ויעקב ובניו ירדו מצרים
“Yaakob and his children went down to Egypt.”  (Yehoshua 24:4) 
Why did the Egyptian exile have to precede Hashem’s taking us as His Nation?  We can understand the reason from the following story.  Once there was a very wealthy man who took a young orphan into his home and raised him as one of his own children. The child did not lack anything. Many years later, a poor man came to the wealthy man’s house seeking a donation. To his great astonishment, the man gave him 100 gold coins!  He could not believe such generosity and he started to sing the wealthy man’s praises, blessing him and expressing gratitude.  Even after he left the house, his praises could be heard. The rich man’s wife was surprised at this reaction and said to her husband, “This poor man cannot stop praising you for giving him 100 gold coins and yet the orphan who we took care of for twenty years has never once thanked us!” The husband smiled and said, “Let me show you how our son will learn to appreciate all that we do for him.” He called the orphan in and said that the time had come for him to go out into the world and assume responsibility for himself. The young man left the rich man’s house with only the clothes on his back and no money.  He had a very difficult time providing for his basic needs.  After only three days, he felt he was dying of starvation.  Suddenly, a messenger appeared from his rich benefactor and brought him back to the house.  The orphan was overjoyed and felt new- born.  He expressed gratitude and continually praised the wealthy man for saving him and providing so generously, as well as for his many kindnesses. The rich man turned to his wife and said, “Now you have the answer to your question. The poor man who only expected one gold coin was overwhelmed when I gave him 100 and praised me to no end.  On the other hand, the orphan who grew up in our home viewed all that he received as normal and routine.  He didn’t give it any thought, it was what he expected because he didn’t know otherwise.  Only when he had to fend for himself and had nothing, did he appreciate everything he once had while living here.  Then when I brought him home he could not express enough gratitude.” From this story we can understand why Hashem subjected the Jews to the Egyptian exile before taking them as a nation.  Had they continued living in Canaan, enjoying the land of “milk and honey”, they never would have considered how different things could be and therefore would have felt no need to give thanks to Hashem for all that He had provided.  G-d forbid, such behavior could have caused them many problems in the future. Consequently, Hashem sent them to Egypt where they endured many years of bitterness and hard labor.  When Hashem finally redeemed them and blessed them with great kindness and wealth, ultimately bringing them to their Land, then they could genuinely praise Hashem properly and appreciate all He had provided.  (Ben Ish Hai)