Not What You See

Not What You See

“Now there arose a new king over Egypt. He knew nothing about Yosef (Joseph) but said to his people, ‘Look, the descendants of Isra’el have become a people too numerous and powerful for us.

Come, let’s use wisdom in dealing with them. Otherwise, they’ll continue to multiply; and in the event of war they might ally themselves with our enemies, fight against us and leave the land altogether.’ So they put slavemasters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built for Pharaoh the storage cities of Pitom and Ra‘amses. But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more they multiplied and expanded, until the Egyptians came to dread the people of Isra’el and worked them relentlessly, making their lives bitter with hard labor — digging clay, making bricks, all kinds of field work; and in all this toil they were shown no mercy.” Exodus 1:8-14

Sometimes we may find ourselves being oppressed or oppressing others due to a lack of understanding. Yosef (Joseph) did a great service for Egypt and helped protect the Egyptians from famine by letting the king know it was coming in advance and collecting enough food during the years of plenty to last during the years of famine when there wasn’t enough. Because of the insight and wisdom that God had given him he was highly honored in the country and his family was allowed to live there as well. But the new king judged the people of Israel harshly because of their prosperity, since he didn’t understand their history, which meant he could not judge their current situation accurately.

It is very easy for us to look at others who seems successful and envy them and wish their lives were harder because they intimidate us, when we have no idea what they went through to get to that point. Yosef (Joseph) was sold as a slave by his own family, was falsely accused and sent to jail, and was then forgotten for some time by the person who he helped in jail. He could have hated the people of Egypt and let them starve after so many people let him down, but instead he decided to help and share the information that he had.

Others may have lived most of their lives in suffering and are finally seeing some rewards in life for their good deeds and yet, because we don’t know what they went through and what they did to get to where they are now in life, we may treat them harshly based on assumptions that they don’t care about others. Get to know people and understand their full story, don’t just judge and treat others rudely based on what you see or envy. If you know what others lived through you might not envy them as much.

Picture originally found here

Related Articles

More From Articles

God's Alchemy

Definition of alchemy: A seemingly magical process of transformation, creation, or combination.
God's Alchemy

God is Love

God is love. Love is only complete when the power of choice is available. Let me give you an…
God is Love

Sinning Animals

Many people may be under the impression that only humans were held accountable for their…
Sinning Animals

David

GOD told Samuel the prophet to anoint David to be the next king of Israel.
David

The Forbidden Chapter: Isaiah 53

Isaiah 53 is banned literature in many synagogues and is often omitted from rabbinical training…
The Forbidden Chapter: Isaiah 53

Ruth

The Hebrew Scriptures record the history of a gentile woman named Ruth. Because of a famine in…
Ruth

But...But...Wait...But

"Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which…
But...But...Wait...But

About My Father's Business

We live in a world full of distractions. Dictionary.com defines distraction as that which…
About My Father's Business

Four in the Torah

There are a lot of sets of four in the Torah and below are just a few examples:
Four in the Torah

Altar of Incense

One of the three pieces of furniture in the Holy Place of God's sanctuary is the Altar of…
Altar of Incense

Ebenezer

When Samuel became the spiritual leader in Israel, he urged the people to put their sins behind…
Ebenezer
Joseph Sold Into Slavery

Joseph

Jacob, whom GOD later renamed Israel had 12 children. These 12 children and their descendants…
Joseph

Torah-Don't Make Stuff Up

The Torah says, “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and…
Torah-Don't Make Stuff Up

No Substitutes

Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a…
No Substitutes

Objections

What about this “Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to…
Objections

Foreigner

Have you ever been a 'foreigner?' In a foreign country, you're constantly aware that you are…
Foreigner

Publish the Menu module to "offcanvas" position. Here you can publish other modules as well.
Learn More.


donation