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IN the Mist of Oppression
Calvin Kochi11So 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 Exodus 1:11-12
After Joseph and his brothers died the Israelites were left to be ruled under a new king. They were put to hard labor and treated harshly. Even under the worst conditions and oppression they still multiplied, and became a threat to the Egyptians. Its amazing the more difficult things got the more they multiplied.
For most of us when treated harshly or unfairly we tend to withdraw and to isolate ourselves. There is no way that we would multiply in numbers or to think to want to raise our children in that conditions. In fact one of the biggest reasons for the average family size drop in America is what is happening to us. In fact the cost of living, the difficulty of the conditions surrounding us, and the moral climate that we face has caused some to not want to bring up children in those conditions. Why this scripture captures me is that Gods Hand was on the people in the mist of all the harsh and oppressive conditions. God was fulfilling the Promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We tend to focus on the situations that we are in and not the Promises of God. It challenges me to trust God no matter what I see going around me and even to what’s happening to me. I need to trust God and His Word.
Thank you Lord for the lessons that can be learned in the harshest and most difficult times that I can hold on to you and your Word. Your Promise are True, and You never leave us or forsake us.
