Theological Commentary: Click Here
Once more we
see the prosperity and the wisdom of Joseph.
Before the story of the chapter is finished, Pharaoh owns all the land
in Egypt and essentially turns the whole nation into sharecroppers. The people receive their grain from Pharaoh
and have to give a portion back to Pharaoh in return. Joseph’s wisdom – his ability and desire to
listen to God, really – sets him up to be a blessing to the people as well as
to his Pharaoh.
That being
said, I want to take a side trip and risk chasing down a rabbit trail. Did anyone else besides me notice the portion
that Pharaoh requires? Jacob tells the
people that one-fifth will return to Pharaoh and four-fifths will be kept by
the people. That’s twenty percent!
When I read
that, I really was impressed by how little God demands of us. Yes, He wants our submission. But He only asks that we tithe ten percent of
what we are given by his hands! That’s
incredibly generous, especially with what Pharaoh demanded! The people returning out of Egypt during the
Exodus should have heard God’s request and felt an ease of burden, not a great
taxation!
For that
matter, look at what our own countries ask of us. In America, it’s not uncommon for American
citizens to pay on the average of 20% of their income in federal income
tax. This doesn’t even count state and
local taxes. It also doesn’t count sales
tax. When we look at it in this perspective,
God really is generous.
Those living
in other countries have more to see. On
the average, Americans pay less tax. We
typically receive less benefit for our tax, too. But some countries pay as much as 40% of
their income in tax. (Aruba has the highest taxation rate at 58.5% and there
are about ten countries with a tax rate of 50% or higher.) In this light, God’s tithe is really quite
generous. I think perspective really
helps. How generous is a God that asks
for ten percent when fellow human beings tax one another as much as 50%!
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