Realistic Writing: Joseph as Typical Politician

I am not a huge fan of Joseph. I think he's an ordinary politician. This might cause some questions, so I'll briefly outline my reading of him in the biblical story. But mainly I want to marvel, very shortly, at the humility of Genesis' writer in writing/maintaining the story as he has.

We meet Joseph as a young lad, rather arrogant. He tells his brothers and parents that they will bow down to him (Gen. 37:1-11). He is convinced of his own developing importance. (Typical politician.)

He is sold by his envious brothers into slavery. He is imprisoned for the sake of Potiphar's wife, though he himself is innocent. He dreams some dreams and is put in charge of Pharaoh's entire household. His responsibility is to prepare the people for upcoming famine. The plan? Keep reading.

First, gather grain during abundant years (41:47-49). For the moment, I'll leave untouched exactly how someone gathers grain from people when rumors of famine are circling. Perhaps military force?

Second, provide food. The famine spreads in Egypt and the world. But not to fear! Joseph has collected food from the people. And now he distributes it to the people of Egypt by...selling it to them (41:56)! Further, he sells it to strangers and aliens. Joseph treats the people in his charge the same as foreigners. Hmmmm.....

The famine continues. The people have given all their money--all the money in Egypt and Canaan!--for bread, but now the bread is gone (47:13-15). So, what does Joseph do? He graciously takes their livestock (47:17) for the bread he has made of the grain that he originally collected from them. (Grace, grace, marvelous grace...coming down from the Pharaoh above!)

The famine continues. All the money is gone. All the livestock is gone. The people still need food. So, what does Joseph do? He buys the people and their land in exchange for food (47:18-22). In essence, he makes slaves of the whole nation.

Let's recap: Joe collects grain from the people. He then sells it back for money, then livestock, then land and selves. Everything now belongs to Pharaoh (except for the lands of the priests). Now Joseph seals the deal: he gives seed to the people and says they can keep fourth-fifths of their crops, but have to give a fifth to Pharaoh. So, Joseph has taken the people's food--whether forcefully or peacably is now irrelevant. He returns it to the people by price gouging--offering the same product for increasing prices as things of value become scarce. In the end, Pharaoh owns it all and sets up a system that he gets grain for....nothing! Joseph has no doubt done a good thing: He has saved Egypt. He has just done it in a harsh, brutal, and vicious way. He has created a system of evil that will later lead to the slavery of his own people--once the new Pharaoh forgets that it was a descendant of Abraham that set up his cushy spot (Ex. 1:8).

Now, here's my amazement at Genesis' writing: The story is not sugar coated. Israel owns the fallen nature of their own ancestors. Joseph is recorded as being a scoundrel and a hero. The story does not appear altered to make Israel look better than they should. Nope, they produced the man who created the situation from which God would have to rescue them. Their ancestor played a role in getting them abused as slaves. It wasn't just them pesky foreigners; it was their flesh and blood.

Let's hope that we can record our own stories/histories so honestly!