The first sermon in the series “Exit to God” will be August 23. I have titled the sermon “The Bread Basket Rescue” The portion of Exodus that this sermon will be drawn from are the narritave portions of Exodus 1-2 which has three main parts. The first major section is the discription of the Israelites Oppression as slaves in Egypt. The second major portion is the birth of Moses. The third major portion is Moses’ flight from Egypt into Midian.
Section 1–the Israelites Oppression
The theme of fruitfulness repeats several times in chapter 1 (verses 7, 9, 10, 12, 19, 21,) but the theme of oppression is tied to the fruitfulness of the Israelites (verses 9, 10, 12.) It’s almost as if the more Pharaoh oppressed the Israelites, the more productive and fruitful they became (verses 12-14.)
What is the relationship between oppression and “fruitfulness?”
It is clear that the “fruitfulness” that is spoken of in Exodus 1 is the population increase of the Israelites. Why would oppression as described in this chapter result in an increased birthrate? Several things are implied:
- the Israelite womens’ health must have been good. Fertility can be negatively affected by by physical maladies such as malnutrition and even by stress.
- the Israelites’s sexuality must not have been surpressed as a result of the oppression.
- It seems to be implied that the rate of population growth among the Hebrews was greater than that of the Egyptians. The oppression is “justified” (from the Egyptian perspective) on the grounds that “they are too numerous for us” (verses 9-10.)
In any case the results of Pharaoh’s oppression was the reverse of the intended result: “But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread.”
In the next post I’ll explore Pharoah’s program to destroy all male Israelites at birth.
