Daily Manna 7 April
KEY VERSE: ““Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.” – (Exodus 3:9)
READ: Exodus 2:23-25; 3:1-10 (KJV)
Exodus 2:23-25:
23 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.
24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.
Exodus 3:1-10;
1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
7 And the LORD said, 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;
8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:
15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables;
16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.
Read yesterday’s Daily Manna here
It is estimated that about six million Jews died in the concentration camps set up by the German Nazis, during World War II. After the War, the British and the US occupation forces printed posters depicting the horrors of the concentration camps with slogans such as “These Atrocities: Your fault!” (referring to the entire German people).
From our text, the Hebrews, completely dominated by the Egyptians were left with no option than to cry out to God for justice. God mercifully responded by calling His servant Moses, through a vision of a burning bush, to become His messenger for Israel’s liberation. The Lord told him that He was aware of all that was done against His chosen nation and was, therefore, coming down to deliver them.
Like in Nazi Germany during the inglorious holocaust, the ordinary Egyptians looked on and even participated when the Hebrews were being murdered and oppressed. It would be difficult for them to blame all the killing of infants and the enslavement of the Jews on the government of the day alone. Many Egyptians owned Hebrew slaves and were partners in crime with the regime of Pharaoh.
Oppression of minorities, religious violence, ethnic cleansing, genocide, and mass killings take place in many countries of the world. Mass graves and chilling documentaries and monuments are there to prove our collective guilt. We can speak out and present the matter before the Lord in prayer. We must not keep silent while the ruthlessness of men sends people to eternity unprepared.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: God will not hold us guiltless if we fail to stand in the gap for the oppressed.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: John 19-21
Thank you for studying today’s Daily Manna – Collective Guilt – by Pastor Enoch A.
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Daily Manna 7 April 2021
