Thought for the Week 4 October 2026

 Over the next 9 weeks we will be following the lectionary readings through the book of Exodus, which tells the story of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (known as Israel) who become a distinct group larger enough to be considered a nation. The story traces their journey from being slaves in Egypt to being the free people of God, in covenant with God, who promises to protect and provide for them. Along the way they grapple with what it means to be the people of God and to live in the ways of God; a new life unlike anything they had ever experienced before.

The first part of the story sets up a power encounter between the king of Egypt (Pharoah) and the Hebrews who are represented by Moses and his brother Aaron. Egypt is a domination system that relies on fear, imprisonment and enslavement to ensure those at the top stay at the top. Like all domination systems, they are fragile and insecure. The king is fearful of the Hebrews getting too numerous and powerful- they are a threat to his power. And so, he makes them slaves and demands that the midwives kill any newborn boys to neutralize any future threats.

But domination systems are also doomed to fail and right from the beginning, we see the hand of God at work, subverting the Pharoah’s plans. The more the Hebrews were oppressed, the more numerous they became. The midwives refuse to kill the baby boys because they fear God more than the Pharoah. And one baby boy, who seems to be marked by God in some way, is placed in a basket and hidden among the reeds in the river where he is discovered by the Pharoah’s daughter who adopts the child as her own, naming him Moses.

And so it begins; the struggle between domination and liberation….

Nga mihi nui, Brent