A promise-keeping God (Exod 1:1-14)

There are times in our lives when we wonder if God’s promises to us will ever be fulfilled. We cling to those words that we feel God had spoken to us, but when we are repeatedly disappointed, we question if God had heard our cries. Does He even see our difficulties and pain? Does He care? It is hard to persevere when reality belies the words of comfort and hope we hold on to. The initial stages in the story of Israel’s enslavement in Egypt appear to confirm just such a situation of the absence of God. Yet, despite the fact that there is little evidence of God’s activity in these early chapters, from the very beginning He takes a hand in the events that will unfold.

Our chapter opens with a summary that Jacob’s sons settled in Egypt pointing back to the events in the Book of Genesis. The family of seventy has grown into a large nation, fulfilling the promise given to Abraham (Gen 12:2; Gen 15:5) and re-affirmed to Jacob on going down to Egypt (46:3). God remembers and keeps His promises. Moreover, Exod 1:7 points even further back with its fourfold statement in Hebrew: the Israelites were fruitful, they swarmed (cf. Gen 1:20-21), multiplied and became very strong filling the land/earth. The echoes of Genesis 1 and the story of creation is unmistakable. God was in the very act of creating a people for Himself. That such prolific growth awakened Egypt’s jealousy and fear is not surprising. If Israel’s growth is stressed, so is the response from the new king of Egypt, who did not know (or acknowledge) Joseph (Exod 1:8). Most English translations obscure the repetition of labour/service (‘avodah’) but the Hebrew of vv. 13-14 is forceful and translated woodenly reads something like this:

The Egyptians made the sons of Israel labour ruthlessly. They embittered their [the Israelites’] lives by heavy labour with mortar and brick and with all the field labour and all the labour with which they ruthlessly made them labour.

It is hard to miss the emphasis. What a contrast! God gives life and blessing, while evil (epitomised here in Egypt) leads to ruthlessness and hard labour. Yet, isn’t it odd how Satan can deceive us into thinking that it is God’s service that is oppression and endless toil, while serving the devil is light work with endless rewards? Scripture reminds us again and again to take on board God’s perspective and correct our vision and thinking daily.

Even in the midst of Israel’s suffering, the people continue to grow and multiply (Exod 1:12). It reminds us that even when we do not hear an explicit word from God, He is no less active in our affairs. We also learn that God’s blessing is not incompatible with weakness and suffering. At the same time such distress is not the end goal; God is going to redeem His people out of slavery, but even in their oppression His plans for their fruitfulness cannot be thwarted. It is easy for us reading Israel’s story to appreciate the Lord’s involvement, since Scripture highlights for us God’s perspective. Much harder to do so when we ourselves are involved in the anguish. When we struggle to see God fulfilling His promises, let us pray for the sight of faith and remind ourselves consciously of other times when He brought about what He had promised.