Exodus Chapter 1

Verse 1-5,  Now these [are] the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob. {2} Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, {3} Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, {4} Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. {5} And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt [already].

I.   Gen. 46:8-27 gives a complete description of the souls of Israel that came into Egypt.  See my notes on Genesis 46:8-27.  ..\GENESIS\46V01-34.DOC

A.     Genesis 46:26 states that all of the people who came to Egypt numbered 66.

B.     Genesis 46:27 states that all the family of Joseph included 70 souls.

C.     In Acts 7:14 Stephen declares there was 75 souls who came into Canaan.

D.     The explanation.

1.       Gen. 46:26 is talking about all the souls that left Canaan to go to Egypt.

2.       Gen. 46:27 is talking about all the souls of the family of Jacob, those in Egypt, and those who recently come into Egypt.

3.       Acts 7:14 is talking about all the family of Jacob, including his kindred (the wives of his sons) but not including Joseph and his children, who were already in Egypt.

II.   For more explanation, see John Gill on Acts 7:14.

and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls; which seems to disagree with the account of Moses, who says, that "all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten", Gen. 46:27. But there is no contradiction; Moses and Stephen are speaking of different things; Moses speaks of the seed of Jacob, which came out of his loins, who came into Egypt, and so excludes his sons' wives; Stephen speaks of Jacob and all his kindred, among whom his sons' wives must be reckoned, whom Joseph called to him: according to Moses's account, the persons that came with Jacob into Egypt, who came out of his loins, and so exclusive of his sons' wives, were threescore and six; to which if we add Jacob himself, and Joseph who was before in Egypt, and who might be truly said to come into it, and his two sons that were born there, who came thither in his loins, as others in the account may be said to do, who were not yet born, when Jacob went down, the total number is threescore and ten, Gen. 46:26,27 out of which take the six following persons, Jacob, who was called by Joseph into Egypt, besides the threescore and fifteen souls, and Joseph and his two sons then in Egypt, who could not be said to be called by him, and Hezron and Hamul, the sons of Pharez not yet born, and this will reduce Moses's number to sixty four; to which sixty four, if you add the eleven wives of Jacob's sons, who were certainly part of the kindred called and invited into Egypt, Gen. 45:10,19 45:5 it will make up completely threescore and fifteen persons: or the persons called by Joseph maybe reckoned thus; his eleven brethren and sister Dinah, fifty two brother's children, to which add his brethren's eleven wives, and the amount is threescore and fifteen: so that the Jew {w} has no reason to charge Stephen with an error, as he does; nor was there any need to alter and corrupt the Septuagint version of Gen. 45:27 to make it agree with Stephen's account; or to add five names in it, in Acts 7:20 as Machir, Galaad, Sutalaam, Taam, and Edom, to make up the number seventy five: and it may be observed, that the number is not altered in the version of Deut. 10:22 which agrees with the Hebrew for seventy persons.

Verse 6.  And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.

I.   This verse explains the terrible circumstances Israel found themselves in.

A.     All the Jews that had come into Egypt have now died and the friendships they formed in Egypt also died.

B.     The living Egyptians don’t know the history of Israel, except in transient circumstances.

C.     The Egyptians no longer looked up them as a blessing, but a curse.

Verse 7.  And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.

I.   God blessed Israel even during times of depression and oppression.

A.     We are quick to believe we will do better if we don’t have persecution, but history doesn’t confirm this.

1.       When people are under persecution, they study their own position more, and arrive at a conclusion sooner.

2.       When there is no persecution, people often don’t even think about whether a particular situation is right or wrong.

3.       They just keep on doing it.

II.   It is a remarkable statement that the land of Egypt was full of Israelites.

A.     The impression is that there were more Israelites than there were Egyptians.

B.     I don’t know what the population of Egypt is at this time, but I know the Bible is true when it states that everywhere an Egyptian looked, he would see an Israelite.

III.   It is very interesting to note that Israel’s population is growing in leaps and bounds now.

A.     Abraham was 75 years old when he was called to come out of the pagan country, because God would make a great nation of his seed.

1.       At that time, Abram and Sarai had no children.

2.       Because she thought God was moving too slowly, Sarai took matters into her own hands, giving Abraham her handmaid to wife, which was always a “thorn in her flesh.”

3.       Abraham was 100 years old, and Sarah was 90 when Isaac was born.

4.       But God didn’t fulfill His promise to them at that time.

5.       Abraham didn’t see a great nation established from his seed, instead he looked around at the small family and passed from this life, still believing the promises of God.

B.     Isaac also had the promise of God that a great nation would come from his seed, but he was 40 years old when he married.

1.       Isaac and Rebekah were married for 20 years before they had any children.

2.       It was only after Isaac prayed for children that God opened the womb of Rebekah.

3.       Then it was Rebekah’s time to pray because the two children in her womb struggled with each other.

4.       God told her the two sons would be two nations that would fight and war with one another.

5.       Thus Jacob and Esau was born.

6.       Jacob stole the birthright from Esau, and had to leave home because of it.

7.       Esau was clearly the better person, but the relationship between Esau and his parents was material, not spiritual.

8.       Isaac died when he was 180 years old.

9.       He began to see the fulfillment of God’s promise because Jacob had returned from Padanaram with his family and vast wealth before he died.

10.   Isaac lived 29 years after Jacob returned, and saw his grandchildren grow up and marry, and saw some of his great grandchildren.

11.   What Isaac didn’t see before he died was how God would bring all Israel into Egypt, cause their population to increase mightily, then bring them out with a high hand. 

C.     Jacob was 71 years old when he left home under threat of his life from Esau.

1.       He was married 7 years later to Leah, and one week later to Rachel.

2.       During the next 20 years, he had 12 sons and one daughter.

3.       Joseph was born when Jacob was 91 years old.

4.       Thirty nine years later, when Joseph was second in command to Pharaoh, Jacob, who was 130 years old, and his family, 70 souls altogether, came into Egypt during a famine in Canaan.

IV.   I wonder: why didn’t Israel leave Egypt when the famine was over?

A.     I can’t say for sure, but verse 7 seems to give some pretty good reasons.

1.       They were fruitful – there was plenty of children being born, they were healthy, and it seems the Israelites decided to raise their children in Egypt.  Some of the ancient writers testified that many Israelite women gave birth to three or four children at a time.  [1]

2.       They increased abundantly – This verse seems to continue the thought of the previous statement.

3.       They multiplied – not added, but multiplied.  The promise given to Abraham was being fulfilled.

4.       Waxed exceeding mighty – mighty, not only in terms of physical strength, but also in terms of intimation because there were so many of them.

5.       The land was filled with them – Everywhere an Egyptian looked, there was an Israelite.

B.     I believe verse 7 gives us good indication why Israel remained in Egypt.

1.       Everything was going good for them, so they didn’t think of leaving.

2.       Everything was going so good, they didn’t yearn for the promises of God in the land which flowed with milk and honey.

3.       They thought they had the milk and honey in Egypt.

C.     It is important to note that Israel remained separated from the Egyptians.

1.       It would have been very easy for Israel to intermarry with the Egyptians and become intertwined with that nation.

2.       It is easy for believers today to become intertwined with the peoples of this world, but that is not what God desires.

D.     The placement of the land of Goshen may have led Israel to believe they could leave at any time.

1.       The land of Goshen was located on the east side of Egypt, toward Canaan.

2.       For the Israelites to leave Egypt, they would not have to travel through Egypt, but could “sneak” out privately, quietly, and quickly.

V.   It is amazing to see the population growth of the nation of Israel.

A.     It is 215 years from the time God called Abram out of Ur of the Chaldees.

1.       Abram had a barren wife when God gave him the promise that his seed would be as the stars of heaven, and as the sand of the seashore.

2.       After 10 years in the land of Canaan, Sarai gave Abram her handmaid, Hagar, so Hagar could bear a child for Sarai.

3.       Abram was 100 and Sarai was 90 when Isaac was born.

4.       Isaac didn’t get married until he was 40, and didn’t have any children until he was 60 years old.  Jacob and Esau were born at the same time.

5.       Jacob was 71 years old when he left Canaan to flee to Laban because Esau said he was going to kill him for stealing his birthright.

6.       Jacob was gone 20 years and returned to Canaan with one wife (he lost one wife on the trip home), two concubines, twelve sons and one daughter.

7.       When Jacob came into Egypt, there were only 75 of them, counting the wives of the boys, but not counting Joseph, his wife, and his two boys.

B.     It is 215 years from the time Jacob came into the land of Egypt to the time the Israelites left Egypt.

1.       In the first 215 years, Israel gained to a total population of 79 people.

2.       Exodus 12:37,38 – When Israel left Egypt, after 215 years, they totaled 600,000 men, besides children, and not counting women. There was also a mixed multitude with them.

3.       This enormous growth is due to God working in them, fulfilling the promise God gave to Abram.

4.       Things may not happen like we think they ought to happen, but they will happen in God’s own good time and ways.

5.       Let us trust God, not look at circumstances.

Verse 8.  Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.

I.   About 60 years after the death of Joseph, there was a revolution in which the old dynasty was overthrown, and Upper and Lower Egypt were united into one kingdom.  It is actually 64 years from the death of Moses to the birth of Moses.  ..\OTSURVEY\Book\Chart & explanations\Note 03 - 215 years.doc  This new king has no idea of why the Israelites are in Egypt, the famine that brought them there, the way Joseph saved all Egypt from the famine, the promises God gave to Israel, or to the hope Joseph has of being buried in the land of Canaan.

A.     Joseph’s dead body is lying in a coffin in Egypt, and he is probably remembered (by the Jews) as a great leader of Egypt.

1.       It is important also to remember that during these days, there were many different rulers over Egypt.

2.       Each of these various rulers established themselves by wiping out all the history they could of the former administrations.

3.       Therefore, it is important to remember that this rulers isn’t just one or two rulers removed from the Pharaoh that knew Joseph.

4.       It is likely this king was many rulers away from the Pharaoh that knew Joseph.

B.     His instructions concerning a deliverer to lead Israel out of Egypt, and that his body will also be taken out at that time, is forgotten by some and remembered by others.

1.       The Jews remember because they take his body out with them.

2.       The Egyptians don’t really care what happens to Joseph’s body.

II.   It is strange how the promises of God are connected to a certain man instead of a certain people.

A.     Just because Joseph is dead is no reason to believe the promises God gave to Israel is null and void.

B.     But time has a way of making the best people forget God’s precious promises.

III.   It is good to study history, because we find out why things are set up the way they are.

A.     People in the past, who are dead and gone, set up a particular operation in a particular way for a particular purpose.

B.     If we don’t understand the situation they were in, we won’t understand why they did what they did, thus we will be apt to change it, often for the worse instead of the better.

IV.   What does it mean “know not Joseph”?

A.     To understand this point, you must first understand some Egyptian history.

1.       HYKSOS (Hihk’ sohs) Racial name from the Greek form of an Egyptian word meaning “rulers of foreign lands” given to kings of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Dynasties of Egypt. The word, which does not appear in the Bible, was later misinterpreted by Josephus as meaning “shepherd kings.”

a.       With the decline of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (about 2000-1786 B.C.) large numbers of Asiatics, mostly Semites like the Hebrew patriarchs, migrated into the Nile Delta of northern Egypt from Canaan. These probably came initially for reasons of economic distress, such as famine, as did Abraham (Gen. 12:10). Unlike Abraham, many groups stayed in Egypt as permanent settlers. Under the weak Thirteenth Dynasty, some Asiatics established local independent chiefdoms in the eastern Delta region. Eventually, one of these local rulers managed to consolidate the rule of northern Egypt as pharaoh, thus beginning the Fifteenth Dynasty. The Sixteenth Dynasty, perhaps contemporary with the Fifteenth, consisted of minor Asiatic kings. As these dynasties of pharaohs were not ethnic Egyptians, they were remembered by the native population as “Hyksos.”

b.       While the Hyksos pharaohs ruled northern Egypt from Avaris in the eastern Delta, the native Egyptian Seventeenth Dynasty ruled southern Egypt from Thebes. This period is known as the Second Intermediate or Hyksos Period (about 1786-1540 B.C.). The status quo was maintained until war erupted between the Hyksos and the last two pharaohs of the Seventeenth Dynasty. About 1540 B.C., Ahmose I sacked Avaris and expelled the Hyksos. As the first pharaoh of a reunited Egypt, Ahmose I established the Eighteenth Dynasty and inaugurated the Egyptian New Kingdom or Empire.

c.       Joseph’s rise to power (Gen. 41:39-45) as pharaoh’s second-in-command would have been far more likely under a Hyksos king. Joseph was related ethnically to the Semitic Hyksos rulers, while the native Egyptians regarded Semites with contempt. Ahmose I is very likely the pharaoh “…who knew not Joseph…” (Ex. 1:8). If Joseph served a Hyksos pharaoh, an Egyptian king would not have “known” of him in a political or historical sense, nor would he have regarded him as significant in an ethnic sense.[2]

2.       Second Intermediate Period of Egypt’s History

a.       The rulers of the 13th Dynasty—some 65 of them, following one another in rapid succession—were weaker than their predecessors, although they were still able to control Nubia and the administration of the central government. During the latter part of their rule, however, their power was challenged not only by the rival 14th Dynasty, which won control over the delta, but also by invaders from Palestine, called the Hyksos, who overran the country in the early part of the 17th century bc. This marks the beginning of the Second Intermediate period, a time of turmoil and disunity that lasted for some 150 years.

b.       The Hyksos of the 15th Dynasty ruled from their capital at Avaris in the eastern delta, maintaining control over the middle and northern parts of the country. At the same time, the 16th Dynasty also existed in the delta and Middle Egypt, but it may have been subservient to the Hyksos. More independence was exerted in the south by a third contemporaneous power, the Theban 17th Dynasty that ruled over the territory between Elephantine and Abydos. The Theban ruler Kamose (r. about 1576-1570 bc) battled the Hyksos successfully, but his brother Ahmose I finally subdued them, reuniting Egypt.[3]

3.       Ahmose I, king of Egypt (reigned 1570-1546 bc), founder of the 18th Dynasty, the first of the New Kingdom. A Theban prince, he completed (circa 1567 bc) the expulsion of the Hyksos begun by his brother Kamose (reigned 1576-1570 bc), recaptured northern Nubia, and reorganized Egypt as a unified country under his sole rule.[4] 

4.       Endnote [i] shows the dominion of the Hyksos.

B.     It is important that this is a king that didn’t know Joseph, not a Pharaoh.

1.       The king’s name is Kamose, who ruled from 1576-1570 B.C.

2.       This man began a campaign which the next Pharaoh finished, that of removing, not only the “foreign kings” which ruled during the 13th-16th dynasty, but also of removing from history all remembrance of their reigns.

3.       What does the word “know” mean?

a.       Gen. 4:1 - Adam knew his wife and she conceived and bare a son called Cain.  This verse doesn’t mean that Adam became acquainted with Eve, but that he knew her (sexually) in the marriage relationship.  The result of this relationship was the birth of their first son, Cain.

b.       Gen. 4:25 - Adam knew his wife again, and she bore the second son.  This verse confirms the first.  That this word “knew” indicates a close intimate relationship, not just that Adam knows who Eve is.

a.       Matt. 7:23 - Jesus proclaims to these lost people who believe they are saved:  I never knew you.  Jesus is not saying that He doesn’t know who these people are, because it is very evident that He knows everybody and everything they think and do.  He will judge their every though, action, and even the intent of their heart at the Great White Throne Judgment.  He doesn’t know them in the intimate salvation relationship of Father/Son - Redeemer/Redeemed.  It must be noted that these people know Jesus, but He doesn’t know them.  It is no accident that in the true story of the rich man and Lazarus that Lazarus’s name is mentioned, but the name of the rich man isn’t.

Verse 9.  And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel [are] more and mightier than we:

I.   This statement shows the Egyptians don’t know about, nor understand the promises God gave to Israel concerning a homeland.

A.     If they had only understood that Israel wasn’t interested in settling in Egypt, all their confusion would be over.

1.       They would have blessed Israel, and caused them to prosper and sent them on their way to Canaan.

2.       Instead, they do all they can to stop Israel from growing and consequently taking over their country, and in the process causing the destruction of their own country.

3.       It just goes to show you can’t fight the people of God and get away with it.

B.     How like the Egyptians we saved people sometimes are.

1.       Instead of blessing other saved people and helping them in their quest to serve God, we do all we can to elevate our own positions.

2.       In the process, we not only cause our brothers and sisters great harm, but also assure the destruction of our own lives.

C.     In all fairness to the Egyptians, the Israelites should be thinking about returning to Canaan.

1.       If they were thinking of returning to Canaan, they hadn’t made their desires known to the Egyptians.

2.       Of course, if they had made their desires known to Egypt, by their actions, and not by vocal statements, that could be the cause of Egyptians suspicions.

II.   The Israelites are more and mightier than the Egyptians.

A.     It is amazing that God can bless His people more in captivity than Satan can bless his people in freedom.

B.     God blessed Israel so much even the heathen understood their power.

C.     I know the Egyptians were only looking at the physical side, but God had also blessed their physical side.

III.   It should be noted that the Egyptians talked among themselves about this “problem.”

A.     We know they don’t really have a problem.

1.       Oftentimes we exaggerate our situations by talking to those nearest to us instead of to those we have the problem with.

2.       If Egypt had only talked to the Israelites, I am sure they would have discovered that Israel wasn’t interested in settling permanently in Egypt.

3.       Their own attitude toward Israel would have been different.

B.     Isn’t that true with us?

1.       We feel a certain way about a certain situation, therefore, we talk to those we know will agree with us, and this makes us more confident about our position.

2.       If we would muster the courage to talk to those that disagree with us, we might find out they a completely different outlook, which might change our outlook.

Verse 10.  Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and [so] get them up out of the land.

I.   It is amazing that the Egyptians think they are dealing wisely with the Israelites.

A.     They have a great fear of losing them, and are afraid of them at the same time.

1.       They know their strength comes mainly from Israel.

2.       It is also amazing to understand that Israel doesn’t consider leaving, when they know they have a promise from God that he will give them the land of Canaan.

B.     Israel has refused to intermarry with the Egyptians.

1.       The Israelites learned in Gen. 34, when Dinah lay with Shechem, that it wasn’t wise to intermarry with people in a pagan land.

2.       The Israelites who are in Egypt are the same people, or the children of the same people in Gen. 34.

3.       It is likely the Egyptians tried to intermarry with Israel, but they refused.

4.       Because the Israelites won’t intermarry with the Egyptians, and the Egyptians know their strength and power comes from Israel, they have no choice but to try to contain them.

C.     The Egyptians really want the Israelites to stop multiplying.

1.       I suppose there was no effective means of birth control, or the Israelites refused to use birth control.

2.       The Egyptians determined they would work the Israelites so hard they wouldn’t be able to reproduce.

3.       The Egyptians have embarked on a very notable enterprise, one they can’t finish.

II.   What to do in case of war.

A.     The Egyptians see that Israel has no political or patriotic ties with Egypt.

1.       Israel has remained separate all the time they were in Egypt.

2.       They have not mixed and mingled with the Egyptians to the extend they have lost their national identity.

B.     The Egyptians also see there is no way to build patriotism with the Israelites.

1.       Israel has strange customs to the Egyptians, which will never be accepted.

2.       Israel is obedient to another God, a God that is strange and different to the Egyptians.

Verse 11.  Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.

The First Satanic Attack

I.   The first Satanic opposition.

A.     It is in the form of hard work, and making the Israelites work with much difficulty.

B.     Remember this is the first of many attacks Satan will make against God’s people.

1.       If one attack doesn’t work, Satan will change to another wicked tactic.

2.       This is exactly the same thing he does against us.

3.       Times may change, but Satan’s methods remain the same.

C.     It is really amazing to think the wicked people often think the way to get people to agree with them is to fight them, or make the way hard for them.

1.       The Egyptians will afflict the Israelites.

2.       There is no record of the Egyptians ever trying to win the Israelites by friendship or any sort of political maneuvering.

3.       There are many records of the enemies of Christ trying to stop God’s people from multiplying, but all efforts are futile.

II.   Israel built treasure cities.  See endnote for map.  [ii]

A.     Define treasure cities.

1.       These are cities of storage, mainly, it is supposed, grain storage.

2.       They were built, probably before the death of Joseph, or even during the time of Joseph’s life in order to store grain.

3.       It is likely the cities were built close by where the grain was raised in order to make it easier to transport the grain for storage.

B.     The city of Pithom.

1.       This city is slightly south of Rameses, and was mentioned only this time in the entire Bible.

2.       The name means “mansion of the god Atum” (an Egyptian god)

C.     The city of Raamses (Rameses).

1.       There are two things to consider about this place.

2.       There is the region of Raamses (Rameses), and there is the city of Rameses.

3.       The land of Rameses refers to the district in the East Nile Delta, where the city of Rameses was built.

4.       The land of Rameses is comparable to the land of Goshen, as seen by comparing:

a.       Gen. 47:6 – “The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.”

b.       Gen. 47:11 – “And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.”

Verse 12-15 –  But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.  13.  And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: 14.  And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, [was] with rigour.

I.   These verses seem to indicate the affliction upon the Israelites continued and got more and more severe.

A.     There are three things mentioned in these verses that was happening.

1.       The Egyptians afflicted the Israelites.

2.       The Israelites continued to multiply and grow.

3.       The Egyptians continued to be grieved because of the children of Israel.

4.       The Egyptians increased their affliction of the Israelites.

5.       These verses indicate this cycle repeated itself several times.

B.     The affect of this in the Israelites.

1.       Their lives grew harder and harder.

2.       Their lives grew more and more bitter. (This is especially important to remember, because it won’t be long after Israel escapes Egypt that they are longing for the “easy” life there, with the onions and leeks.

3.       They continued to multiply at an increasing rate.

4.       The more they were afflicted, the more they grew.

5.       The word “rigour” means to break up, therefore the Egyptians made Israel to serve to the point of breaking up – only they didn’t break up.

The Second Satanic Attack Is Murder

Verse 15.  And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one [was] Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:

I.   The second Satanic attack is murder!

A.     These Egyptians don’t fear God, therefore don’t fear murdering innocent people.

1.       People that have no fear of God don’t mind murdering innocent people.

2.       Abortion is the murder of the unborn child by the mother of that child!

3.       This is a terrible crime against God, and shall not go unpunished.

B.     The reason abortion has been approved by the United States government is because as a nation, we have forgotten the commands of God.

1.       There is no doubt in my mind that God will judge every nation that forgets Him.

2.       He may not do it today, or tomorrow, but He will do it!

II.   Shiphrah’s name means “fair”, and Puah’s name means “splendid.”

A.     It is remarkable to me that the names of these two midwives are mentioned.

B.     It is not to indicate there were only two midwives for all the women of Israel, but these two were probably the heads over the other midwives.

Verse 16.  And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see [them] upon the stools; if it [be] a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it [be] a daughter, then she shall live.

I.   This is a very strange and hard order.

A.     How would you like to be the midwife and heard this command from the king?

1.       It would really put you in a bind wouldn’t it?

2.       There comes a time in every saved persons life when they must render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.

B.     It was not Caesar’s place to give such an order as this because it was directly in contradiction to the Word of God.

1.       Therefore the midwives were not obligated to obey it.

2.       It must be noticed that when they obeyed God instead of men, God blessed them, and Israel.

II.   The clear promise of God is that He will bless any nation that blesses Israel, and curse any nation that curses Israel.

A.     Egypt shows their clear intend to harm Israel, therefore, they are already under the curse of God.

1.       This curse and the final destruction of Egypt doesn’t happen for at least 80 years, but it does happen.

B.     What a lesson for us!

1.       Let us never think that sin isn’t completely paid for.

2.       Either the sinner will pay the debt of his own sinfulness, or Jesus will pay the price for them on Calvary.

3.       Egypt wouldn’t believe it at this point, but she is headed for total destruction.

III.   The word “stool” means the stool upon which the midwife sits when she is helping the mother give birth.

A.     She was to kill the boy babies immediately.

1.       This would remove the implication that she had intentionally the child, at least for a while.

2.       I am certain that after a while, word would get around, and the Israelites would know the midwife was killing the boy babies.

Verse 17.  But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.

I.   It must be noticed that the midwives saved the men children alive.

A.     They would later tell the king that the Israelite women had deliver their children before they got there, but that wasn’t the truth.

1.       These midwives have certainly put their lives on the line.

2.       If these two women are the head of a large group of midwives, there would surely be one midwife who was patriotic to the Egyptians, and would tell on them.

3.       There is no record of any of the midwives not obeying this command.

4.       It is likely they had a greater respect for human life than the king.

B.     The midwives refused to obey the king in killing these boy babies. 

1.       This is a good lesson for us today.

2.       It is always good to obey the government, but when laws cause us to disobey the commands of God, we are to disobey the government.

Verse 18.  And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?

I.   This was surely a fearful time for the midwives.

A.     They have clearly disobeyed the command of the king, and the penalty could very well be death.

1.       They go before the king with a pretty good idea of what he will ask them, but there is no mention they have a large amount of fear.

2.       It is also important to notice that the king has the correct idea.

3.       The midwives have saved the men children alive.

Verse 19.  And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women [are] not as the Egyptian women; for they [are] lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.

I.   We might wonder if it is ever good to tell a lie.

A.     It sure does look like God blessed these midwives in telling this lie!

B.     God didn’t bless these midwives because they told a lie, but because they obeyed the clear commandment of God in not killing an innocent baby.

Verse 20.  Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.

I.   It is very important to notice the outcome.

A.     God dealt well the midwives, and Israel.

B.     This is God’s plan.

C.     May God help us to realize that we ought always to obey Him, regardless of the commands of men.

D.     God will bless that.

Verse 21.  And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.

I.   This makes me wonder what the midwives lived in before God gave them houses.

A.     This means more than just that they had a place to live, but that God blessed the people in their families.

1.       It seems likely to me that God blessed them with the same blessing they blessed Israel with.

2.       These midwives feared God and refused to kill the boy babies, thus establishing the houses of Israel.

3.       Because these midwives feared God and obey Him instead of Pharaoh, God established their houses in the very face of Pharaoh!

4.       Never doubt that God is able to do the same for us.

B.     When the parents do right, the children are more apt to do right. 

1.       When parents do wrong, the children will probably follow their example, and also do wrong.

2.       If we want God to establish our houses, it behooves us to obey Him first!

The Third Satanic Attack

Verse 22.  And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.

I.   This is the third Satanic attack.

A.     This attack is the same as declaring civil war against Israel.

1.       The first attack involved forcing the taskmasters to be against Israel.

2.       The second attack involved forcing the midwives to be against Israel.

3.       This attack involves all the Egyptians against all the Israelites.

B.     The results of this attack.

1.       As far as I can tell from scripture, the Egyptians didn’t obey Pharaoh’s orders.

2.       The fact that such a command was made indicates the severity of the relationship between Egypt and Israel.

3.       These two nations might live in the same area, but that doesn’t mean they are getting along.

II.   Pharaoh changes his command.

A.     Now the command will apply to all Egypt, not just the Hebrew midwives.

1.       It is interesting to note that he breaks this command himself, when his daughter wants to keep baby Moses instead of killing him.

2.       When his family doesn’t keep the rules, neither will the whole of his nation.

3.       This principal also applies to any leader, whether it is of a country, state, city, church, or family. 

III.   The purpose of keeping the daughters alive is that they will grow up and marry an Egyptian.

A.     They will then be gradually blended into the Egyptian nation, and the nation of Israel will be no more.

B.     This is called a non-violent conquest.