Exodus 1:12
“But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out, so that they were in dread of the sons of Israel.”
I’ll focus on the Egyptians first. They were afraid of the the Israelites. They were so numerous that the Egyptians thought that they would ally with their enemies or do something to harm them. So, the new leadership enslaved them. Their intent was to make them less of a threat. However, their population growth exploded. Their numbers grew even more. Measures taken to calm their fears had the opposite effect. It’s because their remedy was based on abuse. A bully acts accordingly because he never wants to be bullied again. This ruins relationships for him. Those drawn to bullies have bent relational norms. Their path is like that of a tornado. Just as the Egyptians got sour results from abuse, so will we if we employ abuse as a relational tactic.
Now we’ll focus on the Israelites. God’s ways cannot we thwarted. He promised to multiply Abraham’s descendants. Pharaoh was the first Hitler. There were several after him. Haman is another who tried to exterminate the Jews. God wouldn’t allow it. He caused Pharoah’s tactics to backfire. Their numbers greatly increased. How are we to respond to difficult people or difficulties? Because of the miriad of applications, I’ll speak about what our attitude should be. Jesus addressed this in Matt 6:25-27 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?…” We can’t worry about it. We need to trust that God sees and He’ll care for us. God took care of the Israelites, so He’ll care for us. Lord, help us to trust you in all circumstances.