When Joseph was a ruler in Egypt, all of his family came to live there, too. After many years, there were thousands of Israelites living in Egypt. But there was a new Pharaoh (king) in Egypt. This ruler did not know about Joseph and his family. Exodus 1:10 tells us about Pharaoh’s plan for the Israelites. “We must make plans to stop them from growing stronger. If there is war, they might join our enemies, defeat us, and escape from the land!”
So Pharaoh punished the Israelites by making them slaves. He made life very hard for the Israelites. The slave masters forced the Israelites to build cities where Pharaoh could store grain. But the more the Egyptians forced the Israelites to work, the more children they had. This made the Egyptians more afraid of the Israelites. So the slave masters made the Israelites work even harder.
Pharaoh did not believe in the one true God. He did not treat God’s people with kindness. Later, God punished Pharaoh and the entire nation of Egypt. This is a good lesson for us. We should pay attention to God and His Word, the Bible. Then we will know what we should do and how we can please God.
Will you pay attention to God’s Word today?
![](https://images.subsplash.com/blur.jpg?id=72ed2a11-359d-4054-865a-0bdb4783e142&w=100&h=56&f=blur)
Pay Attention to God
May 2
Steve Husting
More from
Through the Bible (Build List)