Building a Nation for God

As I'm nearing the close of Genesis, I can't help but wonder how things ended up the way they did at the beginning of Exodus. In a way, this chapter gives us insight into what happened and how God's blessings don't always seem to work (at least on the surface) for His people.

Joseph presents his family to Pharaoh to gain his approval. Notice that the only reason why Pharaoh approved of the Israelites was that they were relatives of Joseph (verse 5). It's important to note that Pharaoh also allowed Joseph to give his family the land that is the most fertile in Egypt. In this chapter, Joseph becomes the blessing for the Israelites and the Egyptians. Through his ability to lead and distribute resources, Joseph has secured not only the prosperity of Israel but also the unification of Egypt. 

This speaks to God's plan and sovereignty. In order for Egypt to be realized as the great nation it is, it had to be unified under Pharaoh. And so with the famine, Joseph was able to unify Egypt by having neighboring territories sell their money, livestock, and land to Pharaoh. You can even anticipate what is happening here: the entire land and people is now under Pharoah's rule. And if you look ahead to Exodus, this is what happens.

So in terms of God's sovereignty, it's best to explain it this way: God used Joseph to bring His people and the rest of Egypt into slavery under Pharaoh. Anyone who knows of the trials and pain of the Israelites would look at Joseph and see that his actions have damned God's people. Although for that instant, Joseph  saved the people from hunger and immediate death, he just sold a majority of the known world to Pharaoh. And what's even more interesting is that because the Israelites were in the most fertile land of Egypt, they would be the most prosperous people and it would only make sense for their population to grow under such favorable conditions. And it's this same growth that will put in Pharaoh's heart a fear that his own kingdom will be overrun. All of these situations begs the question: Why did God put the Israelites and the Egyptians under Pharoah, knowing that the circumstances to follow will lead to the oppression of an entire nation under slavery?

I won't claim to know all the answers, nor will I claim to understand the entirety of God's sovereignty and plan. But at least on the surface I can say that the reason I think God had the ancient world go through that process, even the famine, is for Exodus. In other words, it's for the demonstration of God's power and glory to both His people and the Egyptians through the Israelites' exodus out of Egypt through Moses. This can also get us to look into what happened in the beginning: Why would God allow sin to enter the world? I think it's so that His power and His glory can be demonstrated on the deliverance of man from his own sins through the cross. 

It would be one thing to say that God delivered Israel from one small province ruled by Pharaoh. It's another  to say that God delivered His chosen people out of the hands of the ruler of almost all the lands known to man at that time. It's one thing to say that God saved His chosen group or family(in terms of size), it's another to say God saved an entire nation He has chosen for Himself. And it's another thing to say that God prevented mankind's damnation be keeping one man from sinning, and it's another to say God saved all of mankind from all of their sins through one man Jesus Christ.