Exodus Chapter One
I read Exodus Chapter 1 with a new set of eyes recently. The last few years have been tough in many ways; namely the global Covid pandemic and the changing of culture and day-to-day life that shutdowns and mandates brought to each of us. But also shifting economic climates, technological progress, societal pressures, and other changes have left me (I dare say, us) feeling uneasy, uncertain, or even off kilter.
In my personal life, I have experienced losses of dear family and friends in the last few years, and I realized recently that I haven’t fully been able to grieve the loss because life is just moving so fast. A celebrity recently said that this culture we live in “doesn’t reward you for taking a needed break.” I think most of you readers would agree with having felt the need for taking a break recently. I know I would welcome it.
Space to grieve, space to breathe, space to calm down, space to get perspective. Time is precious, and it seems we need more of it, or less things on the calendar/ daily schedule. Time, alone time, time to heal and regroup is a precious commodity, and in short supply these days.
Add to this the lurches in culture away from God, and it's no wonder God’s people might feel uneasy right now. Sin is celebrated and endorsed openly, and often in the workplace we are pressured into staying silent or risk losing employment.
Living this life in 2023 in America can feel like a pressure cooker at times. If you feel this way, I recommend you give Exodus Chapter 1 another look. Here you have God’s people, the descendants of Abraham, living in Egypt. 70 family members in total had fled to Egypt from the land of Canaan because of a severe famine that had left them desperate, but God provided assistance in Egypt through Joseph. Fast forward over 400 years, this family had grown into a very large ethno-religious group peacefully cohabiting with the Egyptians.
And then verse 8, “Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph…” It all begins to change from here. A regime change happened, fear set in, and suddenly God’s people are unwelcome strangers in their homes. They all become slaves to Pharaoh, and he treats them worse, and worse, and worse with each passing day. Indeed, verses 13 and 14 tell us, “And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage…”. As if this wasn’t enough, Pharaoh commands that all the male children of the Hebrews (as God’s people are called here) should be killed immediately upon birth. It just goes from bad to worse.
Two things struck me this time as I read this story. First, God’s people didn’t change, but the background circumstances they lived in changed radically. Often times this happens to us today. We live in a time of peace, and then, on a Tuesday, the government decides we need to go to war. We have our financial act together, and the layoff announcement comes. Family life is going well, and illness strikes. So much of life is completely out of our control, and when our circumstances take a hard turn for the worse, it can be difficult to get our feet steady underneath us. What do we do when the unexpected happens?
The second thought from Exodus Chapter 1 is this: no matter how hard this situation became, we know the rest of the story. We know that roughly 80 years later Moses, one of those condemned-to-die babies that was miraculously saved by God through the efforts of a mother’s love, a sister’s care, and the compassion of Pharaoh’s daughter, returns to Egypt from exile and, through an epic, incredible display of God’s power in the form of the famous plagues, delivers an oppressed people into liberty. Even in the hardest of times, God is working a bigger picture plan than what we can see, and He has our best interest at heart. We can trust in that.
So, no matter how tough life may be right now, just remember: we know the rest of the story. We know that joy comes in the morning. We know that, on the other side of the trial, victory is waiting. We know that “if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (2 Corinthians 5:1). We know and believe the words of Jesus, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
So, hold on, hang in there, keep your chin up. God has deliverance for you! Keep doing the right things: keep going to church, keep reading the word, keep making time to pray and listen to God’s voice. As Bro. Peter admonished us, “give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:” (1 Peter 1:1)
Bro. David Copeland
