6Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, 7but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.
8Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.9“Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. 10Come, 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.”
11So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. 12But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites 13and worked them ruthlessly. 14They 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)
Thoughts: In 400 years the people of Israel increased from 70 to around 2.5 million (600,000 men Ex. 12:37-38, Nbrs. 1:46). God had indeed blessed them in the land of plenty in Egypt. Rameses was a magnificent stone city built by slaves. Both Pithom and Rameses were in the northeast section of Egypt near Goshen (the settlement of the Israelites). The number of Israelites scared the Egyptians. They obviously did not assimilate into the Egyptian culture- keeping their language, customs, and religious faith. The Egyptians enslaved them out of fear. In our day of much debate about immigration, we should remember the folly of the Egyptians. We should also recognize this is not a new problem- it has been around for thousands of years.
Prayer: Lord, let me trust in you and remain faithful to you, even if all around me do not believe.
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