18 Then another king, who knew nothing about Joseph, became ruler of Egypt.
Political power and connection can sometimes be a good thing. But as with any political connection, the winds of change sweep through and those connections get broken. Joseph had been the second in command in Egypt. He saved Egypt from a seven year long famine. But those were now distant memories to this generation. The ruler who came to power flunked his history lessons in school. Instead of learning that Joseph saved the day, he skipped that lesson. So, all the favor that that history brought came to an end in a short period of time. Instead of being the descendents of the man who saved Egypt, the Israelites became a nuisance. Their great numbers grew to be viewed as a threat. Instead of seeing them as the ones who ushered in God’s favor, they become a scourge and a slave labor force. All this happened because a new king came to power. We see something similar when elections take place here in the United States. The people with connections have to leave, because they no longer have those connections. They lose their jobs and have to pack up and go on to another job. We see it with sports figures. When they are at the height of their career there are many who are on the rise. When they fall, the crowd dissipates and the former star is left almost alone. The Israelites have ridden the ‘Joseph’ train for a number of years, but that train comes to a sudden stop with the change in ruler. All the old perks are gone. Now they must earn their keep and things get very uncomfortable. Stephen is using this section of Scripture to teach the religious leaders that their position of favored status is coming to an end. The things accomplished in the past are soon not going to matter at all. A new ruler has taken over. The rules of the game have shifted and they are unaware of the tidal wave that is about to hit them. In a few years the Temple will be torn down and everything they stood for will be destroyed. Are we holding onto a privilege that we didn’t earn but was passed on to us? Maybe it is time to let go of it.