Troubles don't last always

The History

We know the story of Joseph - his assignment was to save his family.

As they come into Egypt Joseph gave his brother some specific information about the egyptian culture.

Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household . . . “When Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’ you shall say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,’ that you may live in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is loathsome to the Egyptians.” (46:31, 33–34)

Joseph told them, “Whatever you do, guys, don’t tell Pharaoh you’re shepherds!

Just tell him you’re keepers of livestock.

Joseph knew that shepherds were “low lives to the Egyptians.”

At that time, the Egyptian culture had become a sophisticated society.

The Egyptians were advanced hieroglyphics, they had fine universities, and their economy was strong!

And they certainly didn’t want to import a group of lowly shepherds who could tarnish their nation’s high-gloss image. (There goes the neighborhood!)

so to use the shepherd-word at this point in the relationship with Pharaoh would definitely mean starting off on the wrong foot.

SO when they talk to Pharoah, they either forgot their Josephs advice or disregarded it.

When Pharaoh asked them to name their occupations, they jumped up and said “Your servants are shepherds, just as our fathers were.”

As time passed, the growing number of Jewish shepherds became an Issue (with the Egyptians).

We don’t know you

The first chapter of Exodus reveals a strong second reason why times became so hard for the Hebrews.

Not only were they tenders of sheep in a land that hated shepherds, but Scripture also tells us, “Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1:8).

After the deaths of Joseph and Pharaoh a new Pharaoh stepped onto the throne.

He too ruled, then passed the crown to the next Pharaoh.

After several centuries, the name Joseph became virtually unknown.

No one remembered the famine.

No one recalled the stored grain the Joseph put away.

No one remembered how a wise, young Jewish prime minister had stepped out of prison to save their country.

This new Pharaoh despised the growing Hebrew population.

How had they even come to be there?

No one knew for sure; the reports had been filed away in some forgotten basement archive.

We don’t die we multiply!

These multiplying Hebrews could not be ignored: They seemed to pose a threat.

And a threatened Pharaoh was not a pleasant Pharaoh to have around. He said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we.

Come, let us deal wisely with them, or else they will multiply and in the event of war, they will also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us and depart from the land.” (vv. 9–10) And so a whole new way of life came to pass for the Hebrews.

Notice the change. It’s a sad scene. “So they appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with hard labor.

And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pithom and Raamses” (v. 11).

a new policy came into effect . . . and life would never be the same. it seemed hard but it was necessary to push them into their destiny.

Think of that! As long as Joseph lived, the Israelites knew peace and joy and relaxation in the sunny fields of Goshen.

But when he died, Their Egyptian neighbors began to look at them differently—at first with distaste, then with outright hatred.

God hears you

Scripture says, “The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help . . . went up to God” (Exodus 3:23, NIV).

God heard that cry. He had not been sleeping. His attention had not drifted. He well remembered His promise to the sons and daughters of Jacob. Way back, centuries before Exodus chapter 1, God spoke to Abram, the father of the Hebrews, and unveiled a prophecy regarding that man’s descendants:

Genesis 15:13–14

You would think all of that hard labor and bitter persecution might have put a crimp in the Israelite baby boom. Not so! These folks were prolific: “But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly” (1:12–13, NIV).

A sick man

When this work-’em-to-death tactic didn’t accomplish Pharaoh’s objectives, however, he unleashed yet another, even darker plan.

When Pharaoh saw that the harsh conditions of slavery didn’t achieve his ends, he turned up the persecution dial yet one more terrible notch.

Infanticide. Murder.

Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other was named Puah. . . . (1:15) These two women apparently oversaw all the Jewish midwives. And here’s what Pharaoh said: “When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live” (v. 16).

because the midwives feared God, that He established households for them” (1:20–21). I’m not sure what that last phrase implies. Perhaps it means they found husbands, married, and had homes and families of their own. Whatever happened, these women were protected and rewarded by God Himself.

Three Lessons

Hard times don’t erase God’s promises.

When times grow hard it is easy to jump to the conclusion that God has forgotten His promises. Exodus shows us that when God says, “I promise you something,” He never forgets it. You may forget. I may forget. The whole nation may forget. But God cannot forget.

Harsh treatment doesn’t escape God’s notice.

His deliverance may not arrive on your timetable or in a way you expect it, but it will arrive at the best time, the right time. He will not abandon you.

Heavy tests don’t erase God’s concern.

Regardless of the hard the test you may be facing, it can never overshadow His concern. Remember how God rewarded those midwives? He misses nothing. Nothing! Perhaps this has been a difficult year for you. The future stretching out before you may seem gloomy or threatening. You want very much to be God’s man or God’s woman, but you find yourself under the gun. In your rare moments of quiet, you may wonder, Where is God? He’s right there at your side, my friend. He has never left. He has never removed His eye from you, nor has His attention wandered to other matters. Not even for a heartbeat. He has never ceased caring for you, thinking about you, considering your situation, and loving you with a passion and intensity beyond comprehension.