Genesis 47:13-26 recounts a history worth pondering concerning the possible consequences of not preparing and, in this case, not having food storage.
For seven years, Joseph prepared Egypt for seven years of famine. I doubt there was anyone who did not know what was going on. Yet people ran out of food early in the famine. They apparently hadn’t stored food like Pharoah and Joseph.
The Egyptians first spent their savings for food.
Next, they sold their possessions for food.
Then they offered and sold their land AND themselves for food. They willingly gave away their self-reliance and their freedom. They became possessions of Pharoah and were forever indebted to him for their lives.
They were given seed to plant when the famine was over that would provide food for themselves and their families and, also, provide seed for the next year, but a 20% tax was laid on their harvest. They were, in effect, slaves of the state and there was no repayable loan.
Any time we are dependent on someone else or something else, we give away some of our freedom.
Elder Marion G. Romney stated “Whenever we get into a situation which threatens our self-reliance, we will find our freedom threatened as well. If we increase our dependence, we will find an immediate decrease in our freedom to act…self-reliance is a prerequisite to the complete freedom to act.”
I doubt any Egyptian knew or understood the consequences of not preparing and not having food storage. Do you?
