Sold into Egypt by Madeleine L'engle

Author:Madeleine L'engle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Crown Publishing Group
Published: 2017-05-23T04:00:00+00:00

By the time Joseph was established as principal ruler in Egypt, most of his older brothers would have been married and the fathers of children. But this story is Joseph’s, and the others come into the story only because, at certain times, they affected Joseph.

Egypt stands in our minds for the fleshpots, the quick, good things of this life, instant gratification, fine foods, and wines, and clothing, and luxurious housing. Four hundred years later, the Hebrew children escaped Pharaoh and were heading back to the Promised Land, and God sustained them with manna, the sweet, flaky substance that fell each day from the sky. But they complained that they were tired of this manna, that they longed for their onions and garlic and all the fresh foods they were accustomed to in Egypt. Slavery began to seem preferable to freedom as long as slavery kept them comfortable.

It is all right to enjoy the “creature comforts” as long as they are not paramount, as long as they do not become little gods, as long as we do not become slaves to them. What God created is good, very good, and to be enjoyed, as long as we never forget the Source.

Joseph never scorned the fleshpots when they were offered to him. He wore with flair his coat of many colours, though it became a sign of favouritism rather than simply a beautiful and comfortable garment. More honestly, he enjoyed the luxuries of Potiphar’s palace and the far greater luxuries showered on him by Pharaoh. But when his luxuries were taken away he did not whine and whimper. The fact that he told both the baker and the Pharaoh that the interpretation of dreams comes from God, not from himself, tells us clearly that Joseph had not forgotten God, that the fleshpots were not of prime importance in his life.

Jesus enjoyed eating with his friends, enjoyed the good things (and was criticized for it by the moral majority). And it is all right for us to enjoy them, too, as long as we remember that all good and lovely things come from our Maker, even if we have prepared or crafted them: well-cooked meals, finely carved furniture, embroidered linens. And our enjoyment should be an act of worship. My friend Tallis was talking to a Quaker friend about the Eucharist, and how important it was to him. The Eucharist and the other sacraments are not part of Quaker worship, yet the old lady gently replied that she never sat down to a meal without thinking of the body and blood of the Lord, and giving thanks.

The evening meal, the table set with the best china and crystal, and lit by candles, has always been sacramental for me, the focal point of the day. It is when the family gathers together, shares the day’s events, and God’s bounty. When our children were little I did not mind when we ate as long as we ate together. If Hugh was previewing a Broadway play we sometimes ate at five o’clock.

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