Moses and Aaron had done as God had required and told Pharaoh to let the People go into the wilderness for a festival to worship God. Pharaoh realised that there might be more to this. Also, if people had time to go off for festivals, they obviously had too much time on their hands and could not be working hard enough! So, he gives orders that the productivity in brick-making is to be maintained - but the Hebrews will have to make up the shortfall in raw materials (straw) themselves. This, he sensibly reasons, will keep them far too busy to think about going off for a week to worship their God. And - are there not parallels in our own day - when we need to work harder simply to stay still? When the poor have to work longer and longer hours to try to bring in a living wage? Where those in power use it to abuse their workers? The list could go on! How is the "bricks without straw" situation replicated
in our own day? |
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