Well, I guess it's time to get back to plowing through the Bible as a devotion. So, here goes the first chapter of Exodus!
Like many of the historical books in the Old Testament, where the Law is given and the history of God's people is told, this one starts with the death of people that preceded it. The last part of Genesis told the wonderfully dramatic and dynamic story of Jacob, who turned into Israel, who had many sons, one of which was named Joseph. The first six verses in Exodus 1 tell us that Joseph and all his brothers and that generation died. Their lives were good. Things were redeemed and restored for the latter part of their lives. But their time did come to an end.
The next verse (7) tells us that "the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them." The 12 sons of Jacob/Israel became the 12 tribes of Israel. The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all.
A new king that did not know of Joseph came into power in Egypt. Out of fear, he made the numerous Israelites slaves.
"...the Israelites have become much too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country."
What a lame decision. But God apparently knew it was going to happen way before this king was even born, much less hatched his new idea. And God had a plan. The book of Exodus will see that plan unfold. It's like a messianic plan, too. It's like a fore-shadowing of a messiah that would come and deliver His people much later.
The Egyptians oppressed the Israelites, "but the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly."
Man, that sounds hauntingly like the stupid foolish plan that some white European settlers hatched for a bunch of Africans they forced into slavery. What a brutal and evil way to treat your fellow man. It's amazing that our country hasn't paid a deeper price for that sin. I'm reminded of something the great Alan Keyes said. He proposed that what America should have done in the sixties (and even better -- way before then) was to give all African Americans seven years of tax abatement. They would have to pay no taxes for seven whole years. They could earn money (hopefully) and use the part ordinarily apportioned for federal and state taxes to better their own lives. It would be a minor and symbolic yet practical way for the white men to repent of the sins of their ancestors. It would have reinforced the idea that man -- regardless of the color of his skin or what country he immigrated from -- was created in God's own image and capable of doing great things, earning a living for his family and reaping the benefits of his own hard work. Instead we hatched a well-intentioned but probably miserable failure of a system called welfare. Keyes says that welfare has "emaciated" the black man, reinforcing the stupid notion that he can't do anything on his own, stripping him of his God-given dignity. (Of course, by man, in the classic sense, speaks of humanity, not necessarily gender-specific). Boy, I wish that plan had taken place here instead of welfare...but what do I know?
The Egyptians made the Israelites lives a bitter existence. It got so bad that the King of Egypt told all the midwives in the country, "When you assist the Hebrew women giving birth, if they are male, kill them. If it is a girl, let her live. "The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, 'Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?' The midwives (God bless 'em) answered Pharaoh, 'Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.'"
I love it! A principle (that life is sacred) was more important than another principle (telling the truth always); and God honored this behavior -- this deceit, these lies. This is likened to the fact that Rahab was a prostitute who told a lie to her countrymen to safeguard the Israelite spies when they were about to destroy that city. And Rahab is listed in the lineage of Jesus the Messiah! That is a place of honor -- lies and all. If I was an impartial guy with no stake in the matter, I would like and respect God for that alone. He seemed to reward these midwives for their deeds, too. He gave them families of their own. That's cool.
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at May 2, 2007 04:22 PM