Parsha – Shemot – Pharaoh’s Taskmasters, Taxation & Affliction

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שמות Shemot  (‘names’)

Exodus 1:1-6:1

There arose a new Pharaoh that knew not Joseph (or Yeshua)

7  And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.  8  Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.  9  And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:  10  Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.

Exodus 1:7-10

Israel multiplies in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land in Goshen and in Raamses in particular. Then there arises a Pharaoh that does not know Joseph and he begins to afflict the children of Israel. Pharaoh sets taskmasters over them. The word translated ‘taskmasters’ in Hebrew is actually two different words. Initially in chapter one of Exodus the word translated ‘taskmaster’ is the phrase ‘Sari Missim’ which is related to the idea of taxation while later on in chapter five another word is used ‘nagashim’ Meaning to drive.

Taskmasters of Tax

Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.

Exodus 1:11

‘Taskmasters’, שָׂרֵי מִסִּים, Sari Missiim , which is composed of two words, H8269 שׂר and the plural form of H4522 מס and when combined literally means “Captains/Chiefs/Princes of Burdens/Taxation”. The word H4522 מס mas or the plural masim is related to the word for burden and taxation. (Perhaps these folks were a little like President Obama’s ‘Csars’. Certainly the lost tribes are being oppressed through red tape and high taxation in America and Australia due to their collective departure from the word of God and outright paganism. They are in the same situation that the Israelites were in before the Exodus.

It was the issue of taxation and hard labour that caused the 10 northern tribes of the house of Israel to rebel and depart from the House of David in 1 Kings 12.

And it was taxation that helped set off the American revolution so tax is not a small deal.

In Yeshua’s day the Jews paid their taxes to Rome who was in control of their land.

Taskmasters of Hard Labour

Do you feel that you have to work far too hard just to earn your daily bread and a roof over your head? The Israelites in Egypt certainly began to think so.

Firstly they had taskmasters (Princes of Tax) that took away their increase. Later they had taskmasters that drove them with hard labour.

Initially we have the underlying word translated ‘Taskmasters’ as שָׂרֵי מִסִּים, Sari Missiim (Princes of Tax) later a different underlying word, נגשׂ, nagas, is used but is still translated ‘Taskmaster’ in the KJV.

The word נגשׂ, nagas, appears in Ex 3:7, 5:6, 5:10, 5:13-14.

But this word is a harsher word than the earlier one, מס, mas. H5065 נגשׂ, nagas, meaning ‘to drive’ as in to drive an animal or person! And this word just so happens to be an anagram of the word ‘Goshen’, גשן, where the Israelites are living. They have gone from living in the best of the land to paying high taxes to then be working as outright slaves to cruel taskmasters that drive them.

Israel Wakes Up

It was only when the Israelites were forced to make bricks without straw that the Israelites finally woke up that their government was against them.

18  Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.  19  And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task.

Exodus 5:18-19

It takes a lot to wake people up.

These days people are so busy with work and their families that they don’t even have time to think or study God’s word.

Why was Pharaoh able to afflict Israel in the firstplace?

We know that the Lord allowed Israel to be afflicted under a new hard hearted Pharaoh in order for the God of Israel to show His power through awesome judgements.

But was there another reason that they were afflicted? We know that the Israelites had a strong fondness for idols and idolatry as can be seen in their golden calf worship during the giving of the Torah at mount Sinai. And Jacob’s son’s had idols which he got them to bury under the oak tree near Shechem.

1 And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.  2  Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:  3  And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.  4  And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.  5  And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.

Genesis 35:1-5

Just like later during the exodus, the fear of the Hebrew people was on the people round about in the land of Israel.

But the seeds of idolatry were already planted within Jacob’s sons.

The idols should have been destroyed but instead they were burried in Shechem under the oak tree. The word for ‘the oak’ here is haeleh, הָאֵלָ֖ה, is related to the word for curse.

It was in Shechem that Joseph was betrayed and the whole saga of split between Joseph and Judah took centre stage.

The rift was healed for a time under Joseph’s wisdom once the 12 tribes were in the land of Goshen and Ramases in Egypt.

But soon their descendants were back into their pagan idolatry that was prevalent in Egypt even as the Prophets later said. Ezekiel compares the two houses of Israel and Judah to two fornicating sisters who fornicated through idolatry in Egypt and then later in Assyria.

2  Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:  3  And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.  4  And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.

Ezekiel 23:2-4

Due to this lust for idolatry the children of Israel were oppressed by the Egyptians, and then later by the Assyrians and Romans. The issue of idolatry is what causes God’s judgement and the handing over of God’s people into the hand of their enemies.

Time to Wake up!

Just as it was then so it is today. This is why America is being given over to a new Pharaoh that knew not Joseph. Indeed Obama is the first openly devoutly non Christian president. The earlier presidents made at least a passing nod to the Bible even if they were secretly ‘dyed in the wool’ free masons etc. But now the bulk of the lost tribes in America are deserving of nothing better than Obama. Obama is hostile to the Laws of the bible and those that follow Yeshua. He is anti family and pro gay. He is for big government and a small middle class. He is anti Israel and pro Muslim. He is anti American and pro United Nations. He is as red as Karl Marx. And the Gay lobby love him.

And America like Canada, Australia and New Zealand deserve no better because collectively we have forsaken God and His commandments. We are no longer faithful to the New Covenant teachings as a society. Even the mainline Potestant churches preach a New Age, Me Gospel. There is no longer a fear of God amongst most of the Pastors. And according to Ezekiel 34 the Lord is going to destroy the pastors of the House of Israel and raise up new ones. The wicked in the net of the Church of Laodicea will be spewed out. I have written often about this on my Blog and within my articles on the 10losttribes.com website. Our Pastors can no longer be reasoned with because their mind’s are reprobate as are their flocks. It is time for the overcomers to come out from amongst such lukewarm congregations. We need to come out of such places and not drink from the same cup and it’s unholy brew. We need to come out of Babylon.

Still there is a remnant in America that shall make it through the coming judgement. And if anything the state of the church and lost tribe remnant in Australia and New Zealand is much much much worse. These sleepy lands are hardened towards the Lord and His Holy Word. There is not a lot of activity or interest in Torah or a deeper understanding of God’s word here. And so we will need a powerful spiritual and physical earthquake to wake up the folks ‘downunder‘.

It does say in Psalm 61:2 that;

From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Psalms 61:2

If the Lord does not wake us up soon we may have something to cry about.

Let’s pray that the planned visit by Brad Scott and others from April 2013 onwards is a success. We need an earthquake and some sort of wakeup for the stubborn and sleepy bulls of bashan in Australia and New Zealand. We need a miracle.