Egypt

Author: Joseph

Date: June 10, 2018

Two Levites, Amram and Yocheved, gave birth to three children: Aaron, Miriam, and Moses. The youngest of the children, Moses, was born during a time of adversity, for Pharaoh sought not only to enslave the Israelites in Egypt, but also to kill all of their male newborns with the help of the midwives. They were commanded to kill the children as they were being born from their mothers. Moses survived this genocide and with God’s help was well-kept.

When Pharaoh gave the order to kill the newborn males, the midwives who delivered the babies refused to obey because they feared God. Pharaoh then gave a new command to have the newborn boys thrown into the Nile river upon birth. It is likely Pharaoh replaced the old midwives and placed new midwives in the position who were willing to drown the newborn boys. Pharaoh demanded obedience, ordering all of Egypt to enforce his new command.

The Nile river then became a place of death for the Israelites. The Egyptians looked upon the same river with selfish hope that Israel would never be free from slavery, and their kingdom would continue to be built.

The Israelites were also afflicted with arduous labor. There was no rest for them. Each day they made bricks from earth and straw and constructed great buildings for Pharaoh (Exodus 5:7). And they were given taskmasters who drove them on at a terrible pace. The labor burdened the people of Israel and they cried out to God because of their bondage. The Egyptians, however, saw the work of the Israelites as necessary to building their kingdom and their eagerness to establish power encouraged them to enforce hard labor to meet their high demands. The cries of the Israelites meant nothing to them.

The Israelites, to Pharaoh, were also “lazy” for wanting to worship God and he despised them. The worship of God seemed ridiculous in his mind, for Pharaoh said he did not know who this God was, nor did he care. Pharaoh’s pride and his fear of losing power made the Israelites valuable to his goals, yet worthless as people.

Pharaoh and the people of Egypt were eager to accomplish what seemed to them the establishment of a strong kingdom that would last forever. If Pharaoh had known who God was (and is), then He would have known that it is God’s kingdom alone that will be established and never be shaken. The Israelites would play a key role in God’s plan, but Pharaoh and the Egyptians would be left aside because he refused to acknowledge God.

Moses, a humble man who survived the genocide of his people, would triumph over Pharaoh with the help of God. Pharaoh’s “unbreakable” kingdom would come to an end, and God’s plan to establish His kingdom on earth would continue, by remembering His promise to Abraham and saving His people from bondage.

Whose kingdom are you living for? Do you find yourself serving a “Pharaoh” who seeks only to gain for himself and create a “kingdom” that will never last? Or, are you investing yourself into the kingdom of God? Re-evaluate your life with the mindset that all things on this earth will come to an end. It is only God’s rule and reign that will last forever.

Bible Passage: Exodus 1:8 – 5:19

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB). www.lockman.org