← Back to sermon library

Exodus chapter one, we did the 
introduction to the book last week, so we'll look at chapter 
one this evening, the oppression of Israel by Pharaoh. It's a 
bit of a chilling chapter to see how things change so quickly 
with reference to the nation of Israel when a new Pharaoh 
assumed control in Egypt. So I'll read beginning in chapter 
one at verse one. Now, these are the names of the 
children of Israel who came to Egypt. Each man and his household 
came with Jacob. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 
Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher, 
all those who were descendants of Jacob were 70 persons, for 
Joseph was in Egypt already. And Joseph died, all his brothers, 
and all that generation. But the children of Israel were 
fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied, and grew exceedingly 
mighty, and the land was filled with them. Now there arose a 
new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said 
to his people, Look, the people of the children of Israel are 
more and mightier than we. Come, let us deal shrewdly with 
them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, 
that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so 
go up out of the land. Therefore they set taskmasters 
over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built 
for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Ramses. But the more they 
afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they 
were in dread of the children of Israel. So the Egyptians made 
the children of Israel serve with rigor, and they made their 
lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar and brick, and in all 
manner of service in the field. All their service in which they 
made them serve was with rigor. Then the king of Egypt spoke 
to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah, 
and the name of the other, Puah. And he said, when you do the 
duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, 
if it is a son, then you shall kill him. But if it is a daughter, 
then she shall live. But the midwives feared God, 
and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved 
the male children alive. So the king of Egypt called for 
the midwives and said to them, why have you done this thing 
and saved the male children alive? And the midwives said to Pharaoh, 
because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, 
for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come 
to them. Therefore, God dealt well with 
the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty. 
And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He provided 
households for them. So Pharaoh commanded all his 
people, saying, Every son who is born you shall cast into the 
river, and every daughter you shall save alive. Amen. Well, 
just in terms of the dating of this particular book, the exodus, 
the actual event when they leave Egypt to go back to the land 
of Canaan will enter into the wilderness wanderings and eventually 
end up in the land of Canaan is 1445 BC. Moses was born in 
about 1525 BC. So the children of Israel had 
been in Egypt probably a couple of hundred years at this particular 
time. And so we do see in the first 
place, and I want to look at this, the connection with Genesis 
in verses 1 to 6, and then secondly, the oppression of Israel by Pharaoh, 
which is where we'll spend most of our time tonight, in verses 
7 to 22. But if you look at verses 1 to 
6, in terms of the connection with Genesis, you see the names 
of the children of Israel in verses 1 to 4. The book starts 
off with that connecting word, now, or and. I think some translations 
drop that altogether, and that's unwise, because it is a word 
that belongs there, because it does connect with what has preceded. And then what is indicated there 
are the 12 sons of Jacob. Joseph is not mentioned because 
he was already in Egypt when his brothers came to find him 
there. One man, Robert Alter, says the 
initial end serves an important thematic end, as several of the 
medieval Hebrew commentators have noticed. It announces that 
the narrative that follows is a direct continuation of the 
book of Genesis, which ended with Joseph's death. The list 
of Jacob's sons harks back to the longer list of sons and grandsons 
at the moment of the descent into Egypt in Genesis chapter 
46, 8 to 27. So there, there's further detail 
in terms of the sons and in terms of the grandsons, but these are 
the sons of Jacob, the tribes of Israel, as indicated in the 
book of Genesis. So again, we see that continuity. 
And then in verses 5 and 6, it tells us the number of the persons 
that are present. In verse 5, it tells us all those 
who were descendants of Jacob were 70 persons, for Joseph was 
in Egypt already. For those of you who remember 
back in Acts chapter 7, in our studies in Acts, Stephen says 
there were 75 persons, and some have seen that and said that 
Stephen perhaps was mistaken. I think that's the view of John 
Calvin. But Stephen was most certainly not mistaken. That 
75 persons reflects the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation 
of the Hebrew Old Testament. That reads 75 in Exodus 1.5 here. And then the Masoretic Text is 
what we're operating with here, has 70 people. as does Deuteronomy 
chapter 10. There are ways to harmonize the 
numbers. I don't know how to do that because 
I don't have the time, but I can point you to the commentators 
who do. But suffice to say, it probably hinges on Joseph's family, 
the number in terms of Joseph and his son. So whether it's 
70, 75, it's not that there's a contradiction. There's probably 
different variants. that are being used between the 
Greek translation and the Hebrew Old Testament. But then we have 
that statement in verse 6 concerning the death of Joseph. Joseph died, 
all his brothers, and all that generation. So again, there is 
connection, there is continuity with the book of Genesis, but 
also there is some discontinuity, and Moses is going to indicate 
that for us now, as he indicates the oppression of Israel by Pharaoh. I want to look at two broad themes 
here. First, the origin of the oppression 
in verses 7 to 14, and then secondly, the gravity of the oppression 
in verses 15 to 22. But the first, on the origin, 
notice it's the multiplication of Israel, verse 7. But the children 
of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied, and grew 
exceedingly mighty, and the land was filled with them. Now the 
land here is the land of Goshen in Egypt. You'll see that later 
in chapter 8. You'll see it later in chapter 
9. That's the portion of Egypt where in Israel dwell. It's already 
been mentioned in Genesis chapter 47 and then in chapter 50 as well. So the land there is the land 
of Goshen in Egypt. But if you look at verse 7, this 
underscores or indicates the beginning of God's fulfillment 
of the promises that he made to Abraham. Remember in Genesis 
chapter 12, God calls Abram out of of the Chaldeans, and he makes 
him a promise. In the first place, the Lord 
had promised Abram a multitude of descendants. Genesis chapter 
12, verse 2. We're already seeing that beginning 
in terms of its fulfillment. When we get later in the book 
of Exodus, in chapter 12, at verse 37, it tells us the persons 
involved in the Exodus was six hundred thousand men on foot 
besides children. Now that certainly invited the 
skepticism of atheists and other rebels against God's word and 
said there's no way that they could have multiplied that significantly. Well there are a lot of reasons 
as to why they could have multiplied that significantly. The first 
being the sovereignty of God the blessing of God and the providence 
of God. If God wants them to multiply 
greatly God will enable them to multiply greatly. But in terms 
of that Genesis 12 promise, they were also told that the Lord 
had promised Abram that his descendants would be important. He would 
make them a great name. Remember the Babel builders wanted 
to make a name for themselves. God shuts them down, calls Abram 
out of Ur of the Chaldeans, and says that he is going to make 
a great name out of Abram, which is ultimately realized in the 
seed of Abraham, which is Jesus. As well, The Lord had promised 
Abram that there would be worldwide blessing through his descendants. 
Again, this number of descendants will ultimately go back to the 
land of Canaan and will ultimately yield the Messiah in whom there 
will be blessing upon the nations. And then the Lord had promised 
Abram that there would be a land given to them. So at this particular 
juncture, they are living in Egypt, but they are being prepared 
to go back to the land of inheritance that the Lord God had promised. So that is the origin, or at 
least in terms of the Pharaoh, the origin of the oppression 
is the great or significant increase of Israelites. That brings us 
secondly to the threat posed to Egypt in verses 8 to 10. Now there arose a new king over 
Egypt who did not know Joseph. He didn't know him personally, 
neither did he recognize any agreements that prior pharaohs 
had made with Joseph. So it's not just a matter of 
cognition. He never met Joseph. No, the 
idea is that he didn't recognize the agreement that the Israelites 
had with the Egyptians to dwell safely and protected in the land. 
Joseph is now dead, there is a new Pharaoh, and this new Pharaoh 
is scared at the thought or prospect of these Israelites outnumbering 
the Egyptians and ultimately taking them over. I had mentioned 
a few weeks back when we talked about slavery in the Bible, and 
I mentioned in Colossae And we look there at Colossae in terms 
of slaves with reference to Titus and the instructions given to 
bond servants that at one time the Roman Senate had had the 
idea to put uniforms on the slaves in the Roman Empire, but they 
were afraid that the slaves would then see just how numerous they 
were and then possibly usurp the governing authority. So the 
same sort of a situation obtains here. Pharaoh is a bit fearful 
that these persons of Israel are going to rise up and launch 
a counteroffensive against them. So the new Pharaoh feared the 
prospect of Israel's rising up against them. Look at verses 
9 and 10. He said to his people, look, 
the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier 
than we. Come, let us deal shrewdly with 
them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, 
that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so 
go up out of the land." Now, most likely, instead of so go 
up out of the land, it is probably take possession of the land. 
The same sort of language is utilized in other places in the 
Bible, and it seems to yield that understanding. If the enemies 
of Egypt had arisen against them, and the Israelites fled to go 
back to Canaan, I don't think that would have bothered Pharaoh 
a whole lot. But if the Israelites joined the other enemies of Egypt, 
and they together seek to take possession of the land of Egypt, 
that's what terrified the Pharaoh. And so the Pharaoh wanted to 
make sure that that didn't happen. And that brings us, thirdly, 
to the beginning of oppression under this heading in verses 
11 to 14. Notice what Pharaoh does in the 
first place. He changes the status of the 
Israelites. He dehumanizes the Israelites 
by branding them as slaves. Verse 11 tells us, therefore 
they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. Now before we get to the actual 
affliction and the making them serve with rigor, the fact that 
he set taskmasters over them was in fact a status change. They went from people that lived 
in the land to people that were now slaves within the land. And as Stuart says, thus the 
Egyptian program had its first achievement. The Israelite population 
was reduced in influence, less likely to be a threat to native 
Egyptian sovereignty. So while it was diabolical, it 
was nonetheless savvy or wise on the part of Pharaoh. I don't 
think you became a pharaoh in Egypt by being a dummy. And so 
in order to crush this oppression or crush this opposition or the 
attempted opposition, he brands them now as slaves and subjugates 
them within the land so that they are treated as second class 
citizens or actually not even citizens at all. And then he 
increases their labor. Notice in 11b. to afflict them 
with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply 
cities, Python and Ramses. And then notice it says, but 
the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and 
grew. See, Pharaoh at this point doesn't understand anything about 
the God of Israel. He's going to learn a great deal 
about the God of Israel when he himself is going to bury his 
own son, whom the Lord had killed among the Egyptians. But at this 
current juncture, he does not know about Yahweh, and he certainly 
doesn't understand the reality that if I oppress these people, 
God's going to continue to bless them and cause them to multiply 
even more significantly. And then notice his commitment 
to policy in terms of verses 13 and 14. It says, so the Egyptians 
made the children of Israel serve with rigor, and they made their 
lives bitter with hard bondage in mortar, in brick, and in all 
manner of service in the field. All their service in which they 
made them serve was with rigor. So again, Pharaoh's idea is to 
tire them out such that they can't have relations and continue 
to have babies. Tire them out such and inflict 
them with such great rigor and affliction in their work that 
they don't have the wherewithal or the ability to continue to 
multiply and increase greatly. So his policy is one of trying 
to minimize Israelite growth, and as well, he does it by dehumanizing 
them, reducing them to the status of slaves, and causing them to 
suffer in the land that at once, one time, they enjoyed great 
blessing and prosperity. Now, we notice, secondly, in 
terms of the larger narrative, the gravity of the oppression 
in verses 15 to 22. Again, this is the way it goes. 
I mean, typically when there is a tyranny, and that is precisely 
what we are dealing with here, slavery and then murder. If you 
don't learn to love big brother, there's no use for you. And that 
is precisely what Pharaoh demonstrates in this particular situation. 
Notice his plan. The increased labor did not mitigate 
the fruitfulness of the children of Israel. So, instead of increasing 
their labor more so, he's just going to enact genocide. He is 
going to inflict this policy of eradication or liquidation 
upon the young boys in Israel. And then notice we see this contact 
with these Hebrew midwives in verse 15. It says, Then the king 
of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of 
one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other, Puach. Now, just a couple of observations 
here. We need to understand their ethnicity. 
Some suggest that they were Egyptian midwives serving the Hebrews. That's not what the text tells 
us. The text tells us that they were Hebrew midwives. So no doubt 
you had Egyptian midwives for Egyptian ladies, and you had 
Hebrew midwives for Hebrew ladies. Secondly, we see that there are 
two of them mentioned. With such a great population, 
there were probably more. I've heard that it's tough to 
get a midwife here in the Fraser Valley when you get pregnant. 
Maybe it was that way then. I don't think Shifra and Thua 
were the only two in town, but they were probably the best known, 
perhaps the leaders of the midwifery guild or whatever that would 
be. Is it midwifery, midwivery? I don't know that word. Lots 
of midwives. They were the heads of or they 
were the leaders. But then intriguingly, it names 
the midwives. Why would Moses do that? Because 
they were national heroes and they should be celebrated as 
such. They were people that feared God and lived in light with that 
fear of God. The text will specify that in 
just a moment. But notice Pharaoh's plan with 
reference to verse 16. He said, when you do the duties 
of a midwife for the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstools, 
if it is a son, then you shall kill him. But if it is a daughter, 
then she shall live. Again, it's a very Simple policy. The reason why they would spare 
the women is because they would most likely sexually exploit 
the women and then assimilate them into Egyptian culture. But with reference to the men, 
they were the war fighters. Remember, that's what Pharaoh's 
concern is. Pharaoh's concern is that these 
men are going to rise up and see how many of them, and notice 
that they outnumber the Egyptians, and then they're going to take 
those implements that they are using to engage in building things 
for Pharaoh, and use that against their aggressors, and ultimately 
put them under subjugation. So you see Pharaoh's plan relative 
to this particular situation. Now notice the Mibwai's response, 
and this is very Very intriguing, very excellent, and very much 
a display of the courage of the people of God. The midwives feared 
God. Notice what verse 17 tells us. But the midwives feared God and 
did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the 
male children alive. So when he gives this murderous 
command, when he instructs them to spare the women or spare the 
little baby girls, but then to kill the baby boys, they defy 
him. They resist him and they reject 
him. The midwives obeyed God rather 
than men. We have seen that in our studies 
in the book of Acts, both in Acts chapter 4 and then again 
in Acts chapter 5 and verse 29. Simon Peter says we must obey 
God rather than men. If the civil government tells 
you to execute babies, you must obey God rather than men. There 
is no wiggle room. There is no, well, we've got 
to do what the government says because let every soul be subject 
to the governing authority. No, if the governing authority 
commands that which is contrary to God, then it is our Christian 
duty and responsibility to withstand that command and to do just the 
opposite and obey God rather than men. Now, there is a curious 
thing concerning this particular passage, specifically verses 
17 and 19 in the history of Bible translations. Notice verse 17, 
the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded 
them, but saved the male children alive. And then verse 19, and 
the midwives said to Pharaoh, because the Hebrew women are 
not like the Egyptian women, for they are lively and give 
birth before the midwives come to that. We'll deal with the 
particulars of that in just a moment. But there is an interesting historical 
note relative to the King James Version and the Geneva Bible. Remember the Geneva Bible predated 
the King James Bible. And the Geneva Bible is similar 
in terms of translation. It's the same sort of readings, 
not all the same. There's variants and there's 
things of, you know, there are some differences in terms of 
the translation. But what the Geneva Bible had 
was study notes. It's just like several of you 
have study Bibles today, and you have, you know, the text 
of Scripture, and then there's a line, and then there's study 
notes. Well, that's what the Geneva Bible did. So that was, 
you know, probably the first study Bible. Actually, I think 
there was probably some before that. But in the Geneva study 
Bible, or in the Geneva Bible, at verse 19, they comment their 
disobedience, talking about Shiphrah and Puah, was lawful. Their disobedience 
was lawful, but they're dissembling evil. And again, we'll deal with 
that second statement in a few moments. Dissembling means lying. So the Geneva Bible says it was 
OK for them to resist the civil authority in that instance. What 
they did wrong was lie. Again, I want to deal with that 
in just a moment. But from the preface of a modern 
reprint of the Geneva Bible, they have this interesting note 
concerning this note. They said the marginal note in 
the Geneva Bible for Exodus 119 indicated that the Hebrew midwives 
were correct to disobey the Egyptian rulers. King James called such 
interpretations seditious. So one of the reasons why the 
King James Bible was commissioned was to try and rid the people 
of God with any mindset that they could lawfully disobey a 
king. So when you hear people say the 
King James fell out of heaven, it's the Saint James Bible, it's 
what God gave us, there are a lot of reasons why that may not necessarily 
be true. It's a great translation, it 
has stood the test of time, it's a wonderful thing. But brethren, 
understand something about King James. He wasn't a godly, faithful 
Christian man who wanted a pure translation for the masses. So back to this sort of preface 
statement in the modern edition of the Geneva Bible. King James 
called such interpretations seditious. The tyrant knew that if the people 
could hold him accountable to God's word, his days as a king 
ruling by divine right were numbered. But Calvin and the reformers 
defended the clear meaning of scripture against whims of king 
or popes. So again, it's a study note, 
doesn't affect the translation there in the book of Exodus, 
but with reference to that Geneva Bible, King James was fearful 
that such things would authorize sedition on the part or in the 
minds or hearts of the people or professing people of God. 
Now, we see what they do in terms of their fear of God. It is fleshed 
out in their activity on behalf of God. They reject an ungodly 
order to exterminate these little baby boys. They honor God by 
allowing them to live. So Pharaoh obviously gets wind 
of this. He's seeing a lot more baby showers 
in Egypt than he had anticipated at this particular point. Lots 
of blue balloons were floating around, and he realizes, hey, 
it doesn't seem like Shifra and Pua have taken my instruction. So verse 18, the king of Egypt 
called for the midwives and said to them, why have you done this 
thing and saved the male children alive? Now, verse 19, the midwives 
say to Pharaoh, because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian 
women, for they are lively and give birth before the midwives 
come to them. Now, as I said, the Geneva Bible 
says it's okay that they disobeyed the Pharaoh, but it was wrong 
that they dissembled. It was wrong that they lied. 
Matthew Poole argues briefly, but I think convincingly, that 
they didn't lie. In fact, turn to the book of 
Acts for just a moment, in Acts chapter 23. Acts chapter 23, 
just to illustrate a particular principle. Acts 23 at verse 1, Paul, before 
the Sanhedrin. Then Paul, looking earnestly 
at the council, said, men and brethren, I have lived in all 
good conscience before God until this day. And the high priest, 
Ananias, commanded those who stood by him to strike him on 
the mouth. Then Paul said to him, God will strike you, you 
whitewashed wall. For you sit to judge me according 
to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the 
law? And those who stood by said, do you revile God's high priest? 
Then Paul said, I did not know, brethren, that he was the high 
priest, for it is written, you shall not speak evil of a ruler 
of your people. I've shared with you some suspect 
Paul was, you know, perhaps had had malaria. Paul definitely 
had had a malady with his eyes. When he writes to the Galatians, 
he says, when I visited you, you would have given me your 
eyes. Why would he say that if he had a pair of perfectly functioning 
eyes? No, he most likely had a problem 
with his eyes. Some suspect he contracted malaria 
in his journeys that affected his eyesight. I think that is 
absolutely, positively incorrect to put that on this text. I do 
believe Paul had eye problems because the Galatians wouldn't 
have offered him their eyes if his eyes were perfect. But what 
he means here, I did not know, brethren, because he's not functioning 
that way. In other words, the law of Moses 
authorizes due process. The law of Moses authorizes cross-examination. The law of Moses authorizes something 
beyond a kangaroo court. And when the high priest authorizes 
me to be slapped for nothing, then I did not know that he was 
the high priest. It's more of a chiding and it's 
more of a rebuke. But then notice what happens 
in verse 7 or verse 6. It says, But when Paul perceived 
that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried 
out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a 
Pharisee. Concerning the hope and resurrection 
of the dead, I am being judged. This was a brilliant move. Sadducees 
deny the Spirit. Sadducees deny the angel. Sadducees deny the resurrection. The Pharisees embrace all that. 
So Paul says this and it creates dissension among the particular 
persons that he's addressing. But if you look at verse 6 and 
he says, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee, concerning 
the hope and resurrection of the dead, I am being judged. Brethren, you and I know there 
was a lot more to it than that. I am not suggesting that Paul 
is dissembling. I am suggesting that perhaps 
the ninth commandment does not require us to offer information 
above and beyond what we are asked. In other words, is it 
legitimate in the court of law to simply answer the question? 
Or do you have to give a whole lot more information? Again, 
I'm not suggesting any lie, I'm not suggesting any dissembling, 
but I am suggesting that Paul was there because he preached 
Jesus of Nazareth as being the Messiah that the Old Testament 
scriptures had written concerning him, had stipulated concerning. So when we look at this, again, 
I think the principle is true here, back with these Hebrew 
midwives. They were factually correct. 
They were factually true. Now, when we ask the question, 
is this a factually true statement? Let me just try to navigate us 
through it. Not navigate us through it as if I'm trying to convince 
you something. I think it's obvious. Because the Hebrew women are 
not like the Egyptian women, for they are lively and give 
birth before the midwives come to them. I would suggest that 
the difference between the Egyptian and the Hebrew women was not 
genetic. It wasn't as if the Hebrew women 
had super-wombs. It wasn't as if they had super-ability 
to just bear children, to drop them out and continue to hoe 
a field. I think it's based on culture, 
it's based on custom, and most likely the Egyptian women, when 
they gave birth, had more interaction with the midwives than did the 
Hebrew women. Some suggest that some sort of 
a gloss, I think, in either the Talmud or some midrash upon Old 
Testament scripture said or suggested that the Hebrew women were like 
beasts or like animals. Not because they were like beasts 
or animals, but because beasts or animals, they don't need attendance 
when they give birth. John Gill had a very curious 
observation in his commentary. He says, nor need this seem strange. The argument is, is that the 
Egyptian women laying back, perhaps with their eyes closed, the midwives 
doing their things, then it would have been very simple for a midwife 
to kill the baby that was born without sort of interaction on 
the part of the person, on the part of the lady. Whereas the 
Hebrew women, they're giving birth, and they would be far 
more involved than the midwives and they would know what was 
happening. So anyways, Gill says, nor need this seem strange if 
what is reported is true of women in Illyria, which is the western 
part of the Balkan Peninsula, but then he says Ireland, Italy, 
and other places, when it is said women will go aside from 
their work or from the table and bring forth their offspring 
and return to their business or meal again. Now, I thought 
through this and I remembered my daughter-in-law. She had a 
baby on a Saturday and was in church the next day. Now, as 
far as I'm concerned, that was the quickest turnaround I'd ever 
seen. You know, we had five and we have, you know, 12 with one 
in the womb. I've not seen that kind of liveliness 
or vigor in terms of giving birth on one day and being in the house 
of God the next day. This is legit. The women are 
not like the Egyptian women, for they are lively and give 
birth before the midwives come to them. I think it's incorrect 
to charge them with dissembling or lying. But let's just go one 
step further, and this is probably where people are going to get 
a little more uncomfortable. Rahab the harlot did lie. Rahab the harlot lied for Yahweh. Rahab the harlot lied for Yahweh's 
servants. The rest of the Bible never ever 
does what the Geneva Bible does to these two women. When you 
look at Rahab the harlot in the book of Hebrews, she's in the 
Hall of Faith. When you look at Rahab the harlot 
in James chapter 2, she's right there on par with Abraham in 
terms of justification by faith alone, which ultimately results 
in the production of good works. So there is that sense, and I 
think that Dale Ralph Davis is absolutely right when it comes 
to Rahab, for instance. He says, it is tragic when people 
snag their pants on the nail of Rahab's lie, quibble endlessly 
about the matter, and never get around to hearing Rahab's truth, 
which the writer has conspired to make the center of the whole 
narrative, that she confesses her faith in the living and true 
God. We go back to the book of Exodus 
in chapter 1. Let's see how the Lord responds 
in terms of Shiphrah and Puah. In verse 20 it tells us, Therefore 
God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and 
grew very mighty. And so it was, because the midwives 
feared God, that He provided households for them. So God doesn't 
say it was good that you were insubordinate to the Pharaoh 
with reference to not killing babies. but I'm going to give 
you the whammy because you dissembled or because you lied. The text 
does not indicate that. There is no negative commentary 
on Shifra and Bua. The fact that their names are 
given to us in this chapter, I think, is to underscore their 
heroic feats or their heroic exploits for the God of Israel. 
That fear of the Lord produced courage in their hearts such 
that they would resist the tyranny of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, 
who had the authority to dispatch them at any time if he suspected 
that they were doing ill with reference to his government. So we see that God's blessing 
is upon them. The Lord approves them and then 
the Lord blesses them. And that brings us to the Pharaoh's 
increased rage in verse 22. It says, so Pharaoh commanded 
all his people, saying, every son who is born you shall cast 
into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive. I want 
to quote two fellows here, because I think they get at it well. 
Robert Alter says, despairing of cooperation from the Hebrew 
midwives and his genocidal project, Pharaoh now enlists the entire 
Egyptian population in a search and destroy operation. The idea 
is presumably that the people would be eradicated by cutting 
off all male progeny while the girls could be raised for sexual 
exploitation and domestic service of the Egyptians by whom they 
would, of course, be rapidly assimilated. You see the rage. He begins by being fearful with 
reference to their multiplication. He then subjugates them and identifies 
them or classifies them now as slaves with taskmasters. He tells the taskmasters to turn 
up the heat, make them serve with rigor, afflict them, make 
their lives bitter and hard so they don't continue to multiply 
and increase. Well, God continues to multiply 
and increase them, so he turns to what tyrants turn to. bloodshedding. I will dispatch all of the male 
boys so that they can't rise up in an army and defeat us." 
He starts with these midwives. That doesn't work. Now he turns 
to all his people saying, every son who is born you shall cast 
into the river and every daughter you shall save alive. Stuart 
again. It says, at this point, the pogrom. 
If you've never seen that word, pogrom, it looks like program, 
but it's a pogrom. It's a means to subjugate and 
ultimately eradicate a people, and typically it is used with 
reference to the Jews. At this point, the pogrom plan 
reached its final stage. There was no more subterfuge, 
no limitation on involvement. See, there's gradation with reference 
to tyranny and oppression. It doesn't typically just happen 
overnight where everybody's subjugated and the gulags are instituted. 
There are steps getting us to that particular predicament. 
That's why there are some thinking people alive today in the Western 
world that are a bit concerned when they see the sorts of things 
that are going on in North America. When we see a disregard for due 
process, when we see a disregard for law and justice, when we 
see an utter regard for mob, when we see an utter desire to 
satisfy mob, that does not bode well in terms of our future unless 
God, in His mercy, intervenes and sets things in its proper 
course. If we want a country for our 
children and grandchildren, We ought to be praying and we ought 
to be thinking about these sorts of things. It starts off with 
a bit of subjugation and then it ends up with genocide committed 
against Israel. He goes on to say, the process 
of persecution that had begun modestly and had escalated in 
steps had reached its zenith, a full-blown, open national policy 
of large-scale genocide against a particular ethnic group. I 
think he's absolutely positively right. When we read Exodus chapter 
1, again, it's not just a connection to Genesis, but it shows us escalation 
in terms of the great difficulty that is now facing the children 
of God with reference to their time of their sojourn in Egypt. So that when God does redeem 
them by his mighty right arm, there is praise, worship, adoration, 
and glory given to God the Lord for what he had done. The last 
thing I want to point out before we move to some practical lessons 
is, again, it's Stuart, but he points out on the use of the 
Nile. Why does Pharaoh say to cast the babies into the Nile? 
Well, he says, first, it was a convenient, and he says, quote, 
unquote, clean sort of way to kill infants. He doesn't mean 
that in a vicious way in the sense of, you know, it was OK, 
but there was no blood, no guts, and that sort of thing. So it 
was clean in that regard. But then he says, second, and 
this is also intriguing, when you're asking the body politic 
to do what they know is a horrible and wretched thing, right? We 
believe in the light of nature. We believe that God has made 
man in his own image. We believe that God has revealed 
himself to man through the created order. We believe, with reference 
to Romans 2, that even the Gentile who doesn't have the law of God 
has conviction. There is some remnant of God's 
law and God's image in the heart of even the Gentile, the unbeliever, 
the person that hasn't come to the God of Israel, where their 
conscience accuses or excuses them for the various things that 
they do or don't do. That's Romans 2, 14 and 15. So 
how do we get normal Joe and Jill Egypt to take Hebrew babies 
and cast them into the Nile River? Again, that's a huge step in 
terms of the escalation of persecution. So back to Stuart. He says, second, 
it shifted some of the blame because of the way the pantheistic 
Egyptians viewed the Nile as a god. If you remember last week, 
I mentioned that one of the things that God is doing in the book 
of Exodus, the main theme, obviously, is the redemption of Israel from 
Egyptian bondage. But there's also this execution 
of judgment against the gods of Egypt. And scholars or commentators 
have said that each of the 10 plagues focus on some aspect 
of Egyptian life, wherein they worship something associated 
with those plagues. So he says, it shifted some of 
the blame because of the way the pantheistic Egyptians viewed 
the Nile as a god. If the Nile were to receive the 
infant, it would at least to some degree represent the god 
Nile's judgment rather than that of the individual who carried 
out the Pharaoh's order. So again, diabolical, wicked, 
lawless, wretched, vile, disgusting, but Pharaoh wasn't a dummy. He's 
got to get the people in his own constituency to commit an 
act of murder against the very conscience that is telling them, 
don't commit an act of murder. He goes on to say, the Nile was 
viewed as a giver and taker of life. If the Nile were to take 
a baby's life, that was the Nile's decision. Was it not? Remember 
some of the most horrific crimes that have ever been perpetrated 
in humanity is in the name of God, in the name of a god or 
in the name of some religious commitment. And we have to appreciate 
that most likely that's the significance of the casting of these babies 
into the Nile River. Now in terms of a few practical 
lessons, the first is we ought to be aware of the pharaohs of 
this world. We ought to be mindful of the fact that tyranny didn't 
die in the 1500s BC. Tyranny obviously has lived on. It has transcended that Egyptian 
garb. Calvin says, with reference to 
Pharaoh, if he had not been transported with wrath and struck with blindness, 
he would have seen that the hand of God was against him. But when 
the reprobate are driven to madness by God, they persevere obstinately 
in their crimes. And not only so, but like the 
deranged or frantic, they dash themselves with greater audacity 
against every obstacle." So basically Calvin is saying, the longer 
and the more that he engaged in this policy that was anti-Yahweh, 
the worse he got. That's always a bad sign. He 
sought Romans 1, therefore God gave them up. to a reprobate 
mind. That's why Paul tells us in 1 
Timothy chapter 2, pray for kings and all who are in authority. 
We need to pray for the civil authority, first and foremost, 
that they be converted. And if they are not converted, 
that they will be removed from office so that they can't inflict 
the sorts of things that Pharaoh is doing. Again, people don't 
typically say, well, that guy would never do that. Probably, 
you know, Pharaoh's kindergarten teacher never would have anticipated 
his murderous rage against Israelite children when he grew up. We 
don't typically see these things coming, but we can see the warning 
signs. And as the people of God, we 
are foolish if we do not think that these sorts of things can 
happen again. We ought to be prayerful with 
reference to God and saving those in civil authority. Secondly, 
we ought to appreciate the promises of God, the continual emphasis 
in this chapter on the multiplication of Israel. I know, for those 
of you who were here for the bulk of the studies in Genesis, 
I know that if I asked you right now, what were the two things 
that God promised over and over again? Seed and land. You would get that. I'm sure 
of it. I'm confident. Seed. Soon as we get to Exodus, 
what do we see? The proliferation of seed. We see God making good on His 
promises to establish Israel as a great nation, a nation through 
which the nations of the earth will be blessed. Again, the fulfillment 
of this ultimately is in and through the person and the work 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thirdly, we see the providence 
of God. The children of Israel were in 
Egypt because of God. Initially, they had it pretty 
well. When Joseph was second in charge, they prospered, they 
were blessed, they had food in their bellies. The nation of 
Egypt had a wretched Pharaoh ultimately because of God. When 
we move through this passage and we read verse 8, now there 
arose a new king over Egypt who did not know Joseph. That doesn't 
mean God stopped being God. That doesn't mean that the Lord 
took a bit of a holiday and now this new pharaoh, that this genocidal 
maniac has assumed the throne. God is sovereign over all things. The children of Israel at this 
particular juncture should have been learning lessons. And I 
think there are lessons that parallel us, perhaps not in a 
similar situation in terms of a genocidal maniac running our 
country, but in times of affliction or in times of persecution. What 
good effect would this have had upon the children of Israel? 
It would wean them from loving the land of Egypt. It would wean 
them from wanting ultimately to stay there instead of going 
to the land of promise. So it weans them from that misery, 
but as well it makes them long for the Canaan to come. And certainly 
when we look around at the world among us, we ought to have a 
longing for the Canaan to come. Certainly, we pray that God's 
will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Certainly, we vote 
and certainly we do all the things that we can to try and ensure 
a good life for our children and our grandchildren and our 
great-grandchildren. But brethren, our citizenship 
is in heaven. Our citizenship is in Emmanuel's 
land. We have something that far transcends 
the earthly Canaan that the children of Israel were moving toward. 
And in tribulation, or difficult times, the people of God encourage 
their own hearts with the reality that heaven is our homeland. And then a fourth lesson, the 
courage of the faithful. The courage of the faithful. 
The Hebrew midwives then, and the faithful people of God today. Calvin, again, has the most appropriate 
comment at the end of his section dealing with this chapter. I'm 
not sure I agree with Calvin on everything in terms of his 
view of antichrist, but he says this relative to seeing Pharaoh 
as an antichrist. He says antichrist, he's talking 
about his own day and age, antichrist with all his murderous agents. leaves in peace those who by 
their treacherous silence deny Christ, and are prepared to embrace 
as slaves every kind, insatiable though it be, where he sees no 
manliness to exist." Why would he? He's already got us. He's 
already got a willing sheeple doing his service. He goes on 
to say, And he exalts and triumphs as if his end was gained when 
he perceives any who had some courage in professing their faith 
fallen into effeminacy and cowardice. And then this final statement 
ought to encourage us, Shiphrah and Puah and the faithful brethren 
throughout scripture and throughout church history. He says, but 
how much better is it for us to die a hundred times, retaining 
our manly firmness in death, than to redeem our life for the 
base service of the devil? I think he's absolutely spot 
on. Courage is what faith produces 
and what faith promotes. We see it obviously in the lives 
of Shifra and Pua, who resisted a genocidal maniac who ran Egypt. They were faithful to their God. 
They obeyed God rather than men. We see it in the life and the 
ministry of the Apostle Paul. We see it in the life and the 
ministry of the faithful in the church throughout the ages. And 
that, brethren, is certainly our calling today. not to silently 
deny Christ and go along with the sorts of things that we witness, 
but rather to stand up and to express courage and to glorify 
our God by owning Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Well, let 
us pray. Our Father, we thank You for 
Your Word, and we thank You for Your blessing upon the people 
of God. And even in affliction, like 
the children of Israel suffered then, they ultimately were redeemed, 
they were ultimately brought out, they were purchased by You, 
and they were brought to the land of promise. And God, how 
we thank You that that is typical of what Christ has done for us 
in the Gospel. We thank You for that redemption 
out of the land of Egypt, out of that house of bondage, in 
terms of our own sin, in terms of Satan, in terms of those things 
that were contrary to you. We give praise to you for so 
great a salvation. We do pray for civil government 
in our own generation. We pray for our prime minister. 
We pray for the president in the United States. We pray for 
the heads throughout the nations of the earth, that they first 
and foremost would kiss the sun, lest he be angry, and they perish 
in his way when his wrath is kindled but a little. We ask 
that you would humble them under your mighty hand and give them 
not murderous desires or designs with reference to the people 
they govern, but the desire to maintain justice and peace. And 
God, help us to be faithful, help us to be courageous, help 
us to stand fast in the midst of a generation where there is 
decline and where there does seem to be decay. I pray that 
you would embolden each of us to bring glory and honor and 
praise unto you. And we ask this through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen.