“They ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves and made their lives bitter with hard service” (Exodus 1:13-14)
The Bible book of Exodus opens with a hopeless situation: the people of Israel live in Egypt, but the Pharaoh feels threatened by their growing number and decides to “deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land” (Exodus 1:10).
First, Pharaoh oppresses the Israelites by making them work as slaves and making their lives bitter. Then he goes a step further, and orders that all Israelite baby boys should be cast into the river Nile (Exodus 1:22). Imagine what impact this cruel command must have on the people of Israel! Seeing their newborns being brutally murdered must have broken their hearts.
This story shows how hopeless life can be for people. It might make us wonder: Where is God in such situations? Why doesn’t He prevent suffering? Doesn’t all this prove that God is either powerless or heartless?
The book of Exodus proves the opposite. Let’s see what this story has to tell us about God’s character and salvation plan.
Do you ever feel like abandoned by God? How do you handle that feeling?