There is only one tale of slavery that depicts the brutality of man upon another greater than our typical image of the US/European slave trades: the slavery of Israel in Egypt. The account of Israel’s slavery in Egypt is one that stands out above all others. It is the primary account of a nation who came and blessed another nation, only for the host to turn on them and enslave the whole without conquest or a fight. It is also the only account of an entire nation being delivered from slavery without conquest or a fight. The history of Israel going to Egypt (the most powerful nation on earth at the time), being enslaved, being miraculously delivered by God, and then their journey from slavery into the Promised Land is meant to be a picture of the Christian life. Only instead of being enslaved by a nation, our slavery is to sin. I’ll deal with that as the series goes, but today, we’ll focus on Israel.
Israel came to Egypt through Joseph. Joseph was kidnapped by his brothers, sold into slavery, arrived in Egypt where he served Potiphar, was falsely accused of rape and imprisoned, and then interpreted several dreams, the latter of which was Pharaoh’s and brought him into the Prime Minister position. When the famine hit, Joseph’s father Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel) sent his sons to Egypt to get food. After testing their hearts for a while, Joseph could not restrain himself any further and revealed himself. He brought his whole family to Egypt where they were given the best land, Goshen. Through Joseph, Egypt was made a powerful nation and survived the famine.
Yet, Israel got comfortable in Egypt and did not return to Canaan. They grew and multiplied and made Egypt afraid. So Egypt, who refused to remember what Joseph did for them many years earlier, captured Israel and enslaved the nation with brutal force. Israel lacked the strength of man or the leadership to leave. Again, they were comfortable in Egypt. Goshen was lush, and they had all the food they wanted. There were hardships from slavery, but they tolerated the slavery, having little clue of what was waiting for them in the Promised Land. There was something else that happened while in Egypt: they began adopting the Egyptian culture and the Egyptian gods. This is why they turned to create a golden calf just months after leaving Egypt at Mt Sinai. They had even taken altars and images of Molech through the wilderness.
When the time was right, God raised Moses to be educated in Egypt so he would learn leadership skills, language, law, etc. God sent him to the wilderness for 40 years to teach him true humility, and then God called him to deliver Israel from Egypt and lead them right up to the entrance to the Promised Land. In performing many miraculous signs, Moses proved he was God’s spokesperson and eventually Pharaoh finally broke. Through the account of the Ten Plagues, we see several things about Pharaoh, who represents sin.
Pharoah, when challenged, set his foot down and went on a power trip. He took away the straw from Israel but would not reduce their workload in making bricks. He refused to even acknowledge God, let alone obey Him. No matter how much damage he took, he was not going to let go of his slave work force. Sin does not care what the loss is; it is determined to keep its grip on you. When sin has a person, you can discipline them until you are blue in the face, but they won’t budge. Pharaoh’s own officials recognized it early and quickly, but Pharaoh would not quit. The plagues were also a judgment upon the gods of Egypt. Each plague was a blow against the major deities of nature that Egypt worshiped, including the frogs, the bugs, the sun, the crops, and the animals. God wasn’t just judging Egypt for enslaving His people; He was taking down the idols to prove that He was God and none other.
Then upon leaving Egypt, God destroyed the Egyptian military by burying them in the Red Sea miracle. Israel was saved from the physical nation of Egypt, but they weren’t totally saved. God had pulled Israel out of Egypt, but then He would need to take Egypt out of Israel. Through the wilderness for 40 years, God would use the desert to strip Egypt from Israel. Israel constantly complained about the wilderness and wanted to get back to Egypt. Why? Because there was food and comfort there. It sure is amazing how selective our memory is about past times. Just ask a parent. They love to talk about when the kids were younger kids, relishing the fun things, but they selectively don’t remember all the battles of the terrible twos, the tantrums, the messy, smelly diapers, the rebellion, etc. The same is true about Israel. They remembered the dates, the figs, and the onions, but they forgot the left the whips, the chains, and the deaths. They also forgot what was promised but not yet realized. They wanted instant gratification, much like our current generation.
Because Israel refused to let God work Egypt out of their system, because they refused to let go of their sin and refused to serve God, God forced that generation to die in the wilderness. And the children, all of whom were under 20 and still alive and understood what was happening, were forced to endure 40 years in the wilderness while their unbelieving parents died off. One thing we can learn from Israel: many rescued slaves actually don’t want to be rescued. They would rather continue in their slavery because they know and understand it. A journey with God is scarier than facing the wrath of their masters. Can you believe it? Israel cried out to God to be rescued from the bondage of Egypt, and when they got it, after witnessing many miracles and God’s goodness, they preferred Egypt to the temporary journey towards the Promised Land. In hindsight it is easy to see, but how are we any different?
Israel’s time of slavery was meant to be a clear physical picture of our slavery to sin. The deliverance of Israel in the Passover and the crossing of the Red Sea are pictures of what Jesus did on the cross and the baptism into the new life. Yet many of us still have “Egypt” left in our systems, and many of us are not willing to let go of the former master that “fed” us all the while beating and torturing us. It was said that people once asked Joseph Stalin how he kept the people in line. He grabbed a chicken and violently ripped out its feathers, leaving it scarred and bloodied. He then began to toss some food to it, and it soon began eating the food and following Stalin. Stalin said that all he had to do was feed the people just enough and house them just enough to get them to think he was their source, and no matter what he did to them, they would still follow him. The same is true about Egypt, and the same is true today for many people who follow the government no matter what they say just so they can get a tiny morsel of food from them. Next week, we’ll start looking at modern slavery – a slavery without chains but with much stronger bonds.
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