Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Should You Fear People in Power? | Torah | Exodus 1:8-22

Episode Date: May 4, 2022

How should Christians respond to people in power? Does God have power over them? What if they're really bad? In today's episode, Jensen looks at Exodus 1:8-22 which describes a ruler not too different from others we see in history and today. Find out how God carries out his plan despite these rulers. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Passages: Exodus 1:8-22 Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now.

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jensen Holt McNair, and right now we're going through Exodus. I read in the news this morning that Vladimir Putin has awarded one of his units with an honorary title. This specific troop was recently condemned as war criminals for the unspeakable crimes they committed against civilians in Ukraine. The quote I read said that Putin congratulated them for their great heroism and courage as they protect Russia's sovereignty. To Vladimir Putin, the murder of civilians shows great heroism and courage. This one man with incredible power believes that the invasion of a less powerful foreign country is for his own's protection. Putin has incredible power, and he's wielding it to encourage

and support unspeakable evil. It is wrong. It is heart-wrenching, and it's unbearable to think about the human life that has been lost from one man's delusions. For much of my life, I've been able to read the book of Exodus without much emotional reaction. Farrell was just a bad guy who did bad things, but I didn't grasp, or maybe I just didn't stop long enough to acknowledge the darkness and evil that he was responsible for. It was easy to step over the bad stuff in light of the great story that was coming, the plagues, God's rescue, and the parting of the Red Sea. But today, as I'm reading the last bit of the first chapter of Exodus, I'm struck by the similarities I see between the actions of a Pharaoh long ago and that of powerful men in our world today. Seeing the atrocities of Putin is sobering,

and it helps to put into perspective the pain and suffering of the people of Israel as they lived under Pharaoh's rule. As we step into these chapters, try not to let your chronological distance from these events allow you to be callous. Men like Pharaoh are, alive and well. And as we take in the brokenness of Pharaoh's rule, I hope that we can also be encouraged by our God, who is still at work, even in the darkness. The first bit of chapter one tells us that God's family is still in Egypt. Joseph's generation has passed away, but in an echo of the language found in the cultural mandate in Genesis 128, the text tells us that his people are fruitful and increasing greatly. God is causing his people to increase in number.

so that they can fulfill his mandate to be a blessing to the world, ruling, and subduing creation with love, justice, and mercy. But as we pick up the story today, we find that not everyone is excited about the flourishing of God's people. Verse 8. 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 this new king, Pharaoh, feels no need to honor what Joseph has done for his country in time of need, but instead sees Joseph's people and their flourishing as a threat to his own kingdom. And so, in direct opposition to God's

mandate for his people, he decides to keep the Israelite people from flourishing. And he does so by stirring up distrust and hatred in his own people's hearts through manipulation, fear tactics, and xenophobia. We know that these kinds of tactics work, don't we? Powerful men and women have long-bred distrust of people groups by praying on the fears of their people. Hitler, he led a nation to fear, hate, and commit a genocide against the Jewish people. A major. American politicians have led their people to fear refugees, Muslims, immigrants, and members of other political parties all for their own gain. Putin continues to attempt to convince his people that their actions are justified for the protection of Russia's sovereignty. Fear of the other is powerful, and Pharaoh masterfully employs these tactics.

And it seems to work. Verse 11. So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor. and they built Pitom and Ramses 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. Rather than flourishing in the land, God's people now find themselves as slaves, forced to do back-breaking work day in and day out. The text tells us the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly. Their intent was to make their lives bitter. One man's delusions for power moved a nation of people to oppress and commit actions of evil against God's people.

And yet, even in the darkness of slavery and oppression, God is at work. He's not forded by Pharaoh's plan. He has a mission to bless and multiply his people. And so the more they were oppressed, the more the Egyptians tried to stamp out God's people, the more they multiplied and spread. And Pharaoh, he's not happy about it. Let's continue on in verse 15. The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shipprah and Pua.

When you were helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him. But if it is a girl, let her live. When his original plan to enslave the Israelites does not stop God from blessing his people, Pharaoh steps even further into evil. He commands these women, Shipra and Pua, to kill all the baby boys as they are born to Hebrew women. Pharaoh's intention to take a day of joy and celebration of God's gift of life and the miracle of childbirth and turn it into a day of murder and death is a human atrocity. And he plans to use two women to do it,

Instead of depending on the manipulation of the masses, he uses direct commands here to ensure that God's people are not able to increase. But he underestimates the power of God. Verse 17. 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 answered Pharaoh. Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women. They are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive. So God was kind to the

midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. Despite Pharaoh's best efforts, he fails yet again. This time, because of the faith of two women. The author of the text honors these women by intentionally telling us their names. We don't know the name of the Pharaoh, the powerful king, but we do know the name of these two women. As we read, the author is urging us to recognize their incredible courage and faith as they defy Pharaoh's orders. They are the heroes here, not Pharaoh. Pharaoh had the power over life and death.

As we saw in the story of Joseph, he had people put to death for far less than disobeying direct orders. And yet, these women feared God more than they feared Pharaoh. They knew that despite however powerful Pharaoh may look to their world, God was far more powerful. He was the one in control, and God uses them and their faith to continue to protect his people. I want us to see here that God uses who he wants, not who we would expect to fulfill his mission. He's not looking for the most powerful or seemingly influential people. He needs faithful people, people who will fear him, follow him with everything that they have, despite the consequences. These women made a choice to be faithful to their God, and he uses their choice to protect the lives of his entire people.

I wish that we could end this story here, but we do have one more verse to read. Verse 22. Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people. Every Hebrew boy that is born, you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live. Pharaoh is relentless in his opposition to God's mission. And this time, he gives the command to all of his people, not just the Hebrew midwives. And with this choice comes the infanticide of Hebrew baby boys. The king of Egypt has the power to command the death of countless little lives, and wielding that power brought about unspeakable evil.

The darkness and fear and sorrow and devastation must have felt unbearable for God's people. One man's choice made many victims of genocide and others the pawn of murder. And so, in the first chapter of Exodus, the scene is set. God is intent on carrying out his mission through his people, and Pharaoh is relentless in his opposition to this plan. Will the people of God continue to suffer under the oppression of Egypt? Forced to serve another master when they were created to worship God? Forced to live in fear and devastation? Is the God of Israel, Yahweh, more powerful than the rulers of mighty nations? Well, of course he is. This isn't the end of Exodus. Redemption for God's people is coming.

Pharaoh does not have the last word. What will follow will be a clashing of these two powers until ultimately one prevails. The Book of Exodus would have brought hope to the Israelite ears who heard it. Hope and knowing that their God is more powerful than the mightiest kings. Hope that their God hears them in their suffering. Hope that God is for them in the midst of the darkest darkness. And similarly, it should bring us hope as well. We are not at the end of God's bigger story.

we're called to follow a God who is actively at work in this world. Will you partner with him? Will you take to your corner of the world and live a life that shows the people around you that you fear God? You fear God more than you fear the judgment of others, the loss of comfort or the laying down of your control. Redemption is coming. Hope has come in Jesus. He is the true king, more powerful than any dictator or president. When it feels like the evil of this world is winning,

remember the God you follow has already conquered death. He's conquered death and darkness, and he will not abandon his people. As powerful as the forces of evil in this world seem, they are not unopposed. As powerless as you may feel against the darkness of this world, you are not alone. Jesus is king.

Jesus is king. May that truth bring real hope into your life today and every day. Before you forget, sign up for the 10-minute Bible Talks newsletter. Hit the link in the show notes and you'll get an email every Wednesday that will help encourage you in the middle of the work week and bring you deeper in your walk with Jesus. Thanks for listening.