Not So Shrewd

Exodus 1

The opening of Exodus includes very quickly a transition from a shift of focus from the promise of God through a family (Genesis) to the promise of God through a nation (verse 7). That sets the stage for the pitting of a people called by God against the power of empire. That this becomes a matter of conflict stems entirely from the empire side. There is no threat to Egypt from the Hebrews except in the mind of the Pharaoh. All that Pharaoh indicates as danger from the Hebrews is hypothetical: “What if?” When he solicits those around him to join together in dealing “shrewdly” with them, it would seem laughable if the measures then taken did not have such tragic effect. Such is obsession with power, control, and what the mind does when those things are perceived to be threatened. The Pharaoh looks even more foolish when he swallows the story of the midwives as to why the males are surviving birth. But then he just gets bolder and nastier.

A hint that God’s plan for good for and through his people will prevail through all that is to come is given in the real reason why the males survived birth in spite of the Pharaoh’s first plan: “The midwives, however, feared God …” (verse 17).

Prayer:
Lord, we confess that in our lives, work, relationships, organizations: scheming is everywhere. Most of it probably comes from imagined threats to authority that isn’t ours anyway; it’s all yours. Make us secure in you. Your plans will prevail with or without what we arrange. Let us do things your way, and know real hope. Through Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Amen.