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by Sandy Shaw
Exodus Chapter 1 – Let’s read something of how it all came about. EXODUS means ‘going out’. This is a book about leaving one place and arriving in another place. It is a highly exciting escape story – and one of the greatest dramas in history. Over 2million people are involved – and millions of animals.
We are reading about the people of God – and they are living in slavery.
Joseph and his brothers died, and the children of Israel multiplied in the land of Egypt. They had held important positions and played an important role in the political, cultural, and economic life of the country. It is not surprising that they stirred the jealousy of the native Egyptians who felt outshone by the "foreigners."
Old King Pharaoh died, too, and a new one ascended the throne. He had no sympathy or love for the children of Israel, and he chose to forget all that Joseph had done for Egypt. He decided to take action against the growing influence and numbers of the children of Israel.
He called his council together, and they advised him to enslave these people and oppress them before they grew too powerful. Pharaoh limited the personal freedom of the Hebrews, put heavy taxes on them, and recruited their men into forced labour battalions under the supervision of harsh taskmasters.
Thus the children of Israel had to build cities, erect monuments, construct roads, work in the quarries, and hew stones or make bricks and tiles. But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, and the harder the restrictions imposed upon them became, the more the children of Israel increased and multiplied.
Finally, when King Pharaoh saw that forcing the Hebrews to do hard work did not succeed in suppressing their rapidly growing numbers, he decreed that all newly born male children of the Hebrews be thrown into the Nile River. Only daughters should be permitted to live.
Thus Pharaoh hoped to end the numerical increase of the Jewish population, and at the same time to eliminate a danger which, according to the predictions of his astrologers, threatened his own life in the person of a leader to be born to the children of Israel.
Are there Pharaoh’s around today? Yes, in different forms at times – materialism – secularism – apathy and lethargy. There are others.
We have here a record from Slavery to Exodus – and that applies to us today.
Moses and Elijah appeared on the mount with Jesus – one topic of conversation was His Exodus. This is no mythical story – this real – this is the account of how one ruler attempted to wipe out the people of God – the first pogrom – and after a period,
Almighty God intervened – and this same people of God are still around today – and through Jesus Christ we are engrafted into this chosen people.
“Loving caring compassionate God – we thank You for intervening and rescuing and delivering this nation from slavery and annihilation. We thank You that Your people will never be wiped off the face of the earth – we thank You that the Church of Jesus Christ will never die. Lord Jesus – empower Your Church – and as we read these chapters in Exodus open our eyes and hearts and minds to the truth you wish to teach and reveal.” Amen
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
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