The House of Pharaoh

It was very important to me, upon entering into the book of Exodus, to leave behind my memories of stories and movies that might detract from actual scripture.  I read only as far as the third chapter before I realized that there are some major parts of Moses story that need clarifying. 

Thankfully, Jacob or otherwise known as Israel, drew things out pretty clearly when he blessed his sons shortly before his death.  From there, I was good til right before Moses birth.  Pharoah’s household dynamics floored this old farm girl, as I sit here writing about it today.  Life in the royal house left much to be desired.

One last insight from Jacobs life, before we delve into Pharaohs dirty laundry… is a snippet of passage I had overlooked previously, regarding the burial of both his wives.  I was left pondering the subtle mention of how Rachael got buried on the side of the road, while Jacob made Joseph promise to carry his bones to where Leah had been buried.  Something within him changed from that first meeting of Rachael at the well.  After all those years of working to win the hand of the woman of his dreams, at the end of it all… Israel chose to be buried with Leah.  Hmmm… food for thought!

Now to the juicy bits of somebody else’s messed up family dynamics… the good ole Pharaoh of Egypt and his ridiculous way of handling things both in his family, as well as his kingdom… it plays out in true soap opera form, as far as I can see so far.

One of the first things I picked up on from the beginning of my reading, was Pharaohs attitude.  He struck me as someone who grew up entitled, never having to study or remember the important things that occurred to make his world what it was.  It says in Exodus 1:8 that, “Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.”  Right off the bat we learn that Pharaoh was aware of who Joseph was… he just didn’t really care!

He did care, however, about his pocketbook!  If he was afraid of the Israelites, as he told his people he was, why did he then instruct everyone to enslave them into forced labor.  I don’t think Pharaoh was afraid for his physical safety, as much as he feared loosing Power.  It still kind of baffles me how a people so numerous as the Israelites, were somehow so easily led into shackles of bondage.  Something tells me that it was more like the process of boiling a frog… don’t drop em in boiling hot water or they jump out, but instead put them in cold water and slowly turn the heat up.  The frog is too comfortable and complacent, to notice the subtle changes leading to its own doom.

However we look at the situation, bondage is where the people ended up.  If we go back and reread the blessings Jacob gave to his boys right before his death, it is rather sobering to watch things play out pretty much note for note from Jacobs lips.  I’ve no idea exactly how many years rolled out between the time of Josephs death and the predicament his offspring found themselves in, but they were in the middle of it, none the less.

This is where we find ourselves, turning the mental channel to a station featuring a full color episode of The Pyramids… featuring the Pharaoh himself, the two Hebrew midwives, his Daughter along with her Maidservants, and finally his strange looking grandson Moses, that just magically appeared in the royal house one day.  Though I make light of some dysfunctional family dynamics, I wish for you to see also how God makes a way where He chooses… regardless of the plans of Man!

Pharaoh thought he had it figured out about the Israelite problem once they had the yoke of bondage firmly in place, even having two full storehouse cities built on the backs of the people.  It was not long before he realized the growing number of slaves, even while under such horrible conditions and treatment.  So, what does he do?  He passes the buck!  Thinking that the midwives would obey and take care of the issue by killing all the boys, he carries on his way.  Here is the rub!  While Pharaoh was willing to challenge the God of Abraham… those two midwives were not!

Pharaoh showed his ignorance, in my opinion, when he bought the story from the midwives, about Israelite woman being more vigorous than the Egyptians, and simply popping the babes out before the midwives could arrive.  Now Pharaoh showed his true colors, by ordering his entire kingdom to drown all the boys.  This is the place I found myself calling the king some colorful words of my own… out loud! 

You would think that this was it for the people of God… that they would begin dying out.  The Israelites simply continued to multiply even more rapidly than before.  It was at this part of the story that I began seeing a list of, pardon the expression, absolutely ignorant, and downright ridiculous behavior within The Pyramids family members and entire household staff.  I will save the dirty laundry for next weeks Live Wire, but I will leave you with something to ponder… Pharaoh made it easy for God to make a way.  Instead of living a heartless and self centered life, had he paid closer attention to what was right in his own home, he might have noticed Moses early on…

I found an awesome song by Brandon Lake called Pharaoh, and it speaks to my heart of the power of God to fulfill His own promises… Not even Pharaoh could stand in the way…

Thank you to everyone who volunteered some soup ideas for this weeks Potluck Sunday!  Grab a fresh bread bowl and dip in to the many soup flavors of the day.  Don’t forget to sprinkle those crispy croutons across the top or maybe a bit of shredded cheese… whatever you wish!  Afterwards, be sure and enjoy some fall flavors of after dinner goodies…

Our first culinary delight is from Tuscany…

From there all the way to the farm, we have some homemade Potato soup…

Before we leave the farm, we enjoy some thick and chunky split pea…

And from the farm to the rodeo, we dip our ladles into some good ole fashioned Chili…

No Soup Day would be complete without a drive to the coast, with some fresh Clam Chowder…

I hope you left room for some dessert…

Have a spectacular day… may God bless the lot of you… hugs!