Sixteen Tuns Written November 12, 2023     (click to play) Some people say a man is made out of mud. A poor man's made out of muscle and blood! Muscle and blood, and skin and bones, A mind that's weak, and a back that's strong.   Jemuel's testimony: I am one of those poor men.  We Hebrews are confined to our ghetto, forbidden from dwelling anywhere near the real Egyptians. From dawn to dusk we toil in the hot sun, scooping up mud and mixing it with straw to make bricks which we bake in the kilns.  Such heat the kilns give off! Then we load the bricks into giant barrels called tuns.  One tun full, then another tun, then another. When we were given this task, they paid us in advance.  It was a generous loan.  However, they forced us to work off our debt by continuing to make bricks, to be used in building the cities of Pithom and Rameses.  Exodus 1:11    When we were given this task, they paid us in advance.  It was a generous loan.  However, they forced us to work off our debt by continuing to make bricks, to be used in building the cities of Pithom and Rameses.  Exodus 1:11    But then our rent started to be deducted from our pay.  And we eat only Hebrew food, which we must buy only from a special store owned by our taskmasters; those purchases too are charged to our account.  We suspect the accountants are cheating, but we're not allowed to see our records.  Also, they require us to pay a high rate of interest on the balance we owe to the store. We owe more and more.   We  can  never  catch  up.. We are in debt bondage. We are slaves. Our company of Hebrews isn't even allowed to observe religious holidays.  We asked Pharoah for three days off, but he refused. Not only wouldn't he let us go, but he punished us for even asking.  He ordered the straw boss to cut off our supply!  Now we have to go out in the fields ourselves to gather stubble for the straw we need.  And despite this extra workload, we still have to make the same quota of bricks!   Exodus 5    The Egyptians have many gods.  They speak of a being called Say-Peeder, an angel of death who warns that he can take us away from this bitter life. “If you see me coming, better step aside. A lot of men didn't; a lot of men died. “One fist of iron, the other of steel: If the right one don't get you, then the left one will!” Some of us pray that Say-Peeder will come — yea, come quickly —  and return us to our home in the dust.  As a faithful Hebrew I also pray, but to my own God.  I plead for him to free us from Egypt and return us to the land He promised to our father Abraham.  Exodus 2:23-25  But so far, that hasn't happened.  I'm still loading bricks. You load sixteen tuns, what do you get? Another day older, and deeper in debt! Say-Peeder, don't you call me, 'cause I can't go; I owe my soul to the company store. Maybe one day we slaves will be free....   Believe it or not, conditions like this still exist, in particular in India and Pakistan.  “Up to 23 million people are enslaved across India's 125,000 brick kiln factories,” writes Andrew McKean.  The workers produce $14 billion in building materials every year but often live in extreme poverty. In modern times, isn't slavery illegal?  Yes, but when hiring kiln workers, industry can get around that regulation by paying them in advance.  Repaying these “friendly loans” proves to be impossible, and default is discouraged through threats of violence and death.  So, trapped in debt bondage, the workers have no choice but to slave away.   Click here for other Bible stories I've retold in the first person.