A Longing for Egypt

Some 400 years later Moses is born, and Jehovah has told him that he is to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and into the land of Canaan.  This is the land he promised to the nomadic Abraham; a land "flowing with milk and honey."  However, the Israelites follow him grudgingly, at best, and must be taught that a free existence in Canaan is better than slavery in Egypt.

After the Israelites conquer the Canaanites and take their land, each tribe and family is given property.  The Hebrew law book, the Torah, provides guidelines for private property and farming.  Leviticus 25 explains that land could never be permanently sold, but had to remain in the family.  By the time of the Book of Judges, the Israelites had transformed themselves into a decentralized, agrarian society.  The Egyptian slaves have now become free landowners and farmers.  There was little or no central government in early Israel; Jehovah was their king, and the society was centered around the worship of God at the tabernacle.

Eventually, out of envy, the Israelites insist on an earthly king.  The judge Samuel explains that the king will take their produce, their land, and their own children (I Samuel 8:11-17).  Then he states, hearkening back to their situation under Pharaoh, "and you yourselves will become his slaves."  Having Jehovah as their king prevented the growth of tyranny and protected their lands and families, but a desire for the glory and centralized government of Egypt will also bring back the slavery of Egypt.