Many are alarmed with the speed and blindness with which our nation is veering toward a leftist, socialist predicament at the hand of President Obama and his willing accomplices in the Congress. It’s nothing new, folks. It’s actually (like everything else the left has been trying for forty years) a page out of a very old playbook. I refer you to Genesis chapter 47, where we can walk through the process step by step in the situation with ancient Egypt:

And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine. And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. (Genesis 47:13-14)

As Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel put it, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” While we don’t have a literal famine going on right now, we do have something similar in our financial crisis. Our reliance on our prosperity for our happiness puts us in a very vulnerable position. Proverbs 13:8 tells us that “the ransom of a man’s life are his riches…” and once our comfortable lifestyle is threatened, many panic and can be easily controlled by a government promising a solution.

And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth. And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail. And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year. (Genesis 47:15-17)

The citizens came to the government and willingly gave their property (and their freedom with it) for some security from the government. The money failed…does that sound remotely familiar? Sure, there’s a spiritual back story to God’s provision through Joseph, but as he is acting on behalf of the world system portrayed by Egypt in the Bible he takes over the nation progessively by “taking care of” the people in exchange for all that they have.

When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands: Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate. And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh’s. (Genesis 47:18-20)

The insidious nature of government expansion is that it never quits unless we stop it. All that’s needed for a takeover is a willing populace, whether asleep at the wheel or simply scared into submission. The people, having been frightened into relying on the government to provide for them, sold their possessions, their land, and themselves to the government in the span of two years. All they needed was a little crisis to shake them up, and as long as they weren’t relying on God they would gladly give everything to whoever else they thought could provide. Then, before they knew it, they were slaves.

And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof. Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands. (Genesis 47:21-22)

While ideologies like socialism, communism, and the like promise “equality,” they deny the undeniable human spirit, the desire to achieve. Therefore, these types of government require one class for all the “little people” and one class to enforce the “equality.” Left alone, people all want to better themselves to a degree…some more than others. That doesn’t work in a self-proclaimed “egalitarian” society unless you have a class of enforcers above all of those deemed “equal.”

Notice how the rest were moved into cities. Remember how cities like Bismarck, Fargo, and others are submitting (without voter approval, mind you) to “smart growth” schemes, denying property rights, asserting extra-territorial zoning authority, and pushing mass transit? Individual property rights are merely a nuisance to government; if we let them continue on this path, we slowly (albeit more quickly these days) give up our liberty. The founders or our nation realized that individual property rights are a huge component of personal liberty.

Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land. And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones. (Genesis 47:23-24)

There you have it, folks. Nothing granted by government comes without strings attached, and good luck getting rid of those strings. Just ask the banks that didn’t want TARP money, took it at the insistence of the government, are now finding themselves run by the government, and find that the government will not accept the bailout money back when they try to repay it! The automakers are another case in point. Once you accept the government’s provision, you’re Owned. That’s with a capital Obama O. Once you’ve accepted the “generosity” of the government, then the list of demands start rolling in. These people sought help from the state, and before they knew it they were working for the state.

And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants. (Genesis 47:25)

Here’s the real sad part: the people were so deceived that they counted themselves as having been saved by the government. There is no salvation in government, folks. The problem today is the same; people aren’t relying on God, their own individuality, or the wisdom of the founding fathers in drafting the foundation of our country. In fact, most people are too ignorant to the intentions of the founders of the United States of America to even realize how far we’ve come. John Adams said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” That falls right in line with the old phrase, “If you don’t believe in God, you’ll believe in anything.” That’s what happened to the people of Egypt thousands of years ago, and it seems we’re in the process of falling for it again, having departed so far from the faith and values upon which our nation was founded.

There you have it folks. I was considering a post like this a while back, then I heard a preacher talk about something similar recently and decided to put my thoughts into writing. Another time-tested cliche’ talks about those who are ignorant of history being condemned to repeat it. Sadly, I think that today’s under-educated, entertainment-driven American masses have departed so far from the ideals of the original United States of America that they were primed for a cult of personality to come along and sweep them into collectivism. My hope and prayer is that there are still enough of us left, the vigilant and faithful, who believe in this nation as it was conceived and founded over two hundred years ago. If we can steer this ship aright, we can avoid becoming an Obamanation.