The King Who To Whom Joseph Meant Nothing

Exodus 1v8

Exodus 1v8

“Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.”

This verse has always fascinated me.

Was the new king of Egypt really so ignorant that he knew nothing of Joseph?

How could he not have been familiar with the Hebrew slave whose God-sent dreams and God-given wisdom had saved the Egyptians from famine?

Our generation exits at a time of human history when there has never been so much knowledge and yet, at the same time, so much ignorance.

I’m not sure there is anything more dangerous than a leader, or a population, who know nothing of history.

Our generation lives in an eternal present – without reference to anything that has gone before - and so is at risk of repeating the same mistakes our forebears made.

There are few things more important to hand to our children than the stories of how they came to be where they are, and the lessons learned along the way.

I have noticed that, in life, the same giants reappear over and over again.

A generation that has been taught how the giants of the past were vanquished is well equipped to deal with latest incarnations.

But a generation that knows nothing of history – of the enemy’s wiles or of God’s faithfulness – is doomed to tackle historical giants all over again, as if for the first time.

Egypt’s new king came to power knowing nothing of how he came to power – which meant he was doomed to exercise his power with minimal wisdom or insight.

May my children not come into their prime without knowing the stories – the good, the bad and the ugly – of how we came to be where we are.

There is no reason they should need to fight the ancient giants blindly.

It is my responsibility, as a parent (or a grandparent) to ensure the next generation enter their prime with eyes-wide opened, informed by all that has gone before, and so given the best chance of success.