Exodus is Greek for “outgoing”. As Genesis is the book of beginnings, Exodus is a book of redemption. We are introduced to some of the most essential events in Jewish history and the most profound typology of the salvation that is awaiting the Hebrew nation. Jesus Himself called this book “the Book of Moses” (Mark 12:26), so I believe Moses wrote it. Chapter one begins by reminding us of the seventy people that accompanied Israel into Egypt to rejoin with his son Joseph. We are then told, “Joseph and all his brothers and that generation died, but the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was full of them“. Israel and Joseph were gone, but God kept His promise to the nation. “Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt“. Even though Joseph has saved the nation, this king only knows these non-Egyptian people are a threat. The segregation of the Jewish people created a nation within a nation. The king declares, “The Israelites have become much too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them“. His fear was, if Egypt were attacked from outside, the Israelites would attack from the inside and defeat them. “So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor“. But because of God’s protection we read, “but the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread“. “So the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites“. How quickly the gratitude toward Joseph turns into fear and dread of the Jewish people.
The Egyptians, “made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar…and work in the fields…the Egyptians used them ruthlessly“. Eventually the King of Egypt instructs Hebrew midwives, “When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth… if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live“. But what a wonderful verse follows, “The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the King of Egypt had told them“. It often takes courage to follow your faith. Frequently we must choose between doing what is legal and doing what God commands. Not compromising your standards at work, avoiding temptation at school, resisting ungodly laws, all reflect our trust in God first. In Matthew 6:24, Jesus explains the principal, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon“. Mammon can be money or other riches, such as fame, power or popularity. What do you put first in your day?
We then read that God “was kind to the midwives and …He gave them families of their own“. Since most midwives did not have families, this was an amazing blessing. It says, “and the people increased and became even more numerous“. How this must have enraged the King even more! The chapter ends with Pharaoh giving orders to all his people, “Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live“. Satan has been trying to stop the birth of the Savior since the Garden of Eden, and this is another attempt. Satan failed to prevent the birth of Jesus Christ, so he desires to limit our effectiveness as believers. In Mark 4:40, after Jesus calms the storm and the seas, He asks a question that we must answer, “Why are you so timid?“. Live out your faith so others may come to see God’s power and be drawn to Him. Romans 16:19 is written to you and I, “The report of your obedience has reached to all and therefore I rejoice…the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet“. Wow, we can be powerful tools in God’s hands.