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You can turn with me in your 
Bibles to Exodus chapter 1. Exodus chapter 1, God willing, 
we'll return to Ephesians chapter 1 next Sunday night. Tonight 
we're going to look at Exodus chapter 1. We have been concerning 
or considering the Ten Commandments in Exodus chapter 20, their time 
at Sinai, the giving of the law. It's good for us to remind ourselves 
what God delivered them from. The fact that they're at Sinai 
in chapter 20, out from underneath the tyranny of Pharaoh shows 
the graciousness and the kindness of our God in what the name of 
this book is, the Exodus, the departure, the leaving. They 
were able to leave that place of tyranny and oppression and 
find safe haven under the shadow of the wings of the Almighty. 
So I want to read Exodus chapter 1 and then we'll delve into this 
particular chapter. 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 happened 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, in 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 Shifra and 
the name of the other Pua. 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 save 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, let us pray. Our 
God and Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for 
the history of Israel and the great lessons that it teaches 
us in the New Covenant Church. God, help us to receive Your 
Word now with thankful hearts. Help us to glean things with 
wisdom concerning our own situation and grant us grace to glorify 
You And we stand again amazed at the thought of the gospel 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, redemption in His blood, and the forgiveness 
of sins. We give praise to You that You've 
not dealt with us according to our sin, nor rewarded us according 
to our transgression, but You have delivered us. You've delivered 
Israel from the bondage of Egypt. You've delivered the Israel of 
God and the New Covenant out of the bondage of sin and depravity 
and slavery to it. We just praise you and thank 
you and pray now that the Spirit would guide us as we consider 
your word. And we ask through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. Well, the Exodus takes place, 
the Exodus proper takes place at 1445 BC. The children of Israel were in 
Egypt for 430 years according to chapter 12 at verse 40. So they went into Egypt around 
1875 BC. Moses was born in 1525, so the children of Israel had 
been in Egypt for about 210 years as we find them in Exodus chapter 
1. Initially things were good, but 
obviously things took a turn for the worse. When there was 
a new pharaoh, a pharaoh who did not know Joseph, and a pharaoh 
who did not honor previous commitments, On the part of Pharaoh to Joseph, 
there was persecution, there was oppression, and we see it 
ultimately redound in genocide, or at least an attempted genocide 
of the male babies in Israel. So one of the things that leaps 
out at us is that tyrants hate babies. Tyrants don't like babies. And it reminded me, sorry, of 
our own prime minister. After the announcement that Roe 
versus Wade might be overturned, our prime minister was very quick 
to tweet. I was kind of watching this. 
I think it was on Monday, my day off. I kind of look at such 
things. And I saw that this drafted opinion from Chief Justice Alito 
was released. And not long after that, our 
prime minister tweeted, the right to choose is a woman's right 
and a woman's right alone. Again, except for vaccination, 
every woman in Canada has a right to a safe and legal abortion. 
We'll never back down from protecting and promoting women's rights 
in Canada and around the world. In other words, it's not enough 
that we just murder Canadian babies in the womb. We want to 
be helpful to murder African babies in the womb. We want to 
spend money all over the earth in this tyranny and in this oppression 
of those in the womb. This morning, I mentioned very 
gingerly and very cautiously about disciplining your children. 
Afterwards, after I was sitting home after church, one of the 
daughters sent a thing from the internet. It says, in America, 
you can go to jail for spanking your children, but not for killing 
them. In America, you can go, and Canada 
by extension, you can go to jail for spanking your children, but 
heralded as a pro-choice bastion of joy and goodness if you exercise 
your right as a woman to murder your baby. Tyrants hate babies. They may have different reasons 
for why they hate babies, but they hate babies, and Pharaoh 
certainly was one of them. I want to look first at the connection 
with Genesis, verses 1 to 6, and then secondly, the oppression 
of Israel by Pharaoh. Notice the connection with Genesis, 
verse 1, starts off now or and. There is a conspicuous connection 
to Genesis, and everything we find in Genesis is appropriate 
to our interpretation of the book of Exodus. The beginning 
of the verse, now or and, and then the 12 sons of Jacob are 
rehearsed. Joseph is not mentioned, Joseph 
was already there, and then we see that Joseph died. Notice 
as well in verse five, all those who were descendants of Jacob 
were 70 persons. In Acts chapter seven, Stephen 
says 75 persons. Some suggest that Stephen got 
his facts wrong. Stephen did not get his facts 
wrong. There was a Greek translation of the Old Testament Scriptures 
called the Septuagint. And in the Septuagint, we read 
75 persons in Genesis 46 and here in Exodus 1. The Masoretic 
text, it has 70 persons in both texts, as does Deuteronomy 10. There are several ways to harmonize 
this. I would refer you to John Gill, 
because he does such things very well. But it is certain that 
Stephen did not make a mistake. It is likely the extra five that 
are mentioned hinges on Joseph's family. So there's no discrepancy, 
there's no contradiction, there's no thought that Stephen messed 
up in his handling of the word in Acts chapter 7. So we're connected 
to Genesis, whatever Genesis said concerning Abraham, Isaac, 
and Jacob, we see the narrative flows and it continues in the 
exodus of these same people out of Egypt. Now notice, secondly, 
the oppression of Israel by Pharaoh. Two things particularly 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. This was 
no joke. This was no walk in the park. 
This was tyranny. This was totalitarianism. This 
was government-enforced genocide. Notice in the first place, in 
terms of the origin, the multiplication of Israel. Verse 7, the children 
of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, multiplied, 
and grew exceedingly mighty, and the land was filled with 
them. This harkens back to the promise of God to Abraham. In 
Genesis chapter 12, God had promised Abram that there would be a multitude 
of descendants that would come from him. As well, the Lord had 
promised Abram that his descendants would be imported. he would make 
Abraham a great name. As well, the Lord had promised 
Abram that there would be worldwide blessing through his descendants. 
So this hat tip to that promise in Exodus 1-7 indicates the beginning 
of the fulfillment of God's promise. There's going to be a lot of 
people. They will be a prestigious people. And through this people, 
I will bless the nations of the world. That's the final leg. 
The Lord had promised Abram that there would be land given to 
them and that there would be blessing upon the nations of 
the earth as a result of this particular covenant. that God 
instituted with Abram. Now it would be the seed of Abraham 
through which the nations of the earth would be blessed. That 
seed of Abraham, according to Paul in Galatians 3.16, is our 
Lord Jesus Christ. So you need to read Genesis 12 
in that light. It's a promise concerning the 
coming of the Messiah and the blessing of the nations are associated 
with that coming of the Messiah. So 1.7 gives us an indication 
of the fulfillment of God's promise. Now notice, secondly, the threat 
posed to Egypt, verses 8 to 10. The new pharaoh did not know 
Joseph, verse 8. Now there arose a new king over 
Egypt who did not know Joseph. He didn't honor any previous 
agreement that had been made by the previous pharaoh. Joseph 
was favored very highly, second in command of all of Egypt. Well, 
obviously, that pharaoh is dead and gone, and the new pharaoh 
does not honor that prior commitment. Now notice that the new Pharaoh 
feared the prospect of Israel's rising up against them. Notice 
in 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 happened in the event 
of war that they also join our enemies and fight against us, 
and so go up out of the land. Yes, they were certainly concerned 
that they would go up out of the land, But I think more concerning 
to them was allied or being an alliance with the enemies of 
Egypt and collectively them turning against the Egyptians. So the 
Pharaoh, as far as he is concerned, has a bit of a problem on his 
hands. He's got to clamp down on a potential rebellion. He's 
got to clamp down on a potential insurrection. He's got to make 
sure that it doesn't happen, that these people gather together 
and using their wisdom, oppose him and his tyranny. Now notice 
what we find, the beginning of oppression in verses 11 to 14. In the first place, there's a 
change of status according to 11a. Look at, therefore they 
set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. 
That's a change of status. The text doesn't say, oh, by 
the way, Israel was now treated as slaves, but the text says, 
oh, by the way, Israel is now being treated as slaves. They 
had taskmasters appointed over them. There was a change of status. When you rebrand the enemy, it 
helps you to maintain your program. It helps you to maintain your 
policy. And that is precisely what Pharaoh does. He changes 
their status from freemen onto slaves. Notice as well, the increase 
of labor, 11b. It says, and over them to afflict 
them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh's 
supply cities, Pithom and Ramses. But notice the ignorance of the 
Lord. See, Pharaoh thought that if I just burden them with excessive 
labor and we, you know, lash them with the whip and we treat 
them as the slaves that they now are, that will definitely 
distinguish this population growth. Well, he didn't know Yahweh. 
Yahweh made a promise that the descendants of Abraham would 
outnumber the stars in the sky. The descendants of Abraham would 
outnumber the sand on the seashore. God is not thwarted by a tyrant. God is not stopped by an oppressor. God is not stopped by a man who 
tries to persecute and stop the growth of the covenant people 
of God. So verse 12 says, but the more 
they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew, and 
they were in dread of the children of Israel. And then notice in 
verses 13 and 14, he doesn't turn back from that policy, but 
he doubles down. Typically, brethren, this is 
what we've come to expect. Government doesn't usually back 
down. Government typically doubles 
down, and that is precisely what we see in verses 13 and 14. 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. After Moses' 
first encounter with Pharaoh, he increases the oppression. 
He increases it by drying up the supplies. They now have to 
go out and forge for themselves to get the materials necessary 
so that they can engage in whatever it is they are commanded to do. 
He is doubling down on the oppression of these particular people. And 
that brings us then to the gravity of the oppression in verses 15 
to 22. Notice in the first place his 
plan. Verse 15, then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew 
midwives of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name 
of the other Pua. We know what he says. He says, 
kill the boy babies and spare the girl babies. The increased 
labor did not mitigate the Israelite population explosion. So he now 
turns to genocide, a policy of genocide to try to stem the tide 
of the population growth in Israel. No doubt he wanted to kill the 
boy babies because they would be warriors. They would be soldiers. They would be those who find 
alliance with the other enemies of Egypt and enter into that 
particular task to oppose Pharaoh. So he wants them dead. He doesn't 
mind leaving the girl babies alive because they'll exploit 
them and assimilate them into Egyptian culture. So his program 
is one of stick. You've heard that. Sometimes 
the government uses a carrot to try to entice you to do what 
you're supposed to do. But then there's the stick if 
you defy that. Well, he not only never offered 
a carrot, he's only increasing the size of the stick. He moves 
from oppressing them with increased labor, with hardship and agony 
in that way. And when that doesn't act in 
the favor of bringing a slowing to that population growth, he 
turns to genocide. This is the inevitable end of 
totalitarianism. If you don't learn to love big 
brother, you're of no use whatsoever. Either you comply or you are 
exterminated. This is what Pharaoh does. Now 
notice with reference to the midwives, the midwives are obviously 
the hero of the story or the heroines of the story, the ethnicity 
of them. Look at verse 15, then the king 
of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives. These weren't Egyptian 
women that served Hebrews as midwives. They were rather ethnically 
Hebrews. They were Hebrew midwives and 
they had the task of helping to deliver the babies. Now, the 
number of midwives. To have that kind of population 
explosion, they would need more than two midwives. These were 
probably the leaders of the midwifery guild. These were probably the 
two most popular and the ones with the longest pedigree. So 
Shifra and Pua were representative of the midwives that would serve 
to help preserve the male babies there in Egypt. And then notice 
that the names of the Hebrew midwives are given. Why do you 
think that might be? Because they were heroes, and 
we should celebrate such people who take their own lives and 
risk them for the preservation of the Kingdom of God Most High. 
When the Lord Christ says, I will build my church and the gates 
of Hades shall not prevail against it, how do you think he does 
that? He does it with the Shifras. He does it with the Puas. He 
does it with the John Knoxes. He does it with the Charles Spurgeons. 
He does it with the Athanasiuses. or the Athanasiai. He does it 
with the various heroes of the Christian faith who do not love 
their life, but are willing to put at risk in order to preserve 
the kingdom of God Almighty. Shephra and Puah would have been 
celebrated subsequent to this for what they did in terms of 
helping to spare these babies. So the Pharaoh's plan is to murder 
the baby boys and to spare the baby girls, get rid of the future 
soldiers, keep the girls so that we can exploit them, so that 
we can use them, so that we can assimilate them into our culture. 
Now notice the midwife's response in verse 17. Verse 17, but the 
midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded 
them, but served the male children alive. But save the male children alive. So they feared God. That tips 
us in the right direction. However we understand their activity 
here, we have to understand they did it out of a fear for God. 
And then we see Yahweh's response to them. Not only does he not 
rebuke them, not only does he chase, not chasten them, but 
he actually rewards them for what they have done in this particular 
instance. They spared life. They valued 
the sixth commandment. They saw that this was murderous, 
that this was tyrannical, that this was oppressive, that this 
was satanic. How could they go along with 
this and willy-nilly just comply with the government if it meant 
death to male babies? These Hebrew midwives, Shifra 
and Puah, and all the others that were in that guild certainly 
ought to be heralded as heroes of the Christian church. They 
are blessed by God in this. So the midwives feared God and 
spared the babies, the male babies specifically highlighted here. 
The midwives obeyed God rather than men. We have that principle 
in Acts chapter 4, and we have that principle in Acts chapter 
5. When the civil government commands us something contrary 
to the Word of God, it is righteous to defy them. To obey the tyrant 
is to disobey God. to obey the one who is commanding 
you to do something contrary to God is not right. We must 
obey God rather than men. That's biblical, that's godly, 
that's righteous, and that's commended. Now, intriguingly, 
in the history of the English-speaking world, there is an interesting 
historical note concerning the Geneva Bible and the King James 
Version here. Look at verse 19. Verse 19 tells 
us, the midwives said to Pharaoh, because the Hebrew women are 
not like the Egyptian... Oh, back up for just a moment. 
Verse 18, 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? Whenever Pharaoh was wandering 
around through the streets and the cities, he saw blue balloons 
heralding the birth of baby boys. And he wonders, what's happening 
here? I thought I gave you specific command to kill the baby boys. I'm seeing blue balloons, I'm 
getting blue bubble gum cigars, I'm getting inundated with more 
future soldiers, and this is a concern for me. Notice their 
response in verse 19. The midwife 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." Listen to the Geneva Bible, the comment, the Geneva 
Bible, as you know, came out prior, it was an edition of the 
scriptures prior to the King James Version. And what you have 
in the Geneva Bible are study notes. It was one of the first 
study Bibles. And you had notes down there that were sort of 
commentary on the text of scripture. Well, at Exodus 1.19, it says, 
their disobedience herein was lawful, but their dissembling 
evil. Dissembling simply means lying. 
So they exonerate the midwives for sparing the babies, but they 
condemn the midwives for having lied. We'll deal with the lie 
in just a moment. But that first part of their 
comment on verse 19, their disobedience herein was lawful. Now think 
about that if you're a monarch in a particular country, and 
you're fearful that your people might get it in them that they 
can resist you, or that they can reject you, or that they 
can actually refuse you. In the modern edition or modern 
reprinting of the Geneva Bible, there's an interesting note. 
From the preface of a modern reprint, it says, 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. Why do you think that? Because he was just so committed 
to rightness and justice and lawfulness? No, he didn't want 
sedition in his kingdom. He didn't want the Christians 
to think that they actually had the right to obey God rather 
than men. This is consistent with tyrants. 
They want to be God. They want that authority. They 
want that power. They want your obedience and 
fealty. They don't want your good and 
health. It goes on to say, the tyrant, King James, 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 kings or popes. Very good observation. Bit of 
a difference in terms of the Geneva Bible and the King James 
Version. Now, in terms of Pharaoh's question, 
the midwives respond, and most people take it as a lie. Geneva 
Bible says they were right to spare the babies, but they were 
wrong in their dissembling. They were wrong in their lie. 
So, verse 19, the midwife 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. I'm not sure that's 
actually a lie, brethren. I want to read from Matthew Poole, 
who found his way in the Puritan tradition in the 1600s, and his 
commentary is this. He says, this might not be a 
lie, as many suppose, but a truth concerning many of them, and 
they do not affirm it to be so with all. And so it might be 
either because their daily and excessive labors join with the 
fears of the execution of the king's command, whereof they 
seem to have gotten notice. did hasten their birth, as the 
same causes do commonly in other women. Or because they, see what 
he's saying? Stress, the thought of your male 
baby being butchered, caused them to go into premature labor. 
They had their babies without midwives present. I know it's 
odd, but people have done that in the history of the world. 
And then it goes on to say, or because they, understanding their 
danger, would not send for the midwives, but committed themselves 
to God's providence and the care of some of their neighbors present 
with them. So if you're a pregnant woman 
in Egypt at that particular time and you hear of Pharaoh's new 
campaign to exterminate male babies, are you going to pick 
up the phone and call the midwife? Probably not. You're going to 
say, honey, boil some water, we're going to have a baby. So 
here was nothing but truth. Now listen to what he goes on 
to say. Though they did not speak the whole truth, which they were 
not obliged to do. I don't want to get into some 
big ethical discussion tonight, but brethren, we're not obliged 
to tell every jot and tittle about everything that we know. 
There's an instance in Acts chapter 23. In Acts chapter 23, Paul 
is before the Sanhedrin. And Paul determines that half 
of them are Pharisees and half of them are Sadducees. Paul is 
a bright bulb. Paul understands that if he can 
garner support from the Pharisees, that will be conducive to him 
in this particular dilemma. The Pharisees were along the 
line of Paul in affirming supernatural, in affirming the existence of 
angels, in affirming that sort of thing. Sadducees weren't. 
They were more of a rationalist. They were more of those who denied 
that. They were the Sosinians of the 
Jewish leadership guild in the first century. But Paul stands 
up in the midst of the council, and it says, That's factually true. It is 
concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead, I am being judged. But he didn't mention, I affirm 
Jesus Christ is the Messiah promised by God in Genesis chapter 12 
to Abraham. I affirm that Jesus Christ, the 
Nazarene, is the one who lived, who died, who was raised again 
for us men and for our salvation. See, he didn't tell every jot 
and tittle of everything he knew in that particular instance. 
I don't know of a Bible passage, and I'm hoping to be corrected 
on this, where we're always required to say every detail about every 
single matter. I think Acts 23.6 tells us that's 
not necessarily the case. So I think that's definitely 
one way to understand their dissembling or their lie. But as well, the 
difference between the Egyptian and Hebrew women was not genetic, 
but rather cultural. If the Hebrew or the Egyptian 
women were coddled, and they live lives of luxury, and they 
weren't sturdy and strong because of the rigors of life, then they 
would have had to have more attention when it comes to birthing. versus 
a woman who has that rigor of life and that sturdiness of being 
and is able to engage in such things. Listen to Gill. He makes 
this observation. He says, Now, that seems a bit odd, but 
I've seen it in my own life. When I was born, I was born in 
1966. I think I did a bit of a Google search. In 1970, for 
instance, typically a woman went to the hospital and she was hospitalized 
for four days when she had a baby. So for four days, she was in 
the hospital having had her baby. I'm not judging, I'm simply observing. You may think, wow, we need that 
four days. In 2018, my daughter Katie had 
a baby on Saturday and was in church the next day. Now, that 
underscores the reality. The Hebrew women are not like 
the Egyptian women. Why do we assume that they lied? 
Why do we assume that they engaged in dissembling? But on the other 
hand, even if they did, brethren, it was an act of war. There is 
subterfuge. There is the matter of concealment 
and camouflage. There is the reality of Rahab 
the harlot in Joshua chapter 2. She lied to protect the spies. But the crime that she actually 
engaged in was treason. She didn't mind risking her life 
in the commission of treason in order to protect those Hebrew 
spies. And when we come to later revelation, 
does the Bible, like Geneva Bible 119 and Exodus, condemn Rahab 
the harlot for her lie? It absolutely positively does 
not. She makes it into the hall of 
faith, according to Hebrews chapter 11. No qualifier, no ethical 
discussion on what she did there. We really can't condone. So brethren, 
on the one hand, we're not absolutely convinced that they lied. But 
on the other hand, is it always wrong to say to the Nazis, no, 
I don't have any Jews hiding under my floor. Brethren, there 
is that pecking order of the preservation of life and the 
Sixth Commandment. Now, I know ethicists disagree, 
I know biblical commentators disagree, I know theologians 
disagree, but I'd like to be able to have some discussion 
without freaking out and losing our minds. So I maintain that 
in this instance, that even if they did lie, they were just 
and legit in doing it. And as I say it, I know that 
there will be people that disagree with that particular interpretation. Now notice, the Lord's approval 
in verses 20 and 21. So we know, like Rahab, again, 
not only is she in the hall of faith in Hebrews chapter 11, 
but when James is arguing for a faith that is demonstrable, 
or faith that is demonstrated by works, Where does he go? He 
goes to Abraham and he goes to Rahab. How do you know Rahab 
had genuine faith? Because of what she did. His 
argument there is whether you're a patriarch or you're a prostitute, 
salvation is by grace through faith. That faith is alone, but 
it doesn't remain alone, but it's always accompanied by all 
other saving graces. So James commends Rahab the harlot. The apostle Paul, writing Hebrews, 
commends Rahab the harlot in Hebrews chapter 11. They don't 
say, well, you know what they did wasn't right. They don't 
do that. They simply commend them. Now notice Yahweh's response 
to the Hebrew midwives. Verse 20, therefore God dealt 
well with the midwives and the people multiplied and grew very 
mighty. It doesn't seem like he had any 
commentary on their dissembling. It doesn't seem like he had to 
qualify this approval of this particular activity. They saved 
babies. They saved little Hebrew boys. They saved them from genocide. Brethren, if that's not an instance 
of, we must obey God rather than men, I'm not sure I know what 
is. The apostles took that mantra 
when they preached the gospel. They were forbade by the religious 
leaders of preaching Christ in the city of Jerusalem. That's 
when they said, we must obey God rather than men. If you go 
to Saudi Arabia and somebody asks you, tell me about Christianity, 
I think it's illegal for you to do that, but there's an instance 
where we must fear God and not men. And we obey God, we tell 
them the gospel. Well, in this particular instance, 
God approves of what they've done. So verse 20, 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. Now if the 
chapter ended there, we'd say, praise God, He blessed that. 
The genocidal attempt of Pharaoh was thwarted and stopped. But 
as we see, that typically doesn't happen. Tyrants are going to 
tyrannize. So look at verse 22. 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. Robert Alter comments, he says, 
despairing of cooperation from the Hebrew midwives in 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. So again, let's 
kill the future soldiers, but let's preserve the future prostitutes. Let's preserve the future slaves. Let's preserve the future cooks 
and bakers. Let's preserve the women. Stuart 
says, at this point, the pogrom plan reached its final stage. 
There was no more subterfuge, no limitation on involvement. 
All Egyptians were expected to join in killing all Israelite 
newborn boys. 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. See, brethren, we look back in 
history and we ask the question, how could it have ever happened? 
How could Nazi Germany have ever happened? It's steps, steps, 
steps. It typically doesn't happen overnight. Oh, give us your boy babies because 
we want to kill them. No, there are steps taken to 
achieve the particular plan. I'm not trying to alarm anyone. 
I'm not trying to say this is exactly what we're witnessing. 
But we better have our minds in tune that it's not out of 
the realm of possibility that a government starts to target 
its own citizenry. And that's what happens here. 
Initially, they're assimilated in to Egyptian culture. As long 
as Joseph is around, as long as that pharaoh was around, everything 
was cool. But when that pharaoh was gone 
and a new pharaoh was in place, what does the new pharaoh order? 
The new pharaoh orders that they now become slaves. The new pharaoh 
tries to dissuade their population growth by hard work, by more 
labor, by rigor. When that fails to produce, then 
he turns to genocide in order to stop the perceived threat 
that these Israelites present. In conclusion, Several lessons, 
and then we'll go. In the first place, we see the 
providence of God. The providence of God. Brethren, 
this did not happen to them outside of the control of God. God was 
over not only Israel, but he's over Egypt. God is over all things, 
and in his providence, from time to time, there is hardship. From time to time, there is affliction. From time to time, there is difficulty, 
and we see that in this particular instance. It doesn't mean that 
God is off the throne, that God has forgotten the people of Israel. It means that God is using this. for His glory and for their well-being. This time of affliction in Egypt 
should have wrought in their hearts a couple of lessons, should 
have weaned them from their love of Egypt, and it should have 
prepared them with gusto to go to the promised land, such that 
when they're given instructions to flee and to go to that land 
of Canaan, they would go with great vigor and with great joy. 
So the providence of God is not always in terms of blessing, 
at least directly, it's always indirectly, but there is that 
providence of God when everything's going right, when our jobs are 
good, our families are good. I mean, typically it's not everything. There's always a burr in the 
saddle somewhere in your world, right? There's always, you know, 
family's good, but this is bad. You know, once in a while the 
stars seem to align. But in terms of God's providence, 
this is a tough one. 430 years in this kind of a situation. Again, initially it wasn't so 
bad, but then it got really bad. So if they had been 210 years 
in Exodus chapter one, and they had that additional 200 years 
left, there's a lot of suffering and a lot of pain and a lot of 
difficulty. Secondly, I think something that 
jumps out from the passage is the wickedness of godless government. 
Calvin says, if he, Pharaoh, 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. What 
is he saying? He's saying that they're too 
thick-headed, they're too proud, they're too arrogant, they're 
too committed to their policy to wake up and smell the coffee 
and to recognize, hey, maybe I shouldn't launch a full-scale 
attack upon Israel's God. Maybe I shouldn't try to destroy 
these little male babies. He doesn't learn that. Rather, 
he doubles down in his tyranny, in his oppression, and in his 
persecution of the people of God. Thirdly, the courage of 
the faithful. the courage of the faithful. 
Let us dare to be a Shifra and a Pua. I mean, I remember being 
a Christian and, you know, a young Christian and hearing. I wasn't 
brought up in a Protestant situation, so I never knew the song experientially 
as a little kid. Dare to be a Daniel, I learned 
it as a, you know, as an older person who had been converted 
to Christ. But what happened to that? What happened to dare 
to be a Daniel? What happened to this courage 
that manifests in the people of God? Where they don't shrink 
back, where they don't stop, where they continue to go forward 
in the fear of the Lord. Shephra and Puah are great models 
for the church today. Listen to Calvin again. He says, 
Antichrist, with all his murderous agents, leaves in peace those 
who by their treacherous silence deny Christ. He's not going to 
mess with people who deny Christ, right? He says, "...and are prepared 
to embrace as slaves every kind of impiety. Neither does he exercise 
his cruelty, insatiable though it be, where he sees no manliness 
to exist." He's not going to mess with you if you deny Christ. 
He's not going to mess with you where there's no manliness. He 
says, 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. You see that? It's another class 
of people. Initially, they stand tall, but 
then they fall away because of effeminacy and cowardice. He's 
not going to mess with them either. Calvin's point. 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? That is a message the church 
needs to hear today. It would be better to die a hundred 
times than to betray our calling as Christ's people in this godless 
age. I am not suggesting we take up 
arms and march on Ottawa. I am suggesting, however, wherever 
we are, we're faithful. Wherever we are, we walk by faith 
in the Son of God who loved me and who gave himself for me. 
That's what it is to be a Christian. And that's what it is to be a 
Christian in a non-Christian world. And then finally, with 
reference to the end of this particular tyranny, obviously 
the plan of Pharaoh was to exterminate all the male babies. So what 
happens in chapter 2? There's a male baby that's preserved. There's a male baby that's going 
to function as the deliverer. There's a male baby that's going 
to save his people from their oppressors. There's a lot of 
parallel between what you see here and what you see in Matthew. 
You see problems and then you see God's answer. You see issue 
and then you see solution. It is he who will save his people 
from their sins. Moses is God's means to deliver 
Israel from Egyptian oppression. The preservation by God of Moses 
to function as the deliverer, and then the promise by God to 
deal with the oppressors. Look at Exodus chapter four. 
Typically, by the time people get to the 10th plague, they're 
shocked. I don't mean Christian people. 
I don't mean people that love God. I don't mean people that 
have the fear of the Lord in their hearts. Those rightly connected 
to the Father through the Son in the Spirit. I'm not suggesting 
they have a problem, but pagans? or false professors or persons 
who've worked their way through the plagues. As far as the death 
of the firstborn goes, that's offensive. They don't like that. 
The fact that God, Yahweh of Israel, would order the destruction, 
the execution, the outright devastation of the firstborn of Egypt. Brethren, 
it's the eye for an eye. It's the lex talionis. Where 
is that same outrage when Pharaoh is commanding Shiphrah and Puah 
to exterminate male baby boys? Where is that outrage when Pharaoh 
tells his kingdom to go ahead and throw all Hebrew baby boys 
into the Nile River? Why is the outrage selective? Why is it upon Yahweh who brings 
justice to bear on a godless generation? What we have is a 
promise by God as to what he will do in Exodus chapter 4. 
Look at verse 21. The Lord said to Moses, when 
you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before 
Pharaoh, which I have put in your hand, but I will harden 
his heart. so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall 
say to Pharaoh, thus says the Lord, Israel is my son, my firstborn. So I say to you, let my son go, 
that he may serve me. But if you refuse to let him 
go, indeed, I will kill your son, your firstborn. This wasn't 
arbitrary, it wasn't capricious, it wasn't on a whim. Yahweh doesn't 
decide, well, you know, I'll really break the back of their 
oppression by killing their firstborn. It was announced. Who is ultimately 
responsible for continuing down this path of destruction? It is Pharaoh. He was warned. He was told. He was advised. If you don't let my people go, 
then God will vindicate his firstborn by executing judgment on your 
firstborn. The lax talionis, or the law 
of retaliation, is in play. And then the destruction by God 
of the Egyptians. You can turn to Exodus 14. And 
we'll end on this happy note. Just kidding. Exodus chapter 
14, verses 21 to 31, but notice especially verses 30 and 31. 
So the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians. And Israel saw the Egyptians 
dead on the seashore. Thus Israel saw the great work 
which the Lord had done in Egypt. So the people feared the Lord 
and believed the Lord and his servant Moses. They saw him act 
in justice. They saw the demonstration of 
righteousness. They saw him make good on his 
promise. If Pharaoh doesn't let my firstborn go, then I will 
destroy his firstborn. So they see that, they witness 
that. Now, what is their response to 
that? Oh boy, our God, he's capricious. Oh boy, our God, he's arbitrary. Oh boy, our God, he's a bit vicious 
and unkind toward the pagans. No, they engage in the song of 
Moses. Look at chapter 15. Then Moses 
and the children of Israel sang the song to the Lord and spoke, 
saying, I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously. They don't respond like so many 
Christians today who are embarrassed by God. Oh, oh yeah, he did engage 
in that activity. But you know, in the new covenant, 
he's not like that. He doesn't destroy the firstborn 
in Egypt. He's a much kinder and a gentler 
version of what he used to be. There are Christians that do 
not own and do not embrace the judgment of God. That, brethren, 
is unimaginable in my mind. Look at how these people rejoice 
at God's judgment over His people. And in case you think it's just 
this sort of vague, nebulous, oh, we just generally beseech 
you or praise you for the fact that you triumph gloriously. 
It's sort of like what Paul does in Ephesians 1. Blessed be the 
God and Father, and here's why. So they say, I will sing to the 
Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously. Let's get the details. Let's 
get the specificity. How did He triumph gloriously 
in this affair? The horse and its rider. He was 
thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, 
and He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise 
Him. My father's God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man 
of war. The Lord is his name." Again, 
an embarrassment to so many today that profess the name of Christ. 
Brethren, we want the Lord to be a man of war. We want 1 Corinthians 
15. We want to read that the foot 
of Christ or the reign of Christ must obtain until he makes all 
of his enemies his footstool. That doesn't shock the people 
of God. That doesn't make us cry. That doesn't trigger us. 
It causes us to rejoice. You mean there's a day coming 
when God shall avenge His own elect who cry to Him day and 
night? There is a day coming when He's gonna vindicate? There 
is a day coming when He's gonna throw the vile reprobate into 
the lake of fire? Yes. And instead of praising 
Him, and instead of rejoicing in Him, we oftentimes apologize 
for Him. We're sorry that our God gets 
his hands bloody. Notice what it says, verse 4. 
Pharaoh's chariots and his army, he is cast into the sea. His 
chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. The depths have 
covered them. They sank to the bottom like 
a stone. Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power. 
Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces. And 
in the greatness of your excellence, you have overthrown those who 
rose against you. You sent forth your wrath. It 
consumed them like stubble. And with the blast of your nostrils, 
the waters were gathered together. The floods stood upright like 
a heap. The depths congealed in the heart of the sea. The 
enemy said, I will pursue. I will overtake. I will divide 
the spoil. Look at that. Isn't that what they do? In their 
proud arrogance? In their haughtiness? In their 
wickedness? Listen to that. I will pursue. 
I will overtake. I will divide the spoil. My desire 
shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword. My hand 
shall destroy them. You blew with your wind. The 
sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty 
waters. Now look at the theology here. Look at them ponder. Look 
at them speculate. Look at them muse and reflect 
upon this God, the God of Israel. Who is like you, O Lord, among 
the gods? Who is like you, glorious in 
holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? You stretched 
out your right hand. The earth swallowed them. You 
in your mercy have led forth the people whom you have redeemed. 
You have guided them in your strength to your holy habitation. 
The people will hear and be afraid. Sorrow will take hold of the 
inhabitants of Philistia. Then the chiefs of Edom will 
be dismayed. The mighty men of Moab, trembling, will take hold 
of them. All the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away. Fear 
and dread will fall on them. By the greatness of your arm, 
they will be as still as a stone. Till your people pass over, O 
Lord, till the people pass over, whom you have purchased, you 
will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of your 
inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which you have made for your 
own dwelling. The sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have 
established, the Lord shall reign forever and ever. For the horses 
of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, 
and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them. 
But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the 
sea. See, they weren't like the 21st century church. We're sorry 
if our God offends you. We're sorry if our God does some 
things that are untoward as far as you're concerned. Brethren, 
we're never called to defend God. We're never called to apologize 
for God. We're never called to vindicate 
God. God makes sure He does that on 
His own. We take His Word, we preach His 
Word, we live according to His Word, and we be faithful to His 
Word. Be a shifra, be a pua, be a person who walks by faith 
in the Son of God, who loved us and who gave Himself for us. Let us pray. Our Father in Heaven, 
we thank You for the various lessons in this particular chapter 
of Holy Scripture. We ask God in heaven that you 
would encourage our hearts with the reality that you are sovereign, 
that you are over all things, and that your providence is all 
comprehensive. This is such an encouragement 
to the people of God. As we sang before the preaching, 
the Lord will provide. We have that confidence in good 
times and in bad times. in times that we abound, and 
in times where we are afflicted, we know that nevertheless, you 
are with us, and you guide and direct us, and you have promised 
to keep and preserve us unto that new Jerusalem. We ask now 
that you would go with us, bless us in this coming week, and be 
glorified in the lives of your people in this local church. 
And we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen. We'll close with 
a brief time of meditation.