Will we never learn?

     The relationship between Egypt and Israel has often been difficult.  Although neighbors, they were all too often at odds with each other.  In our scripture stories we recall Moses leading the people of God from the bondage of slavery in Egypt to the freedom of the Promised Land.  It is a pivotal moment in our salvation history and sets the stage for another delivery from sin and death to the promise of life and happiness found in the new Moses, the new Adam, in Jesus.

     But we must remember how Israel/Jacob/God's family got to Egypt in the first place.  If it were not for Egypt, the People of God may not have been here.  In the midst of a worldwide famine, Jacob's sons came to beg for help.  They were met by their brother, Joseph (betrayed and unknown to them at first), the steward of the Pharaoh.  Having planned for the famine through God's providence, Joseph allowed Egypt to be the dispenser of blessing for peoples of the world.  And, when reunited with his family, Joseph welcomed them to Egypt and gave them the fertile Nile delta, the best land, where they became a great nation.

    In the intervening years, a number of things happened.  The Israelites grew prosperous, they integrated into society to the point of losing their identity, they forgot the blessing of God that came through Egypt (in fact, they all but forgot their God), and resentment grew among their hosts as they adopted an attitude of entitlement.  Thus, over the years, they went from welcomed and honored guests to the work force that were all but slaves.  Only in this moment of dire need did they remember something of this God of history, and called upon his name.  Enter Moses and the Exodus event.

     This morning we heard of their welcome to Egypt as foreigners.  We are reminded that most of our ancestors were foreigners who were welcomed into a land of blessing.  Sometimes that welcome was difficult to see. We are reminded that as we sought to fit in, we too became prosperous, we too stand on the threshold of losing our identity as people of faith, and we forget the blessings that have come our way from God.  We lose sight of who He is and who we are.  We change to the point of losing not only our identity but also our moral compass and our rich Judeo-Christian traditions.  We are becoming slaves in a land of freedom.  We redefine laws to suit our purposes, we look down on the immigrant as undesirables, we deny life and liberty and happiness to those who do not fit our standards or interfere with "our" happiness.

     Why do we let history repeat itself?  Will we never learn?