Who Grew The Food?
Submitted by Ted Mock
September 25, 2024
Ge 41:47-49 And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls. 48 And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same. 49 And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number.
In the story of Joseph found in Genesis, we see what happens in a country during times of great crisis. If you are familiar with the life of Joseph and how God used him to provide for his family, you know that seven years of plenty preceded the seven years of famine. This almost wiped out the Jewish people and the godly line of the Saviour that started in Genesis chapter three.
I believe we can ask some questions, and from the answers, find some universal truths about governments.
Who grew the food in the seven years of plenty? The people! Who took the food in the seven years of plenty? The government. Who sold the food to the people, first for their money, then for their cattle, and finally, for their land and themselves? The government, of course!
But the question remains, who grew the food?
Some timeless truths about governments:
The government always takes more from the people in taxes than it ever gives back to them in benefits.
Temporary taxes tend to become permanent. Gen.41:34 & 47:24
A privileged class is treated differently than regular people. Gen. 47:22
If you can be told where to live (Gen. 47:21), be told what work to do (Gen. 47:23), and where you can go (Ex. 7:14)—you are not free, you are a slave. You might think you are free, but in reality you are just a modern day slave.
A word to people. Don’t trust money. It will fail, run low, run out, and sometimes, it will be stolen. Money fails to give health and happiness and can be a hard taskmaster.
Consider – God is my Provider, and He never fails to meet my needs. Trust your Supplier, not your supply—but grow your own food!
