Jacob, and all his 70 descendants move to Egypt to live under the protection of the Pharaoh. God encourages this. I have a feeling it’s going to be a bad idea in the long run.

Earlier in the story, Joseph told the Pharaoh that there would be seven fat years followed by seven lean years. Instead of seeing this as a way of hoping the people of Egypt, Pharaoh and JacobJoseph saw this as a great way to take their lives. They could have warned everyone, but instead said nothing, and stockpiled enough to be a monopoly in the second seven years.

First, JacobJoseph took all their money. The next year, he took their livestock. The third year, he took their land and their freedom.

So now everyone in Egypt is a slave to JacobJoseph and the Pharaoh.

I’ve now read a large amount of Genesis, and I’ve just come to realize that this is not a book about morals, any more than the Odyssey is one. In this story, Jacob is Mr. Potter, and there is no George Bailey. We’ve seen the acts of Lot’s daughters, Lot’s offering up his daughters, Abraham on the mountain with Isaac, and God destroying whole towns, and even the world, for unnamed “sins”. I’m hoping it gets better, but I know I haven’t read the story of Job yet.

Tomorrow: Genesis 48-50