The children of Israel were under the enslavement of Pharaoh (1:8-11, 13-14), who typifies Satan, the ruler of the world (John 12:31; Eph. 2:2). Because Pharaoh is the embodiment of Satan, he is a picture of Satan in Exodus, a book of pictures.
Pharaoh forced God’s people to work for him (1:10-11, 13-14). In verse 10 Pharaoh said, “Let us deal wisely with them.” The worldly people do not realize how wise Satan is and how wisely he deals with people to usurp them, to occupy them, and to enslave them. The goal of Satan’s wise dealings is the enslavement of mankind.
Verse 13 says, “And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor.” Some versions translate the Hebrew word for “rigor” as “harshness.” This word indicates that the children of Israel had no liberty, no rights, and no rest. No matter what their circumstances were, they had to labor as slaves. They had to do what Pharaoh demanded.
Verse 14 continues, “And they made their lives bitter with hard labor, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of labor in the field: all their labor, wherein they made them serve, was with rigor” (Heb.). Pharaoh made the lives of the Israelites bitter with hard labor. Today, in the eyes of God, all the people are laboring in the “field.” You may work in a hospital, factory, or office, but actually you are laboring in the “field” making “bricks” and cementing them with “mortar.”
As slaves in Egypt, the children of Israel “built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses” (v. 11). Pithom means “mouth of integrity,” and Raamses means “thunder of the standard.” These names indicate that Pharaoh’s treasure cities were built for pride and boastful display, just as the pyramids were. I believe that, under Pharaoh, the Egyptians had these treasure cities built in order to boast of their integrity, honesty, and goodness and also to propagate their cultural standard. The mouth of integrity is still sounding forth in the world today. Every race and nation boasts of its goodness. Furthermore, every country, developed or undeveloped, is proud of its standard of attainment. For thousands of years the world has been boasting of its goodness and thundering out its standard. Today the worldly people are building treasure cities for Satan because of pride in their integrity and standard.
In contrast to the worldly people, the Lord Jesus did not boast of His integrity. Instead of boasts, words of grace issued from His mouth (Luke 4:22). Moreover, with the Lord there was no thundering of the standard. Matthew 12:19 says of Him, “He shall not strive nor cry out, nor shall anyone hear His voice in the streets.”
The labor of the children of Israel in Egypt was the same as the toil of the rebellious ones in the land of Babel, out of which Abraham was called. Those at Babel made bricks and cemented them with mortar for the building of the city and tower of Babel in order to make a name for themselves (Gen. 11:3-4). In Egypt Pharaoh compelled the children of Israel to build cities for him out of bricks and mortar.