Appreciation

“Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.” Exodus 1:8

God used Joseph to preserve his family and the nation of Egypt during a severe famine. Before the seven years of famine, the people in Egypt owned land, raised cattle, and produced crops each year. During the seven years of plenty, Joseph collected twenty percent of all of the crops from the people and placed it in storehouses. During the seven years of famine, the people bought food from Joseph until all of their money was gone. When the people ran out of money, they traded their cattle to Joseph for food. When their cattle was gone, they traded in their land. Finally, they sold themselves as slaves to Pharaoh so that they would not starve to death. By the time the famine had ended, Pharaoh owned practically everything and everybody in Egypt. It is difficult for us to imagine the impact that this would have had, but it may have created the largest economic gap between a ruler and his people in all of human history. Each successive pharaoh would have continued to benefit from the system that Joseph implemented. This new pharaoh still would have been enjoying the benefits of Joseph’s work, but he was unaware of what this great Israelite had done for him. His lack of appreciation led him to enslave the very people who had given him such great power. We all benefit greatly from the vision, expertise, and sacrifice of others. How sad it is when we fail to appreciate the investments that others have made to make our lives better!