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by Logan Ames

In our present culture, there is a lot of attention, discussion, and even outrage toward people, programs, institutions, and belief systems that are deemed to be “oppressive” to certain groups of people. And depending on what particular issue is being addressed, we occasionally find ourselves involved in something where people on BOTH sides feel they are being oppressed. Christians often find themselves in the middle because they want to stay true to God’s Word but also don’t want to appear as hateful or ungracious. Since those words are generally thrown around anytime someone doesn’t like the view of another, it’s a realistic concern for believers.

During confusing and frustrating times, we can always find hope in Scripture. The Bible is clear that showing care and concern for the oppressed is not a suggestion; it’s a command. In Isaiah 1, God is speaking to the Israelites through the prophet and is telling them that they are disobedient and rebellious, just to name two of the adjectives listed there. But in verse 17, he specifically tells them to “seek justice” and “defend the oppressed." He then gives more specific information about who is oppressed: “Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow." In other words, those who are most oppressed, according to God’s Word, are not those who have had their feelings hurt or who are struggling to deal with the unfairness they have experienced in life. The truly oppressed are those most vulnerable who cannot care for their own needs - widows and orphans.

We should ask ourselves in 2017 if anything has changed. Yes, single women and even widows have many more opportunities to provide for their needs in our society than they ever did in Biblical times. But as believers, we ought to pay attention to those who are most vulnerable and dependent on others. Single mothers might be hard-working and almost heroic in the way they juggle all their responsibilities, but they are still at a disadvantage. Widows who have given their whole lives to supporting their husbands or families and now must find a way to function in life with diminished skill sets (at least in the eyes of the working world) need our help. Children who are either unwanted or whose parents can no longer care for them or have passed on are completely dependent on others to meet their basic needs. I believe God will hold us accountable just as he did Israel if we ignore these needs right in front of us.

While many don’t want to hear what I’m about to declare, it’s something the church in America MUST address. By far, the most oppressed group of human beings in this country and across the planet is unborn children. Some will say it’s a controversial statement, but the statistics are indisputable. By anyone’s count, over 50 million babies have been aborted in the United States and over 45 million are aborted every year across the world. The vast majority of these babies are simply “orphans," children who God allowed to be created yet remain unwanted by their parents. And even those who may have been wanted at some point had their lives and futures snuffed out in favor of something that took greater priority. Some will say we shouldn’t talk about political issues in this type of forum. Well, good thing it’s an issue of faith and not one of politics. And by the way, this great sin of oppression has been taking place for thousands of years.

For this week and next, our heroes of the faith from Hebrews 11 are two people that the writer of Hebrews doesn’t even mention by name (Exodus 6:20 tells us they are Amram and Jochebed), but their faith and appreciation for created life stood out during a time when no one would’ve blamed them for caving to the laws and pressures around them. They were the parents of Moses, a man whom God had planned to lead the Israelites out of captive Egypt since before he was even born. But he faced an instant and very real threat to his life the very moment he opened his eyes for the first time in this world. To understand it, we have to know the history.

Last week, we talked about the faith of Joseph and his prophecy that the Israelites would surely leave Egypt and his bones would be carried back to the Promised Land. At the time Joseph died, things were good between Pharaoh (king of Egypt), Joseph, and the rest of the Israelites. One reason for this was that the Israelites posed no threat whatsoever to the Egyptians at that point. But as we transition from Joseph to the exodus, we learn that circumstances changed. Exodus 1:6-10 tells us that after Joseph and his family members died, the Israelites experienced their own “baby boomer” era and the land became so full of them that a new Pharaoh who couldn’t possibly have cared less about Joseph decided the Egyptians had to do something about them before they join Egypt’s enemies and fight against them. Exodus 1:11-14 shows us that his initial plan was to simply oppress them with ruthless physical labor. He must have assumed that this might control the population a bit. When that doesn’t work and the Israelites only increase (I’ll say more about this next week), Pharaoh resorts to partial-birth abortions, ordering the Hebrew midwives to kill any Hebrew babies that are determined to be males when the mothers are already on the delivery stool (v. 16). When that plan doesn’t work because the midwives obey God over Pharaoh (I’ll say more about this next week as well), Pharaoh goes a step further and resorts to infanticide, ordering that every Hebrew male baby be thrown into the Nile River (v. 22).

This is the setting for Moses’ parents to take their great step of faith. When Moses is born, and Exodus 2:2 tells us that his mother saw he “was a fine child," his parents had a life-changing decision to make. Would they disobey the king’s order and risk not only the destruction of their child but also their very lives? Or would they disobey God out of fear of man? Well, Hebrews 11:23 reminds us of what the next part of Exodus 2 details, that Moses’ parents had faith and demonstrated it by hiding him for three months. They feared God more than the king’s heinous order. I suppose that they determined that a God who created the whole universe out of what we can’t see (Hebrews 11:3) could be trusted to handle life and death concerns.

The story didn’t end after those three months. As we’ll see next week, Moses’ parents continued to take steps of faith and were ultimately rewarded in a way that only God could truly organize. But for us, we must determine if we trust God enough to accept that he oversees life and death entirely. The alternative is that we succumb to the prevailing worldview of our culture that WE should have ultimate choice in this area. There have been well-known Christian leaders coming down on both sides recently, as well as others that just try to avoid the issue altogether. But let us all be challenged to do as God commands and look after those who are most vulnerable and oppressed, especially the unborn! I remind you, it’s not a suggestion.

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