LIFE SCRIPTS

These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all; Joseph was already in Egypt. Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them. Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far 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.” So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.
Exodus 1:1‭-‬14 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/exo.1.1-14.NIV

Exodus means moving out. The population of Israel had grown. They had become successful in the land they had been allotted… The land of Goshen. But as their prominence, success and numbers grew, they increasingly became a threat to the Egyptians. Its said that a pharaoh emerged who had no regard for Joseph. He then invited the Egyptians to ‘deal shrewdly’ with the Israelites to prevent them from being s threat in the future. In the book of Genesis, Isaac, Abraham and Jacob had been sojourners in a foreign land and God blessed them even in their sojourning. Its no different here. The Israelites had entered Egypt for humanitarian assistance yet now were flourishing in a foreign land . God’s blessings know no boundaries. He blesses those who are called by His name irrespective of where they are. But this scripture alludes to an event that would elevate man’s cruelty to man to a different level. Just because they felt threatened by them, the Egyptians made them slaves so as to impede their progress. This is the first time in scripture we see the practice of slavery being initiated and promoted actively. It’s not an example to follow but one to desist from. A nation under the influence of a pagan king led the way in oppressing people who had been blessed by God by making slaves of them. Slavery is an affront against God’s plan for mankind. It doesn’t honor God but demeans His children. Today we celebrate honorable men and women such as Sir William Wilberforce, H. E. Abraham Lincoln, John Newton among others who stood and challenged the institution of slavery in the past. The goal of slavery is oppression. This is the same script painted by the economic systems of today. Right from the macroeconomic to the microeconomic scale, there always is an uneven playing field that favors the wealthy and presses down on the poor. It’s even more interesting that some economists and business commentators even lay the blame on the poor forgetting that if these systems are not challenged, the poor will forever live in disadvantageous situations which keep on making the rich richer and the poor poorer. The story of Israel in the book of Exodus is a story of redemption. A story of freedom. A story of salvation. It’s a story of a God who stretches out His hand to deliver His people from a oppression. It’s an encouragement to us. No oppression is to hard for God to deal with. He is not only concerned with our spiritual state. He is also with our physical, mental, social and economic state. Slavery in whatever form is therefore not part of God’s plan. It’s sinful and evil. But God is a God of justice who delivers His people. He’s a God who keeps His word as we shall see in chapters that follow. But ultimately, it’s a picture of the redemption we have through the blood of Christ. While we were yet slaves to sin, He came to deliver us.