Exodus 1 – May 1

I apologize for missing the notes for the final chapters of Genesis. But, I have good news for you. The final piece of Joseph’s story does not happen in Genesis. Exodus is a continuation of the book of Genesis. In fact, in the original Hebrew, the first word of the book of Exodus is “and.” At the front end of Exodus, we see that Joseph died. One of the important facts that we missed in Genesis 50 is that “Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, ‘God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.’” (Genesis 50:25) This is really important because the Egyptians were incredibly serious about how they handled death. Mummification and entombment were expectations for all people of high rank in Egyptian society. By demanding that his bones be carried out, Joseph was basically pointing out two things for the people of Israel to remember. First, he was basically screaming, “I am not Egyptian!” Secondly, he made it clear to the people that the time would come when they were going to have to leave. (We will see Joseph’s bones make a reappearance in Exodus 13 and Joshua 24.)

We are now going to be introduced to one of the greatest villains in the entire Bible. After roughly 360 years of the Israelites living alongside of the Egyptians, the story of Joseph’s dreams and the way in which he saved the nation have been completely forgotten by the ruling Pharaoh. This man was the most powerful man in the most powerful empire in the world at that time. He enslaved the Israelites and put out a death warrant for their newborn baby boys. Initially it was a secretive command to the midwives. After that didn’t seem to work out so well, Pharaoh gave the entire nation a command to throw all Jewish male babies into the crocodile and hippo infested waters of the Nile.

            There are three simple observations that I would like to share.

God uses seemingly insignificant people to do incredibly significant things.

Consider the fact that the most powerful man in the world had his plans undermined by a group of midwives. These bold women were willing to stand up against the evil dictates of a tyrannical brute in order to protect the lives of those little boys. The Lord often uses unexpected figures to rise to serve in great ways. These women served faithfully in their role and were unwilling to compromise, even in the face of Pharaoh.

Fear of God overcomes fear of man.

The key line regarding their actions is found in verse 17. “But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.” It was an incredibly brave thing to refuse Pharaoh’s direct order. When the Jews kept having boys, Pharaoh immediately knew who to speak to. He was accurate in determining that these women were the reason his plans had failed. Yet, these women were willing to risk their own lives because they feared God. If you have a genuine and appropriate fear of God, it will necessarily overshadow and overpower fear of man.

God gives rewards.

Verses 20-21 say, “So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.” One of the necessary elements of drawing near to God is believing that He gives rewards. Hebrews 11:6 explains it this way: “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” In the case of these midwives, the Lord granted them the earthly blessings of having a family. In the case of those who have faith in Jesus Christ, we are granted the eternal blessing of being made part of God’s family. “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” (1 John 3:1)