The Last Straw

I am traversing through Exodus right now.

I am trying to form better spiritual habits, and bible reading is at the forefront. Not to say I am some great pioneer...It's mostly the accountability with ma'lady which keeps me in check.

Anyhow,

The tension between Pharaoh and Yaweh is intriguing. Pharaoh is obviously unjust, and the people distrust and detest him. But the crazy part is that the people do not trust Yaweh--the God who helped their ancestors stand up against the pagan culture in which they were enswarmed (yes, I just made up a word). I mean, its kind of understandable. Moses just added to their labors when he asked Pharaoh to let them go. At this point in the story (where I am at) God is reassuring Moses that he will still bring the people out.

The thing about stories like Exodus is that we know how they end. We forget the painful details that lead up to the grand finale.

Like, Sunday school teachers never emphasize the part about the straw.

Because Pharaoh was peeved off, he told the Israelites "You've got to make the same amount of bricks, but now you've got to find your own straw to make it with." I can imagine how the Israelites were feeling at this point: distraught.

They probably said to themselves

"And two more years in Iraq?"

"And now she has cancer?"

"And three more dollars for oil?"

"And 10,000 people died?"

"And they are starving?"

I don't think postmodern America is completely different than ancient Egypt.

We can never see the big picture, and we will at points feel the burden of this life.

But God is in our midst when we don't even realize it, ready to deliver us from our daily oppressors.

We just need to remember.