The Oppression of Israel by Pharaoh

Jim ButlerExodus 1

Exodus 1 records the escalating oppression of Israel in Egypt — from the rise of an ignorant pharaoh, through forced labor, to an explicit policy of infanticide targeting Hebrew male infants. This exposition traces the passage in two movements: the connection between Exodus and the Abrahamic promises of Genesis, and the progressive stages of Pharaoh's tyranny, culminating in a national decree of genocide. The Hebrew midwives Shiphrah and Puah are held up as models of God-fearing civil disobedience, and the whole chapter is read typologically, anticipating the greater deliverance wrought through Moses and ultimately through the seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ. The congregation is called to imitate the courage of the faithful — to obey God rather than men in whatever sphere God has placed them.