Exodus 1:8-12 "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. Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel."
It is unlikely that this new king was ignorant of Joseph’s service in Egypt or how the children of Israel came to be in the land. One of the senses given to the word translated here as “knew” was to “care or recognize.” This new king did not care what Joseph had done. He did not recognize the value of Joseph’s life nor of the lives of the children of Israel.
This new king was focused solely on his own power. He looked upon the multitude of the children of Israel and saw a threat to what he desired. He couched his words in terms of dealing “wisely” with them, but his intent was to deal with them according to his own selfish wisdom. It had nothing to do with treating them in a wise and fair manner.
This new king appointed governors over the children of Israel whose true purpose was to afflict (browbeat, depress) them. These taskmasters were to make their labors hard. They wanted them so beaten down that they would not remember Joseph or the power of the God of Jacob. The children of Israel were used for the enrichment of Pharaoh with no thought for their benefit.
However, the God of Jacob would not be mocked by the efforts of this new king. The more Pharaoh’s taskmasters burdened the children of Israel the more the children of Israel grew. This new king’s plan to break the children of Israel was not working out as he had expected. He and all of Egypt were left in great frustration.
Dear ones, it is obvious to those who love the Lord, that the king of this world (whether used to refer to governments or Satan) do not recognize Jesus or what He has done. They consider themselves to deal wisely with God’s people by trying to make us ashamed of the “old and outdated” teaching in God’s word. But do not lose sight of the hope for us that was hidden in Pharaoh’s words. God’s people became hated because the new king saw that they were “more and mightier.”
Hold on to the truth that the One who lives in you is greater than the one who lives in the world (1 John 4:4). Be steadfast in your faith and do not fear being despised by the ungodly. Jesus told us that if they hated us, to remember that they hated Him first. Their hatred is born of the fact that He has called us out of worldly thinking (John 15:18-19). Never doubt the hope that comes from knowing that Jesus is the King of kings!