Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. He said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labor. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them. (Exodus 1:8-14, NRSV)
So after Pharoh died that had put Joseph in power there was trouble.
You see the new Pharoh did not know Joseph or the way the Israelites had come to be in Egypt. So he was worried that these people would overtake them if an enemy attacked so he tried to make their numbers fewer, but his plan only made the Israelites multiply faster and become more numberable.
The Egyptians used the Israelites to build many cities and to do many tasks and were ruthless.
I wonder what the Israelites thought had happened to God?
What would you do if your life was good and then it turned not so hot?
Would you still trust God?
aSacredRebel 