SCRIPTURE: EXODUS 1
INTRODUCTION:
Exodus means “exit” or “departure”. The title of this book comes from one of the greatest miracles of God’s care for his people in the Old Testament – The Israelites being freed from slavery, leaving Egypt and developing to become a nation.
This book has three main themes:
- Liberation – It describes Jehovah’s victory over the gods of Egypt and the deliverance of His people from bondage of slavery.
- Separation – God gave the Israelites His law to separate them from the other nations and devote wholly to Him so that they can live a holy life.
- Habitation – God had walked with His people in Genesis, but now He wanted to dwell with them. It emphasized the house of God.
IMPORTANT VERSE:
“But the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them.” (Exodus 1:7)
THE ISRAELITES OPPRESSED (vs. 1-22)
These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali,; Gad and Asher. The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all ; Joseph was already in Egypt.
Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, but the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became an exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them.
Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become much too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”
So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labor, the Egyptians used them ruthlessly.
The king of Egypt said to the Hebrews midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah. “When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him, but if it is a girl, let her live.” The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”
The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”
So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people. “Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”
THOUGHTS:
Pharaoh was afraid the Israelites were becoming so numerous that they would organize and threaten his kingdom, so he made them slaves and oppressed them to stop their growth. Slavery was an ancient practice used by almost all nations to employ conquered people and other captives. The great pyramids of Egypt were built with slave labor. When we are burdened or mistreated, we may feel defeated. But our burdens can make us stronger and develop qualities in us that will prepare us for the future. We cannot be overcomers without troubles to overcome. Be true to God in the Hard times because even the worst situations can make us better people
Pharaoh gave orders to the midwives to kill the Hebrew baby boys. Against Pharaoh’s orders, the midwives spared the Hebrew babies. Their faith in God gave them the courage to take a stand for what they knew was right. In this situation, disobeying the authority was proper. God does not expect us to obey those in authority when they ask us to disobey him or his Word. The Bible is filled with examples of those who were willing to sacrifice their very lives in order to obey God or save others. Esther and Mordecai, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are some of the people who took bold stands for what was right. Following the majority or the authority is not always right when it consists of immorality, racial hatred and cruelty. The midwives were blessed for not violating the higher law of God that forbids the senseless slaughter of innocent lives.