Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.
Exodus 1:8
Sir Winston Churchill once said: “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” In Exodus Chapter 1 and 2, we read of a terrible and horrifying story about a king who exhibited paranoia and spread baseless fear among his people. He was a king without love. He was the kind of king who cunningly set out to destroy the Hebrews who lived in Egypt. According to the story this new king, who came to power in Egypt, “knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done (Exodus 1:8b).” He did not do any fact finding, or ask any questions, instead he gave in to his primal instinct and decided to oppress the Israelites who lived in Egypt. He then gave an order of genocide. He instructed that all the Hebrew male children should be killed, for the mere reason that they had grown too numerous.
Fortunately, two midwives, Shiphrah and Puah decided to disobey the king. They did not kill the Hebrew boys upon birth, “because they feared God (vs. 21)” and God in return blessed them with families. Indeed, it is the very people that the king did not fear, the women, that did the king in. Do not let anyone look down on you for any reason, because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). Remember, God’s story and fear him only.
This story serves as a warning to believers, and to all of society today. Remember history. A leader who entertains baseless fear soon becomes a leader who is loveless; a leader who is loveless soon becomes an oppressor; a leader who becomes an oppressor often triggers genocide. A good leader is one that will take time to know a people. A good leader is an insatiable learner, he/she asks questions, lots, and lots of questions, even as Jesus did. The king of Egypt was not this kind of leader. And yet here is an amazing fact, when all seemed lost, God appeared suddenly from behind enemy lines in the shape of Pharaoh’s daughter. When she found Moses in the water, she took him and raised him as her own. This same Moses would later grow up and become the one who would lead God’s people out of slavery in Egypt. Remember God’s story! If it happened once, it will happen again. The people of God went through terrible times before and they made it. This should remind every believer that no matter what you may be going through today, God is behind the enemy lines, and you will also make it by the power of that same God.
Fear God, disobey your earthly king if you must, be the Shiphrah and Puah that the world needs you to be today; be on the side of the downtrodden, the oppressed and the marginalized because that is where Jesus is. Remember God’s story and his way and will for his people in the world. The bridegroom is near, get ready, he is coming! May the Lord find you ready when he comes in his glory.
Dear Father, give me discerning heart so that I might identify kings who are not for you. Give me the strength to disobey them if I must. Fill me with the courage, to stand with those who suffer and fill me with the certainty of your victory from behind enemy lines. AMEN!