Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. (Exodus 1:8 ESV)
Fear Not… Then Be Known
What if my father was best friends with actor John Wayne, but never told me? What if my mother worked as a scheduling consultant for Billy Graham, but never told me? What if I played basketball with Wilt Chamberlain, but never told my children? What if you gave walking lessons to Neil Armstrong, but never told me?
Those would be sad situations… but hardly world-changing.
Egypt’s new king did not know Joseph, but why? Perhaps after Joseph’s withdrawal from Egyptian politics, the Israelites huddled in Goshen and didn’t ‘get involved.’ Perhaps the Israelites did not believe that talking about the work of Joseph did not matter anymore. Perhaps the Israelites were too busy resting on their laurels… and Egypt forgot.
And “Joseph” was not the point. When Moses wrote this verse, I imagine him smiling at his own subtlety. Because Joseph being forgotten was not important.
Forgetting Joseph’s God is another matter.
It is fun and easy to blame the Egyptians for their eventual mistreatment of the Israelites. But part of the blame extends to the descendants of the patriarchs who stopped being noticeable by the Egyptians. The Egyptians had seen Joseph’s God interpret dreams accurately. The Egyptians had seen Joseph’s God bring rag-Joseph into the position of riches-Joseph. The Egyptians had seen Joseph’s God save the world from famine.
And yes, the Egyptians should have remembered. But also yes, the Israelites should have talked, spoken, reminded, taught, influenced, sung, shouted, mentioned, hinted, proclaimed, and preached about the One True God, and given the hope of the coming Messiah.
It is easy to blame our society for forgetting God. But perhaps we have not let ourselves, and Him, be known.
Fear not, then be known.