ENSLAVEMENT

The book of Genesis ends with Joseph's rise to power in Egypt and all of his family joining him there to enjoy the prosperity of the land.

The book of Exodus begins with an acknowledgment of how quickly things can change: 

Exodus 1:6 Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, 7 but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.

8 Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. 9 “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. 10 Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”

Now, I know that there are a lot of parallels between the way God rescued Israel from Egyptian slavery in the Old Testament and God's overall mission of rescuing humanity from slavery to sin, but I don't think I have ever noticed some of the earlier parallels.

Isn't it interesting that when Israel started to do what God had commanded - to be fruitful and multiply and rule over the earth - it makes Pharaoh suspicious ... and jealous?

It's almost as if Pharaoh is in the role of Satan as it played out in the garden as well as Satan as he attempts to trip up each human ever since.

Apparently, his go-to tactic for keeping us tied down and unable to live up to God's call on our lives has always been to enslave us!