In Ancient Egypt the children of Israel made mud bricks to build cities for Pharaoh. According to archeological sources, mud-bricks are made with organic material such as silt, sand, top soil and wheat chaff. The straw is what made the wheat chaff. It would be left in fields after the wheat was collected during harvest time. The stems of the wheat would be chopped into small pieces called straw temper and added to the organic mixture to make a mud. It would then be processed by bare feet for four days. Left to dry for one day and then mixed again, poured into molds and dried. The quota of bricks Pharaoh expected were 2000 every two days. The straw was essential for strong bricks that would not shrink or crack in the drying process. However, the straw was only available seasonally. During harvest time all the straw temper would be prepared, stored and then provided by pharaoh for the Hebrews to make the bricks. This is why the text says, they were scrambling to find straw, it is likely there was none available because it wasn’t harvesting time, it would be like looking for grapes in December.
When Pharoah stopped providing straw, he closed the storehouses and suddenly it was impossible to make the bricks. Which is really his problem, as the bricks were to build his cities. Pharaoh’s goal was twofold, he wanted Israel to see HIM as provider, not their own God, the God of the Hebrews and he wanted them to believe that they needed to straw and that not having it was their problem. His aim was to keep them afraid, to keep them slaves, keep them thinking they needed him and his mercy. He wanted them to believe they were slaves and He was the only one who could ease their burdens so first he had to invent the burdens. No straw. No strength.Only utter reliance and dependence on Pharaoh.
The bible tells us God is their strength. God is their provider and God is the one who eases Israel’s burdens. And not only theirs. But all who are “heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3.
How easily and often we, like the children of Israel, forget these truths. We quickly turn and look to our worldly goods, our earthly governments, authorities’ institutes and even our own strengths to provide for our needs. Take the straw away and we panic, how on earth will we do the things we need, but we don’t really need to make bricks. All those human agents can never replace the freedom God promises us to stop making bricks we don’t need, to stop seeing ourselves as slaves and to stop believing things that aren’t true. Earthly resources usually keep us enslaved to their particular and selfish vices. Pharaoh was trying to hide the truth from Israel. Israel didn’t need straw, because they did not need to make bricks because they did not belong to Pharaoh. Pharaoh wanted those things and so he needed Israel to be his servants. Without a slave there is no master. What they needed was to trust The God of Abraham , Isaac and Jacob to provide them with something much greater than straw for their strengthening , he would be their strength.
We should not permit Satan or the world to tell us what we need, God will provide for all our needs according to his riches and glory. The devil is lying to keep us in every sort of addiction, unhealthy relationship, wrong belief systems and clinging to responsibilities that are not ours. Only the truth will set us free, the truth of who we are and the truth of who God is.
my faith place 