Life often presents more questions than answers. We often ask ourselves why things are the way they are. We all strive to make the best quality of life possible on this earth for ourselves, for our families, and for our communities, however, there will always be problems along the journey and sometimes outright opposition from others. We see a good example of unprovoked opposition to an innocent group of people as we begin to study the book of Exodus.
The first chapter of Exodus explains how the children of Israel went from being honored in the land of Egypt to be afflicted with hard labor:
Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, otherwise they will multiply, and in the event of war, they will also join those who hate us, and fight against us and depart from the land.” So they appointed taskmasters over them to oppress them with hard labor. And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pithom and Raamses. – Exodus 1:8-11
There was a new king in the kingdom who did not know Joseph and did not want to remember the history of how Joseph helped to preserve the kingdom of Egypt. The new king feared what could happen if the sons of Israel turned against them, therefore, the Egyptians proactively oppressed and afflicted the sons of Israel as slaves to keep them subservient to the Egyptians.
The reason given in the above verses for afflicting the Israelites and making them slaves was the fear of Pharaoh. Rather than approaching the leaders of the sons of Israel with an agreement of peace to dwell in the land of Egypt together, the king of Egypt chose to act in fear, assume the worst, and oppress the sons of Israel. Why would God allow His people to be oppressed, afflicted, and enslaved?
Why Does God Allow His People To Be Oppressed & Afflicted?
There are many questions in life to which we will never have complete answers, however, I do believe that the Scriptures do give us some understanding in answer to this question of why God allows His people to be oppressed and afflicted. As we take this example of the sons of Israel being oppressed and afflicted in Egypt, we know that God forewarned Abraham that his descendants would be oppressed in a foreign land:
Then God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years. But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions…” – Gen. 15:13-14
God clearly prophesied exactly what would happen to the descendants of Abraham being enslaved for 400 years and He also foretold how He would judge the nation who would oppress them. The oppression was part of God’s plan, but why?
Egypt – מצרים – Mitzraim
It was not coincidence that God chose to have His people go down to Egypt and spend 400 years there. It was also not coincidence that the sons of Israel were afflicted in that place. The country name “Egypt” in English is מצרים – Mitzraim in Hebrew. We first see the name Mitzraim in Genesis chapter ten as we read about the descendants of Noah and how they started to populate the earth after the flood:
Now these are the records of the generations of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and sons were born to them after the flood. – Gen. 10:1
The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. – Gen. 10:6
We read in these verses how Mitzraim (Mizraim) is the son of Ham, the son of Noah. Ham was the son whom Noah cursed when his son looked on his father’s nakedness. It is also interesting to note that Canaan is also a son of Ham. We know that the Israelites inherited the land of Canaan after they left the land of Mitzraim (Egypt).
The Hebrew name מצרים – Mitzraim is very telling as it carries the meaning of double or two-fold according to the ending of the word in Hebrew. The most natural understanding of the root of this word is צר – Tzar which can mean narrow, distress, trouble or enemy and also מצור – Mtzor which means siege. The word Mitzraim in its complete form means double-distress, double-siege, or double-trouble. We are never given a reason for this name, however, we know that the fulfillment of the sons of Israel in the land of Mitzraim began with the affliction of Joseph when he arrived in Israel as a slave and ended for 400 years later with the affliction of the whole nation of Israel.
Understanding Affliction
Why were the sons of Israel afflicted with a double-affliction for 400 years? Ultimately, we know that the affliction and oppression of the descendants of Israel in Egypt was for the glory of God. God sent Joseph ahead of his brothers and appointed him over Egypt to preserve life:
But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to keep many people alive…” – Gen. 50:19-20
And when God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, He did so with great signs and wonders in order to testify to who He is:
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews says: “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. For this time I am going to send all My plagues on you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth. For had I now put out My hand and struck you and your people with plague, you would then have been eliminated from the earth. But indeed, for this reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name throughout the earth. – Exodus 9:13-16
God uses all things for His glory, even nations who oppose Him and afflict His people. Ultimately God will glorify His great Name!
During our times of affliction and oppression on this earth we need to remember that Almighty God will ultimately use all things for our good and for His glory. It is often difficult to see this when we are in the midst of various afflictions but it is good to remember how God reacted to the cries of the Israelites while they were in Egypt:
Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage ascended to God. So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them. – Ex. 2:23-25
Just as God saw the Israelites and heard their cries at that time, even so He sees us today. He sees our tears and He hears our prayers!
The Promise of Persecution
The oppression and affliction that the Israelites endured in the land of Egypt was unprovoked but it was also part of God’s promises to Abraham. The covenant and blessings that God gave to Abraham also included the double affliction that they endured from the days of Joseph until the days of Moses and the Exodus.
As believers in the Jewish Messiah we are given the promises and blessings of the New Covenant and, for better or worse, we are also forewarned that affliction and persecution will accompany our faith in the Messiah. Yeshua spoke of the affliction that we would have to endure when He spoke to His disciples on that final Passover:
If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they followed My word, they will follow yours also. But all these things they will do to you on account of My name, because they do not know the One who sent Me. – John 15:18-21
This is definitely not a “feel good” type of message but it is the truth and hopefully it can help us understand the unprovoked persecution and affliction that we experience on this earth. Depending on our where we live in the world and the extent to which our faith is expressed in our life we will experience persecution.
I sometimes wonder if God explained to Abraham that his descendants would be enslaved for 400 years under a foreign nation to warn them of the difficult times ahead. Abraham was not subjected to this bitter persecution in Egypt but it was his grandson Jacob and all of his descendants who would see the fulfillment of this prophecy. Jacob and his sons surely knew of this word from God to Abraham, although they did not understand exactly how it would work out in real life. Being forewarned sometimes softens the blow and helps us to be able to endure the pain of unprovoked affliction and persecution.
The Persecution of the Saints
In the New Testament book of Acts we read about the amazing manner in which the gospel of Yeshua spread from Jerusalem, Samaria, Galilee and to many nations in the Mediterranean area. We also read about the many hardships and persecutions that the early believers endured from those who opposed the message of Yeshua and the teaching of the New Covenant.
The apostle Paul played a significant role in defending the validity of Yeshua as the Messiah to Jews and Gentiles alike. Those who came to faith in Yeshua at that time held Paul in high regard but those who opposed him sought to persecute him and, at times, they even sought to put him to death. During one of Paul’s ministry journeys we read the following account regarding Paul and his companions:
And after they had preached the gospel to that city and had made a good number of disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “It is through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God.” – Acts 14:21-22
Paul and his ministry companions shared this word with other believers a short time after Paul had been stoned and left for dead at Lystra for his faith and proclamation of Yeshua. Thankfully he was able to walk away from that incident and continue in ministry for many years in the future, however, the reality of the tribulations that accompany our faith were fresh in his mind, no doubt with marks on his body (Acts 14:19-20).
Blessed Are The Persecuted
There is no greater joy than knowing God through His Son Yeshua. In His Name we are guaranteed complete forgiveness of sins and eternal life, however, with this assurance comes the warning that we will be persecuted for His Name. Yeshua stated that there is a blessing in persecution:
Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. – Matt. 5:10-12
Earthly persecutions for the sake of righteousness remind us of our heavenly home, our eternal dwelling with God in the kingdom of heaven. It is in this understanding that we continue to make disciples and endure persecution, not only to remind ourselves of our heavenly home but so others may enter the Kingdom of God as well.
Shabbat Shalom!
If you enjoyed reading this article, share it today with friends! We also invite you to sign up for our weekly Torah Portion commentary on the sidebar to the right.
Help keep our weekly commentaries free and available to all. Click here to donate today:
*All Scripture take from NASB Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
**The Hebrew name “Yeshua” is used in the biblical quotations in place of the English name “Jesus” to give emphasis to the meaning of this name, salvation. The word “Messiah” is also used in place of the word “Christ” to bring clarity to the office of Yeshua.