Modern Day Pharaohs
Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and the salvation of the Lord, which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
Exodus 14:12-14 | ESV
This scripture rests between two pivotal moments of a great story in the Bible. The Israelites, once slaves to the powerful nation of Egypt, have just been freed after a series of horrifying plagues. The people are now standing before the Red Sea, with no where to turn and the Egyptian army is coming for them to enslave once more. The people are scared and angry for fear of what will become of them now. For 400 years the Israelites had been slaves. The only life they had known was one as captives and so they knew not what to do with freedom nor did they know how to step into the unknown…for them this was scarier than being slaves. They had a routine in Egypt, a master to follow and while some days were nightmares to walk through…other days were manageable and uneventful.
For this week’s Reach we are going to be looking at not only the book of Exodus, which is where the story of Moses and the Israelites is found, but also the book before it, Genesis. Towards the end of Genesis is where we learn more about why the Israelites came to Egypt in the first place. And while this is a story of old, I believe that the ripples of its impact can still be felt within the lines of our own lives.
So in the book of Genesis we learn about Abraham (Genesis 12) who fathers Isaac (Genesis 21) who fathers Jacob (Genesis 25). God renames Jacob, Israel. Jacob - now Israel - has 12 sons, one of which is a man named Joseph.
In Genesis 37 we learn that of all of Jacob’s sons, Joseph is his favorite, largely due to the fact that his mother was Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife. Ultimately Joseph’s brothers become so jealous with their sibling they sell him into slavery which eventually lands Joseph in Egypt. Now we are going to fast forward a bit and skip some of the story - so whether you have read these chapters in the Bible or not, I urge you to do so. It’s a great story and one that needs to be read rather than simply seen in a play or on a movie screen.
In Genesis 41 Joseph, who is still a slave in Egypt, helps Pharaoh by interpreting his dreams, dreams which God uses to reveal the coming of a great famine. Not only does God bless Joseph with the ability to interpret the dream…God gives Joseph the wisdom to offer guidance in how to prepare for such a famine. Joseph is respected for his insight and thus given the highest position of power under Pharaoh. Seven years after this promotion, the famine strikes and is so severe that people from surrounding nations are looking to Egypt to meet their needs. Joseph is reunited with his family during this time and after forgiving his siblings for the wrong they had done to him, he welcomes them and all of his father’s household, now known as Israel, to come live in Egypt. All of the Israelites move to Egypt where they are welcomed, respected and cared for. Pharaoh is even happy to have Joseph’s family move in! So all was well, until the famine continued to worsen and provisions were becoming even more scarce.
And when that year was ended, they came to him the following year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent. The herds of livestock are my lord’s. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.” So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for all the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe on them. The land became Pharaoh’s.
Genesis 47:18-20 | ESV
Upon reading this it is safe to conclude that the people, Israel included, for fear of dying, sold themselves and all they own to Pharaoh, trusting him to provide what they needed. The people chose to enslave themselves by looking to a new power to save them. This Pharaoh, at least from what we gather in scripture, was kind and good to the people because he saw the good man that Joseph was…so Pharaoh was safe…surely he could be trusted with their lives, he hadn’t shown any sign of aggression or ill intent. And bottom line…they needed rescuing from the famine, an inescapable enemy that would surely kill them on the spot if given the chance. The people allowed fear to feed their logic and cloud their judgment. Out of ignorant innocence the Israelites chose to lean on their own understanding by trusting an earthly power rather than crying out to their God to provide for them. These people had undoubtedly heard stories of how God had provided for their grandfathers and great-grandfathers…but perhaps they doubted that God would care to hear their cry. Pharaoh was hearing their needs and willing to respond…what if God didn’t hear them…
So the Israelites became slaves to Pharaoh and slaves they would remain for the next 400 years. And the Pharaoh who was their first master was not to be their only one…different Pharaohs with different means of flexing their power reigned over the people, some good, some bad. The kind Pharaoh they trusted with their very lives was not the same being their generations to come would have to serve under. As generations passed so did the memory of Joseph. As that memory faded, so did the good relationship between the nation of Israel and Egypt.
But we know the story. God would save his people and free them from their captors. God would speak through Moses and his brother Aaron, delivering 10 plagues upon Egypt until Pharaoh finally relinquished the people. And then we come to one of the more famous scenes as described in the Bible. The people are standing before the Red Sea…Pharaoh’s men are coming for them and the people feel trapped, scared and even wishing they had never left Egypt…they actually believe it would have “been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
Did God not just demonstrate great power through the plagues? Did they not believe He would protect them still?
Before we slip into judging the Israelites, let’s dust our eyes and be sure to remove any planks that may be blocking our vision. How often do we give into the flesh? How often have we been faced with hardship and start reaching for anything that could help?
Do we hit our knees and cry out to our Father…
or do we look online and see what medical professionals are saying?
Do we cry out to God or do we call a friend?
Do we cry out to God or do reach for the nearest distraction?
Do we cry out to God or do we trust our flesh to make the “gut instinct” call?
Do we cry out to God or do we trust how something makes us feel?
None of these sound bad…but friends…they look just like a “kind Pharaoh” who has never given us reason to be alarmed or scared…
When you reach for anything other than your Father - especially in times of trouble - you are giving that something or someone power. And while this may seem extreme, anything truly powerful started small…and years to generations later…what was once only a drip is now an ocean sized power.
Anxiety
Fear
Invy
Lust
Pride
These are only a few of the modern day Pharaohs we face…they aren’t the power you intend to sell yourself to, they are the what manifests after 1-2-3-4-5 years of leaning into anything but God. And do not be fooled into believing it is only you who is impacted when you give handfuls of power away…generations will feel the weight of each handful given…unless stopped.
You must choose to trust that being in the wilderness with your Heavenly Father is far better than anything the world can offer.
And no matter how much power you have handed over, no matter how much of yourself you have sold into slavery…your Way Maker will come for you and He is well known by the dark forces that try to hold you captive. Those forces remember plagues…they remember the exodus from Egypt…
and they remember the Red Sea.
Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and the salvation of the Lord, which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
Exodus 14:13-14 ESV
The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.
Other translations say “to be still.” I believe God wants us to do both…be still and be silent. Do not allow any part of you to cave in the ways you have become accustom. God makes a way, and I have learned when He makes a way, He does so in a big way…He wants us to remember when He parted the seas in our lives. He wants us to not only feel the worth He sees in us but also see Him move in ways only He can.
I don’t know what modern day pharaoh has you enslaved…but please do not be fooled. It may not seem like a big deal but rather a “comfort” or an “easier to just.” My friend, reach for your Father and then be silent. Be still and see Him fight for you.
