This post is Day 3 in a series of studies about “Work/Works”. I strongly suggest you begin with the introduction to this study, please click here to read it.

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Work/Works – Day 3

Harsh labour is one of the things we know about the Israelites living in Egypt. Very few of us can imagine that time in history when the Israelites were driven so hard for so long. They had given up all hope of change until Moses came along to rescue them.

Exodus 1:12-14

But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with harsh labour in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labour the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.

The Thought

Harsh labour is one of the things we know about the Israelites living in Egypt. Very few, if any of us reading this today, can imagine that time in Biblical history when the Israelites were driven so hard for so long. They had given up all hope of change until Moses came along to rescue them.

Sadly, slavery is still a problem in our day, not so obvious in our western world of middle class Christianity, but it is happening in many of our cities. Women are working as prostitutes for “slave masters”. Boys are asked to do illegal things in order get the drugs they desire. Children are beaten if they don’t obey harsh parents.

Slavery fills its victims with fear! Fear of the taskmaster.

The task masters in our chapter today enslaved the Israelites because they were growing in number! It is interesting that fear of being overpowered by others caused the situation. Fear can do strange things to people (v8-11). The King of Egypt even suggested that the midwives kill the male babies at birth (v15 & 22)!

Action

Do you know people today who, out of their own fear, make others work hard? Pray for them.

Read Exodus 2 which gives us a very abbreviated history of the life of Moses from birth to fatherhood.

Rejoice that God saved Moses as a baby, and later used him to save His people from the slave labour to which they were subjected for too many years! We will read more about that tomorrow.

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