Persecution and Multiplication

Exodus 1-2; Ps 88; Luke 21

“Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them…But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly.”

Exodus 1:6, 7, 12, 13

At the base of a large statue of Ramses II in Luxor, Egypt, is carved a long row of Jewish men with pointed beards, roped together as slaves. Pharaoh wanted all to know that his foot was on the necks of his Jewish slaves. Yet the more Pharaoh oppressed the Jewish people, the more they multiplied. This same anger toward God’s covenant people is evident in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and other countries where the Church is growing quickly, despite, and even because of, persecution. Pharaoh’s persecution of the Jews, like that of the Second World War, clarified identity and led to a deliverance that revealed to the whole world, both Satan’s wrath and God’s saving power. Today, God continues to redeem the pain of persecution and call out a people who are his own. Jesus told us that persecution and opposition of the Gospel was normal and to be expected.

Are the people of God multiplying in our context, or have we assimilated into our surrounding culture?

“Lord Jesus, purify your people and call us to yourself regardless of the cost, for your glory.”