On Exodus 1-2
One day I was doing the washing up. As I washed, my son who usually dries things up said he was going out. The pots added up and piled up. I made a good effort at balancing them all and was quite impressed by the miniature of Mount Sinai I had made on the drying rack.I thought I had finished, but! as I turned to go, there behind me had been placed... another stack of plates and pots and spoons and pans, and forks, and cups and bowls and it seemed like the whole kitchen had been used (Well, when you have 7 to feed, it does take a lot of crockery!). But I couldn’t do more plates until the drying up had been done. It took forever that day! I felt like I was chained to that sink, unable to move away, with a never-ending pile of plates arriving each time I thought I’d finished. Everyone else had gone on into the evening, leaving me working on me own... had they forgotten me? Would I ever see the other side of the kitchen door again?
Of course I would. My situation wasn’t so bad, it was what half an hour more of effort. But it’s surprising to see how easy it is to feel like you’re trapped in something not-nice.It happens so easily for many people, and today we are going to hear a bit of the bible where it happened to a whole people group. Only when it happens like that, it’s a whole other ball game and very serious indeed.
Let’s listen to what God thought of people feeling trapped.
Read Exodus 1.1-2.10
I imagine the Hebrew people must have felt as though God had forgotten about them. A long time ago, Joseph had rescued them from famine and ensured they had a place to not just survive, but live, in the better greener lands of Egypt. Over time that got forgotten by their Egyptian hosts. The politics changed under their feet, from one of allyship and trade in hard times, to one of ‘them and us’ and a growing sense of xenophobia. Somehow or other, the Hebrew people found themselves chained in the place that was meant to be their safe-haven.
It is just so astonishing that God seems to have a way around every single stumbling block humankind can put in the way of their own siblings.
This is a woman’s story. Women, who were normally the one’s to feel chained in life, much more than men, were the chain breakers in this story. undefined
- The way Pharaoh’s edict was undermined by the midwives,
- the tenacity of women such as Moses’ mum to go about hiding their children and sending them off on the water of what was a very wide, choppy, river full of trading boat traffic-- because, well, sending off into the unknown with a slim chance of survival were better odds than a certain death at the hands of the Egyptians. She must have been torn into shreds at letting go of that basket, sending little Miriam to see what would befall.
- Then there was the compassion of Pharaoh’s daughter to dare to raise a Hebrew child, risking getting it in the neck, literally undermining her dad’s authority right under his nose!
- Then the bravery of little Miriam to pop her head up and offer to find a nurse, when she saw that Pharaoh’s daughter was going to be complicit in the child’s survival.
I wonder if you have ever followed your heart in a matter, despite the crushing circumstances you had around you? I wonder if you have ever had to stand up for what was right, or for what was compassionate, when all around might have denounced you for it? Moses’ mum did, Miriam did, Pharaoh’s daughter did . And judging by how things worked out, God was in that. Because through the action of those women the Hebrew people were eventually saved from their slavery and entrapment.
However, we do have to remember that all the while this amazing bible story is unfolding, 99.9% of the rest of the Hebrew people were unaware, still afraid, struggling, and maybe feeling abandoned by God.
This story was a beginning of their rescue. And as with all great rescues, whether it be from poverty, enslavement, racism, rejection of any kind, over the whole of a nation, or the needs of one individual, it starts with one small act of hope, or bravery, or compassion. And God will knit those things together until she has a whole package ready to run.
If you are feeling trapped now. Hold on, God is building a rescue plan out of the actions of those around you. If you are feeling trapped now, reach out with a brave moment, a compassionate moment, a hopeful moment, and allow God to build your small act of trust into something bigger.
Living God, teach us to look not at our weakness but at your power, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.