“For we…worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” Philippians 3:3
The events surrounding the Exodus give more information regarding Egypt than any other place in Scripture: “Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we. Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.” Fear of their presence caused Egypt’s oppression of the Hebrews. For this reason, Pharaoh sought to kill the potential warriors, and made slaves of the rest of the people.
When Moses returned from Midian with God’s command to free the Hebrews, Pharaoh resisted, fearing that he would lose his slaves. Evidently, his fear of their joining Egypt’s enemy was tempered by his desire to use them as slaves.
People often fear that which they want. Commitment without knowing produces fear. Men enjoy skydiving and other extreme sports, while fearing getting hurt. Other examples include promiscuous sex, using alcohol and drugs, and gambling. Every businessman takes risks with his assets, while at the same time fearing loss. Since we define faith as risk-taking, we cannot avoid this phenomenon. However, we can minimize the risks by obeying God’s commandments, and by expressing dependence upon Him for guidance. The only safe posture with God is surrender coupled with perpetual brokenness and dependence.
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