Then in the 7 bad years, he would sell the grain to Egyptians (and others from countries surrounding them) so that people wouldn't starve.
THE PART YOU DON'T REMEMBER
Here's the part that I didn't remember and I'm guessing you didn't, either:
The Egyptians came to him and bought grain with all of their silver. This wasn't a hand-out program, it was a place to buy grain. So, they did.
Then, when they were out of grain, they came to Joseph and said, "We don't have any more money, but don't let us starve to death!" So, Joseph took all of their animals in exchange for grain.
Then, when they were out of animals, they came to Joseph and said, "We don't have any more money or animals, but don't let us starve to death!" So, Joseph took all of their land in exchange for grain.
Then, when they were out of land, the came to Jospeh and said, "We don't have any more money, animals, or land, but don't let us starve!" So, Joseph took their labor by sharecropping. He gave them seed and had them plant it on (now Pharoah-owned) land and they were to give 20% of the crop to Pharoah and keep the rest for themselves.
So, at the end of the famine, Pharoah had all the money, all the livestock, and all of the land in all of Egypt. And the people thanked Joseph for being so kind to them.
HOW THINGS CHANGE
Being in Texas, I'm still hearing about all of the Katrina folks. They keep saying, "You have to keep paying for our housing or how will be live!?"
The Federal Government has put together a $6 or $7 billion grant (not loan) program so that Katrina folks can get up to $150,000 to rebuild their homes in New Orleans. To that, the Katrina people say, "How will I get there? And there's too much paperwork!"
I can only imagine what would happen if Joseph were running Katrina aid. I imagine he'd either buy their land at depressed rates or offer to help them rebuild if they work for the state for a number of years.
Both the Egyptian Famine and Katrina were (mostly) unexpeced Acts of God that devestated the region. In both cases, the people sought help from their government.
However, one group gave all they had, including their labor, to survive. The other group demanded more no matter how much they were given ($110 billion from the Federal Government alone - another $100 billion+ from private charities) and refused to walk more than a couple steps to get it.
How we've changed over the years.
|
| • Post A Comment! • Send to a Friend!
|
Comments
|
Posted by
Sep. 8, 2006 - That is great
~Pam