Israel is about to be
dominated by Egypt in Exodus 1:11-14. "So they put slave masters over them to oppress
them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store
cities for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they were oppressed,
the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites 13 and
worked them ruthlessly. 14 They made their lives bitter with
harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the
fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly."
This gives us a great
illustration of the 3 B’s of sin.
A. The bondage of sin.
v. 11, 14 This new
Pharaoh is a picture of Satan, the toughest taskmaster you’ll ever have. He’s
shrewd and such a deceiver. V. 10 shows this clearly, “let us deal wisely with
them...”
B. The burden of sin.
v. 11 There’s no greater
burden than the burden of sin, and no greater blessing than having that burden
lifted. The OT has 3 Hebrew words which are translated as ‘forgive.’ One
means to send away. One means to cover. One means to ‘lift away.’.
C. The bitterness of sin.
v. 14 It may be fun for
a while, but it always ends badly, and with regret. Proverbs 9:17-18: "Stolen
water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!" But little do they
know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of the grave.
There is pleasure in
sin, for a season. Like the moth to the flame, like a bug to a zapper, like an
insect to fly paper, saying I want to taste that sweet honey, and then we
realize we’re stuck! You think you can have a little sin, and then you realize
the sin has you! Make today your day of freedom - ask God to forgive and repent
of your sins.
Amen?
