Living In A Hostile Society

Living in a Hostile Society

Hebrew Women In Egypt

Read: Exodus 1:1-10

Christie instinctively leaned back from the edge of her balcony as she watched the parade pass through the street below her. Angry protesters spat out words that she hardly understood even though she’d studied the language for several years. Earlier, she had witnessed the burning of an American flag. When Christie had first arrived for her year-long, study-abroad program, the people had welcomed her with open arms, but lately Christie had noticed a shift in the political climate and in the attitudes toward her. Not everyone had changed, of course, but when she walked down the street, she got enough hostile stares to make her uneasy. Maybe it’s just as well that my time here is almost up, she thought.

The women in today’s passage knew how it felt to live as foreigners in a hostile country. When Jacob’s family first arrived in Egypt, the pharaoh treated them with honor and respect. But after many years, the story of how Joseph had saved the country from starvation passed out of memory, and the Egyptians began to feel threatened by Jacob’s descendants. Although the Israelites lived in a separate part of the country, they must have felt the pressure of being surrounded by people who viewed them with distrust, suspicion, and even contempt.

Today, devoted followers of Christ are the ones that most often experience social hostility. The world’s standards and purposes directly oppose those expressed by God in his Word. When we take a stand for God’s truth, we can expect those who don’t know him to treat us with distrust, suspicion, and contempt. No one enjoys that kind of treatment, but if we want to be faithful to God, we will be enemies of the world. That is much better than the other way around.

Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God?

James 4:4