Exodus 1:12-14
But the more they were oppressed, the more
they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in
dread of the people of Israel. 13 So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel
work as slaves 14 and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and
brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly
made them work as slaves.
Israel never gave Egypt any indication that
they were preparing to go rogue. They gave no hint of revolt. But the fretful
imaginations of Egypt propelled them to treat Israel harshly. Egypt loved
itself and was scared of what might happen to them IF Israel ever acted as
their suspicions suggested. So they proactively abused those who had done
nothing wrong. They oppressed and ruthlessly treated Israel according to their
imagined crimes. They enslaved them in order to protect themselves. They
imagined that IF Israel revolted and joined a foreign attack; they would become
the slaves of others. So they enslaved Israel. They did to Israel what they
feared would happen to them. They struck first to avoid the strike they feared.
Egypt was so motivated by self-interest that they did to innocent peoples what they
feared would happen to them. This is how we act when principle is ignored in
place of personal prosperity. This is how the fear of being abused transforms
the worrier into an abuser of others.
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