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The Beginning of the End
from Egypt. Some listened and believed, but others refused to hope.
The Egyptians, having been told of what was being said among
their slaves, mocked their expectations and scornfully denied the
power of their God. They taunted, “If your God is just and merciful
and possesses power greater than that of the Egyptian gods, why
doesn’t He make you a free people?” They worshiped deities that
the Israelites called false gods, yet they were a rich and powerful
nation. Their gods had blessed them with prosperity and had given
them the Israelites as servants. Pharaoh himself boasted that the God
of the Hebrews could not deliver them from his power.
Words like these destroyed the hopes of many of the Israelites.
True, they were slaves, their children had been slaughtered, and
their own lives were a burden; yet they were worshiping the God
of heaven. Surely He would not leave them like this in bondage to
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idolaters. But those who were true to God understood that it was
because of Israel’s departure from Him, because of their inclination
to marry with heathen nations and then be led into idolatry, that
the Lord had permitted them to become slaves. They confidently
assured the others that He would soon break their bondage.
But the Hebrews were not yet prepared for deliverance. They
had little faith in God. Many were content to remain in slavery rather
than face the difficulties of moving to a strange land; and the habits
of some had become so much like those of the Egyptians that they
preferred to stay in Egypt. So the Lord overruled events to develop
the tyrannical spirit of the Egyptian king more fully and also to
reveal Himself to His people. Moses’ work would have been much
less difficult if many of the Israelites had not become so corrupted
that they were unwilling to leave Egypt. The Bible says, “They did
not heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage.”
Again the divine message came to Moses, “Go in, tell Pharaoh
king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land.” In
discouragement he replied, “The children of Israel have not heeded
me. How then shall Pharaoh heed me?” He was told to take Aaron
with him and go before Pharaoh and again demand that he “send the
children of Israel out of his land.”