The new pharaoh

‘At last a king who did not know about Joseph began to rule in Egypt. He tricked our ancestors and was cruel to them, forcing them to put their babies out of their homes, so that they would die. It was at this time that Moses was born, a very beautiful child. He was cared for at home for three months, and when he was put out of his home, the king’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son.’ (verses 18-21)

Read Acts 7:17-29

A dying man once entrusted to me the care of his grandchildren, who were attending the school where I was the principal. I assured him that I would look after them when he was gone and that he shouldn’t worry about them. He told me he wasn’t concerned about me but that in time there would be a ‘new Pharaoh’ who wouldn’t know their needs like I did.

After the passing of Joseph a new ruler took over in Egypt. He was unfriendly to the people of Israel and he enslaved them. It seemed to God’s chosen people that all the good that God had done for them was now at an end. They didn’t realise that, out of the very family of the Pharaoh who was abusing them, God would raise Moses, who would be the saviour of his people.

As I should have told the dying man, God always finds a way of looking after his people, no matter who is in charge.

Dear God, help me to put my trust in you and your plans for the world, no matter how dire the circumstances I find myself in. Amen.

by Richard Hauser, in ‘Guidance for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2002)

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