Genesis
47:13 ¶ And there was no bread in all
the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the
land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine. 14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was
found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they
bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. 15 And when money failed in the land of Egypt,
and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give
us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth. 16 And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will
give you for your cattle, if money fail. 17
And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in
exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and
for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.
18 When that year was ended, they came unto
him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how
that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not
ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands: 19 Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes,
both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will
be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that
the land be not desolate. 20 And Joseph bought
all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field,
because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh’s. 21 And as for the people, he removed them to
cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof.
22 Only the land of the priests bought
he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat
their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands.
23 Then Joseph said unto the people,
Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed
for you, and ye shall sow the land. 24
And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth
part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and
for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little
ones. 25 And they said, Thou hast saved
our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s
servants. 26 And Joseph made it a law
over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part;
except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh’s.
Egypt
and Canaan were both severely stricken by this famine. The people of Egypt, and
foreigners we have seen, put a lot of money in the government of Egypt’s coffers
to buy the grain they needed so badly to survive. Finally, the money ran out so
Joseph took property in the form of cattle and horses and asses for a year
after that. Then, when the government owned the livestock he took the land
removed the former residents to cities around Egypt. Only the powerful priests
were exempt from this acquisition. The people still farmed the land and Joseph
gave them seed to plant but it belonged to the government now. As tenants they
had to pay 20% of their crop output as a tax to the Egyptian government. The
people were happy with this for they and their families could survive even
though this goes beyond the famine they are enduring now and carries with it
great consequences for their future.
The
issue of government and government’s place in the scheme of things comes into
play here. We are forced to consider it. This passage states a rather negative
truth about taxation. The ability to demand a portion of the people’s living is
like ownership. Taxation can be considered in one respect a type of slavery.
You are forced to spend part of your working life working for the government.
Joseph says in verse 23 that he has bought them for Pharaoh.
Under
the New Testament after Christ’s resurrection the Christian is told to yield to
the heathen governments of the time, none of them based on any Christian
principle, in their function of punishing evil and protecting the innocent.
Romans
13:3 For rulers are not a terror to good
works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that
which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 4 For he is the minister of God to thee for
good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the
sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon
him that doeth evil. 5 Wherefore ye must
needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. 6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for
they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
Jesus
Himself said we are to pay taxes to keep from offering offense and performed it
supernaturally.
Matthew
17:27 Notwithstanding, lest we should
offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that
first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece
of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.
Once
a people starts using government issued currency rather than, as in much of the
Old Testament, simply a valuable metal by weight as a medium of exchange, you become
ensnared in the scheme of government to own its population and control its
economic activity.
Matthew
22:15 ¶ Then went the Pharisees, and
took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. 16 And they sent out unto him their disciples
with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest
the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest
not the person of men. 17 Tell us
therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or
not? 18 But Jesus perceived their
wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? 19 Shew me the tribute money. And they brought
unto him a penny. 20 And he saith unto
them, Whose is this image and superscription? 21 They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he
unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto
God the things that are God’s. 22 When
they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way.
It
is a truth that humans will generally prefer security to liberty, however. The
Hebrews will eventually want a king and, therefore, a government like the
heathen around them. God will tell Samuel, who objects to their cry;
1Samuel
8:4 ¶ Then all the elders of Israel
gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, 5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and
thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the
nations. 6 But the thing displeased
Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the
LORD. 7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all
that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have
rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
Then,
gave them this prophetic warning of the evils and expectations of human
government.
8 According to all the works which they have
done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day,
wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto
thee. 9 Now therefore hearken unto their
voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the
king that shall reign over them. 10 And
Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king.
11 And he said, This will be the manner
of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them
for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run
before his chariots. 12 And he will
appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set
them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of
war, and instruments of his chariots. 13
And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks,
and to be bakers. 14 And he will take
your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them,
and give them to his servants. 15 And he
will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his
officers, and to his servants. 16 And he
will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young
men, and your asses, and put them to his work. 17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye
shall be his servants. 18 And ye shall
cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and
the LORD will not hear you in that day. 19
Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they
said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; 20
That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge
us, and go out before us, and fight our battles. 21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people,
and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD. 22 And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto
their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go
ye every man unto his city.
The
Bible gives us a detailed treatise on human government if we regard the entire
book and not just Romans 13 as an excuse for tyranny. Pray for your leaders.
They are typically not good men. There is a famous quote in recent history that
pertains to the men who have led people in government and war by the Englishman
John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton,
known as Lord Acton.
“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great
men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not
authority; still more when you superadd the tendency of the certainty of
corruption by authority.”
The Holy Spirit reports through the Bible
writers that God has placed over humans as rulers the worst sort of men…
Daniel
4:17 This matter is by the decree of the
watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the
living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it
to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.
…and
the governments of the world are under Satan’s authority.
Luke
4:5 And the devil, taking him up into an
high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of
time. 6 And the devil said unto him, All
this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto
me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
The
lacking of men to rule generally in the right way is based on one major lacking
even if they call themselves Christians.
2Samuel
23:3 The God of Israel said, the Rock of
Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of
God.
Now,
it must be said that even though a chief executive other than God Himself was
not His direct will for Israel it fell under His permissive will, His
permission, and He did bless kings and Israel when they were obedient or
repentant, seeking forgiveness, for their lack of obedience. Do not make the
mistake, though, that brought Western Civilization to World War One where most
of the warring countries thought they were God’s chosen people and God’s chosen
government each fighting evil personified in their opponents. Do not make the
mistake of believing that what God allows mankind to do is what His good, and acceptable,
and perfect will is rather than the lusts of our own hearts. In the end all the
machinations of mankind cannot thwart God’s eventual plan for humanity nor do
they help mankind escape the judgment that is being brought down.
Your
government, whether it be the United States, China, Russia, England, or even
Namibia is the enemy of your liberty in the Lord because you have rejected His
leadership. This fact is part of His judgment.
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