Resisting Pharaoh

The world these days seems to be full of tyrants, dictators, and terrorists. And thus it has always been. When the book of Exodus begins, the tyrant of the day was Pharaoh, who was so threatened by the Hebrews that he began a program of genocide against them. All newborn Hebrew baby boys were to be killed. But not everyone went along with his murderous program. Two brave women resisted Pharaoh; and brave people all over the world still resist our modern-day Pharaohs. Maybe this sermon will encourage you to join them.

Pharaoh. He’s a bad egg, isn’t he? We know what to do when we hear the name “Pharaoh.” We boo, and we hiss, and we give the “thumbs-down” sign. Of all the characters that we meet in the Bible, Pharaoh is surely one of the most evil. In fact, throughout the biblical text, the title “Pharaoh” becomes a symbol for oppression and misused power.

There are lots of “Pharaohs” in the Bible. The king of Assyria who conquered the northern kingdom of Israel in 720 BC and deported all of its inhabitants was one of them. So was King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon 250 years later. He conquered the southern kingdom of Judah in 587 BC, destroyed the Temple, and burned Jerusalem to the ground. And, of course, in the New Testament, we hear about the evil King Herod. In an effort to get rid of any competition for the title “King of the Jews,” Herod ordered that all the boy babies who lived in Bethlehem were to be killed. We hear about all kinds of Pharaohs in the stories that the Bible tells.

I would be delighted if I could tell you that Pharaoh has disappeared into the mists of the past. But, of course, I can’t. There are still plenty of pharaohs around today. Vladimir Putin of Russia certainly qualifies for that title. Ask any family member of one of the passengers on Malaysia Flight 17 that was shot down over Ukraine by a Russian surface-to-air missile. Was Putin involved? Probably. Another modern pharaoh is the group Boko Haram. Boko Haram is the terrorist organization that abducted over 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria just a few months ago, forcing them to convert to Islam and selling them as brides, since – in their worldview – girls are only fit to marry and bear children. They should never be educated. Over the past 12 years, Boko Haram has been blamed for over 10,000 abductions and deaths in the African countries of Nigeria, Cameroon, and Niger. And, of course, we can’t forget ISIS, the army of Islamic fundamentalists who formerly called themselves “Al-Qaeda in Iraq.” They were actually expelled from Al-Qaeda because of their brutality! Their goal is to exterminate all non-Muslims and to establish an Islamic state extending across Turkey, Syria, and Iraq; and they have gained control of a significant amount of territory in the Middle East over the past few months. Oh, yes, Pharaoh is still alive and well, even though he may be called by other names these days.

But although Pharaoh strikes terror into the hearts of most of us, there are always a few who are willing to resist him. These brave souls refuse to be a part of persecution and oppression. In this morning’s story (Exodus 1:1-22), those resisters were two Hebrew midwives named Shiphrah and Puah. You can always tell when someone in a biblical story is important, because the most important people have names. These two don’t look especially important. After all, they are women, and women weren’t considered to be important at all. But these women are the most important people in this story; because they’re the only two who are willing to resist Pharaoh’s persecution of the enslaved Hebrews. “Kill all the baby boys!” commands Pharaoh; and these two brave midwives ignore his order completely. When Pharaoh calls them on the carpet for their actions, they lie through their teeth without even missing a beat. “Why, those Hebrew women are so healthy,” they say, “that we can’t even get there in time to help with the births! They whisk those babies away and we never even get to see them!” And Pharaoh buys it, hook, line, and sinker. Their actions set the stage for the birth of a special Hebrew baby who is hidden in the bulrushes of the Nile by his mother, and rescued by no less than the Princess of Egypt herself. But that’s next week’s story. Today, Pharaoh still has center stage.

And the Pharaohs of the world think that they always have the center stage. No one would dare to resist them, because they have all the power; and they can do whatever they want. Right? That’s what Vladimir Putin thinks, even in the face of economic sanctions from the West – that he can do whatever he wants. That’s what Boko Haram thinks. As recently as yesterday, the group killed or abducted all the men and boys in a fishing village on the shores of Lake Chad in northwest Nigeria. A witness described the scene: “They were shouting ‘Where is your pride? You people used to be warriors. Today you are all just women, not as brave as we thought.’” And that’s most certainly what ISIS thinks! After all, who is going to resist them? The Iraqi army is in a shambles; and the minority groups in Iraq aren’t armed. All those poor people can do is run away and hide before the ISIS butchers catch them.

But there are still those who resist, people who speak out against Pharaoh’s terrible oppression and persecution. The United Nations Security Council, for example, adopted a resolution just two days ago stating that it “deplores and condemns in the strongest terms the terrorist acts of ISIS, its violent extremist ideology, and its continued gross, systematic and widespread abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law.” They added that those who finance, recruit or supply weapons to the insurgents might be formally sanctioned in the future. Our own United Church of Christ and its global partners have been providing food, water, trauma counseling, health kits, and cash assistance to refugees in the area that has been overrun by ISIS. Our mission funds also support Global Ministries’ closest partner in the region, the Presbyterian Church of Iraq. (You may be surprised to learn that the Presbyterian Church of Iraq was founded by one of the UCC’s predecessor churches, the Evangelical & Reformed Church.) And lest you mistakenly believe that all Muslims agree with the actions of ISIS, I found this post on the Facebook page belonging to the group Muslims for Progressive Values: “ISIS is the supposedly ‘Islamic State.’ We prefer to call them ‘International Scum.’ They have told Christians in Iraq to convert, leave, or die. We stand in solidarity with the Iraqi Christians.” I responded to that post, thanking the person who posted it for their compassion to Christians in the Middle East; and I received this reply: “I am a Syrian Muslim, and the majority of my friends have either posted this or made it their profile photo as part of the campaign that is called ‘We are all Christians.’ What ISIS is doing is horrifying beyond expression. We feel helpless, and Facebook campaigns are the least we can do in the face of this monstrosity. I wish I could do more. I pray for peace, and I believe all people who truly know God’s love do the same, regardless of their religion.”

Can Pharaoh really do whatever he wants? Perhaps. It certainly looks that way at first glance. The Pharaohs of the world run roughshod over anyone who stands in their way. But I am very sure that right now, in all kinds of places all around the world, in Russia and in Africa and in the Middle East, there are thousands of Shiphrahs and Puahs quietly opposing them – common people, ordinary folks who simply will not stand by and tolerate persecution and oppression. Jesus talked about this kind of situation once. He said that God’s kingdom of peace and love grows from beginnings as tiny as a mustard seed. Do you remember that parable? Jesus told us that a mustard seed is so little and looks so useless that some people throw it out with the trash! But when it takes root, it grows until it is so big that it shelters birds in its branches and animals in its shade. From tiny beginnings emerge astonishing outcomes!

So don’t be discouraged by Pharaoh and by his evil. In the end, he will be defeated, brought down by his own greed and arrogance. Don’t be discouraged, because God has always been on the side of the persecuted and the oppressed, and that’s where God is today! Don’t be discouraged, because into the life of every Pharaoh will eventually come a Moses, someone who is called by God to lead the people out of the shadows of captivity into the light of freedom. What does the spiritual say? “Oh, let us all from bondage flee, and let us all in Christ be free.” Let my people go, Pharaoh! You won’t win in the end! Thank God that it is so.