Exodus 1

The nation growing. God promised that the descendants of Abraham would multiply greatly, and they did (Gen. 13:16; 15:5). God keeps His word and accomplishes His purposes in His time. Over the centuries, nations have tried to destroy Is­rael but have not succeeded. God gave Israel a special prom­ise in Genesis 12:3, and He is keeping it. God's children today should pray for Israel (Ps. 122:6), share the gospel with them (Rom. 1:16), and minister to them in practical ways (Rom. 15:25-27).

The nation groaning. God told Abraham that his people would experience suffering (Gen. 15:13-14). It is easy for na­tions and local churches to forget the heroes of yesterday (Heb. 13:7-8). Although we must not "embalm" the past, we certainly must not forget those who helped to make our future possible.

The new Pharaoh was more concerned about national se­curity than human decency. When people become a means to an end instead of an end in themselves, we are not treating them as God wants us to. Enslaving the men and killing the baby boys were Egypt's solution to "the Jewish problem."

The midwives believed in obeying God rather than men (Acts 5:29). Thank God for concerned people who will coura­geously defend the little ones! God rewarded the women, not by making them sterile (which would have been safer), but by giving them families!

This shows how valuable children are in the sight of God (Ps. 127:3-5). Ponder the words of our Lord in Matthew 18:1-6.

With the Word - Warren W. Wiersbe

Thomas Nelson Publishers

Nashville

“Used by permission of Thomas Nelson, Inc.”

Exodus 1:1-22

These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: [2] Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; [3] Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; [4] Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. [5] The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all; Joseph was already in Egypt.

[6] Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, [7] but the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them.

[8] Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. [9] "Look," he said to his people, "the Israelites have become much too numerous for us. [10] 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."

[11] So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. [12] But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites [13] and worked them ruthlessly. [14] 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.

[15] The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah,

[16] "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." [17] The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. *

[18] Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?"

[19] The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive."

[20] So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. [21] And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

[22] 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."