Jacob is at this time 130 years old. “My years have been few” is an understatement” but Jacob compares it to the pilgrimage of his grandfather Abraham.
Joseph had been granted absolute power to rule over Egypt. Pharaoh continued to reign over Egypt, so Joseph started to do Pharaoh’s bidding.
But, as we see, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Through taxes on grain produced during the good years, Joseph had amassed all the grain supply for the government. He is now selling it back at a far higher price than he bought the excess harvests over and above the taxed harvests during the good years.
These are the steps to gain total control over the people.
- Establish government monopoly over the food supply.
2. Collect all the money and other valuables in exchange for some of the food.
3. Take control over the livestock and other ways of sustenance.
4. Take over the land in exchange for some of the food.
5. Reduce people to servitude and slavery in exchange for some of the food.
6. Once the famine is over, keep the people as sharecroppers to keep the system stable.
Len Bilén's blog, a blog about faith, politics and the environment. 