10th.: The Egyptian Bondage of Israel
The fledgling nation of Israel came of age in Egypt.
In Gen. 15:13, God told Abraham that his descendants would be in a land that was not theirs (Egypt).
God placed them there for about four hundred years, until the inhabitants of the promised land, Canaan,
became totally dedicated to sin, as it is written,
God placed them there for about four hundred years, until the inhabitants of the promised land, Canaan,
became totally dedicated to sin, as it is written,
“They [Abraham’s descendants] shall come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.” (Gen. 15:16b).
Unfortunately, the Israelites hosts, the Egyptians, had become cruel to the Israelites.
Therefore the Israelites,
“sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God, by reason of the bondage.” (Exo. 2:23).
So the new nation of Israel sighed and mourned to God.
For centuries, the Israelites prayed for God's prophecy to be fulfilled
(this may seem like a foreign concept to Americans).
All this time, the prayers of successive generations rose up to God.
Then it became time.
God raised up an Israelite man named Moses to be the point man for delivering the Israelites.
Part of the reason God gave, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt,
and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.” (Exodus 3:7 - see also Exodus 3:9).
The Israelite’s constant prayers of groaning weighed heavily on God.
In His timing, God did something about it.
Likewise, our sorrowful prayers can weigh upon God.
We just have to wait for Him.
“Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man.” (Ps. 140:1a)