The New Pharaoh

Exodus 1:8–21

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When it comes to politics it’s all about who you know. For the people of Israel they didn’t have clout with the new king. And we see this Star Wars like progression from fear of the populous Israelites leading to anger, anger leading to hate for the Israelites, and hate leading to suffering through enslavement. This is the method of racism and phobias in our world.

But more importantly than how this is manifested is the sinister force that guides demonic ideologies. You see, Egypt here represents the Satanic opposition and oppression of the people of God and what the book of Exodus does is it instructs you and I on how we are to remain faithful to Christ in the midst of trials.

This king established new policies quickly. He is the Pharaoh and didn’t know about how God had used Joseph to deliver Egypt. And so here’s what Pharaoh says, “Behold (look around at our country! It’s changing sooo quickly!), the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. We’re losing our influence, our heritage, and they’re everywhere! “Come, let us deal shrewdly (quickly and cleverly) with them, lest they multiply (or we could say continue to multiply), and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.”

This new Pharaoh is suspicious and paranoid for sure. He is giving excuses for something awful he is about to do. Exodus 1:11-14 “Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel.

So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.

Underline those words... taskmasters.... Afflict... heavy.... burdens.... Oppressed... ruthlessly.... slaves.... Bitter.... hard.... Work.... The people of God are experiencing Satanic opposition. I mean.... Pharaoh he resents God’s people. Israel is meant to be fruitful and multiply and be free. But Pharaoh hates God and His people and that what Satan does. He doesn’t love you. Satan doesn’t want what’s best for you or for this world.

Satan has never created a pleasure. Did you know that? Actually, what Satan has done is he has taken the pleasures that God has created and use them in ways God has forbidden.

Satan is opposed to everything that God loves. God loves life and light and love. Satan is opposed to all of that even though he might appear as a living angel of light, and inclusion and pleasure in fact all Satan and sin gives is death and chains and sorrow.

Pharaoh also rejected God’s promises. God’s covenant promise with Abraham in Genesis 15 was to make Israel into a mighty nation. Pharaoh instead wants to kill every Hebrew baby boy.

Pharaoh also resisted God’s plan. Israel was promised to come out of the nation and to settle Canaan. A land flowing with milk and honey. This was a promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But look at what Pharaoh fears, Exodus 1:10 “Come, let us 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.”

Pharaoh is afraid they’re going to leave! So with this mindset Pharaoh decides “I’m not going to let them go.” Yet, this is exactly what God wants to do. He is diametrically opposed to God. Listen, you might be opposing God with your worldview, political views, theology, or the sins that you love. You may be defiantly shaking your fist at God. God will break you and it won’t be pretty. He is King, you are not. You are His creature and He is your Creator. Worship Him the way He desires to be worshipped. Believe what He tells you to believe. Enjoy what He tells you to enjoy and how to enjoy it. Stop being opposed to God.

But notice Christian... that God still cares for His people. Look at what He does for Israel: Verse 12 “But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel.” This gets us to point 2: God is Faithful in our Sufferings. The early church father Tertullian said correctly that “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church”. Christian parents: prepare your children to be persecuted and hated by this world. As a father I want what is best for my children. I want them to have lives of ease and prosperity. However, I refuse to raise them as secularized moralists who have a sense of godliness but deny it’s power. I refuse to raise children who in one way love Jesus but in another way love the world and that it offers.

We must train our children to be pilgrims in this world and to live for Christ and for eternity. Last week I challenged you and this week I sat with our deacons and challenged them personally to find your Timothy.

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Monday, February 10, 2020 The people were oppressed, but the more they were oppressed the more they

multiplied and the more they were in dread. It’s interesting that there was a sense of foreboding and loathing. And instead of being friends and making allies there was more oppression, more hardships, more slavery. Notice the different kinds of slavery here:

Political slavery- they were living in fear because they were discriminated against. They had no political freedom. No voice where they once had one.

Economic slavery- oppression, bitter, ruthless, heavy burdens. People still use and abuse the weak for their own political power today. Human trafficking is the second largest sector of organized crime. Some organizations estimate for there to be 45,800,000 people enslaved around the world today and 10,000,000 of them are children. The motivators for trafficking are based off of two of humanity’s greatest vice’s: sexual perversion and financial greed. What makes this time in Israel’s history so so important is that it made them care for the poor and oppressed because God cares about the poor and oppressed.

Psalm 99:4 “The mighty King loves justice”

Psalm 103:6 “The Lord executes acts of righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.”

Psalm 146:7-9 “He executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.”

And God calls His people to do the same!

Deuteronomy 10:18-19 “He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.”

Isaiah 1:17 “learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.

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Monday, February 10, 2020 But now we see another kind of slavery: it’s a social slavery that is sinister and still

celebrated today. Exodus 1:15-21 “Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.

As Pharaoh oppressed, oppressed, oppressed the people grew and grew and grew. So Pharaoh decides to kill all the boys when they are born. Make no mistake he was aborting babies. Abortion is the greatest genocide of our time. Of my generation... millenials who were born between 1981 and 1996... there are 71 million. 24 million abortions that we know of took place during that same span of time. Over a quarter of a generation.... Gone....

But you know... millennials didn’t just grow up with a missing generation and not just Moses. Our Savior was born during similar circumstances where wicked people did wicked things to the most innocent. Pharaoh’s opposition to life isn’t unique to him. Hitler’s final solution was evil and wicked. Communist China’s one child policy was wicked and evil. The pro-choice movement in our culture is wicked and evil.

There are some unsung heroes here that don’t get enough recognition and they are wonderful, God-fearing women. Their names are Shiphrah and Puah. Shiphrah means beautiful one and Puah means splendid one. These women didn’t obey the words of Pharaoh and so he asks them, why didn’t you kill the babies. Well, they lied. They lied in order to preserve life. As the Peter said, “We must obey God rather than men.” It doesn’t justify their lying but we do still see God’s favor on these women because He blesses them with families of their own.

3. If you’re anti-life, you’re anti Christ. 5

Monday, February 10, 2020 Pharaoh didn’t know he was an antichrist. But by him destroying life he stood in the way of God’s promise to bring a Savior into the world. So Pharaoh used slavery and

death to punish the people of God. Jesus said in John 8, “everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin,”. You might be here and think, “Well I feel pretty free! I don’t feel like I’m a slave to sin. I can stop whenever I want.” Anyone who has battled addiction knows that is slavery. Paul wrote that the wages of sin is death and listen, the path that you are on will lead to your destruction unless you turn away from sin and trust in Christ.

So what do we do with all this?

Head: I want you to know that God will led Israel into Egypt. He didn’t abandon them. God leads us into dark valleys and He will be with us.

Hands: We have a local Pregnancy Help Center who could use some help in the boutique and this year is election year. We should be prepared to have civilized discussions about the biblical view of pro-life. As I’ve said before Christians are pro- life, not just pro-birth.

Heart: I want you to believe that even when we are in the day of darkness we are in the grip of God’s ceaseless and secret care. We are never gripped by life’s circumstances but we, as the people of God, are held firmly in the the hand of God.

PRAY