THE GREAT EGYPTIAN AFFLICTION
EXODUS 1:1-22
A
great story always begins with a great problem.
That is the nature of story-telling.
The human experience may desire peace and prosperity, but it always sees
its greatest achievements in the context of trials and troubles.
THE
COVENANT COMMUNITY
Now
these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; they
came each one with his household: 2 Reuben,
Simeon, Levi and Judah; 3
Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; 4 Dan and
Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5 And all
the persons who came from the loins of Jacob were seventy in number, but Joseph
was already in
The
author takes the close of the book of Genesis and then builds a bridge for the
reader to take him from Joseph’s death to the beginnings of the Moses
narrative. The book of Exodus begins
where the book of Genesis leaves off.
That book ended with the Israelites having settled in
The
summary statement tells us that all the persons who came from the loins of
Jacob were seventy in number. This
is a significant number because it is the same number that we see listed in
Genesis 10 in the Table of Nations (assuming that we exclude Noah and his three
sons). When we come to the book of
Deuteronomy, we are told that this correspondence is deliberate:
7 Remember
the days of old,
Consider the years of all
generations.
Ask your father, and he will inform
you,
Your elders,
and they will tell you.
8 When the
Most High gave the nations their inheritance,
When He separated the sons of man,
He set the boundaries of the peoples
According to the
number of the sons of
9 For the Lord's portion is His people,
Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance.
(Deuteronomy 32:7‑9).
Moses
says that the boundaries of the peoples are according to the number of the
sons of
This
is seen in the ministry of Jesus when He appointed seventy disciples and sent
them out to every city and place where He Himself was going to come
(Luke 10:1). They were going out to the
A
MIGHTY MULTITUDE
6 And
Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. 7 But the sons of Israel were
fruitful and increased greatly, and multiplied, and became exceedingly mighty,
so that the land was filled with them. (Exodus 1:6-7).
One
generation has passed away and another generation has arisen. If we are to take the various numberings in
Genesis, Exodus, and Chronicles literally, then several hundred years
intervened between the passing of Joseph and the advent of Moses. In that time, the Israelites continued to
grow and to multiply.
The
narrative makes no mention of the political events in
AN
INTENTIONAL AFFLICTION
8 Now a
new king arose over
The
Israelites had enjoyed great favor in the days of Joseph, but it was an imposed
favor that was brought about by Joseph’s exalted position. Even in his day, there were the foundations
of anti-Semitism at work in
First,
the Israelites were shepherds by trade.
This was a profession that was looked upon with disdain by the
Egyptians. Genesis 46:34 tells us that shepherds
were loathsome to the Egyptians.
Furthermore,
the Israelites were Semitics and therefore considered to be akin to the Hyksos,
the Semitic invaders who had entered
Finally,
the Israelites were located in
A
MURDEROUS COMMAND
15 Then
the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah, and the other was named Puah; 16 and he said, “When you are helping the Hebrew women to
give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is
a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall
live.” (Exodus 1:15-16).
|
Shiphrah and Puah were probably the head
of the midwife guild and, as such, represented all the other midwives. |
The
pharaoh hit upon a plan to keep the Israelites helpless in their
subjugation. The plan was that all male
children be put to death. This was the
first Jewish holocaust. To accomplish
this, the pharaoh sought to enlist the aid of two of the midwives. The actions of this pharaoh are echoed in the
actions of another king who sought to put male children to death. I am speaking of Herod who tried to have the
Christ assassinated by gaining the unknowing participation of the magi. As in that case, these Gentiles did not align
themselves with the enemies of God’s people.
Instead, they took a deliberate stance to align themselves with the
people of God.
A
number of years ago, I saw a Christian berated and heckled by an
unbeliever. It happened rather quickly and
without warning and was over almost before it began, but I watched and did
nothing. Upon reflection, I determined
that whenever I saw a Christian taking a stand, I would stand with him.
A
DEVOTED DISOBEDIENCE
17 But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of
We
are told at the outset that the motivating factor in the actions of these
midwives is that they feared God. Their
disobedient actions with respect to the Egyptian king was not as a result of a
disrespect for authority, but rather because they saw a higher authority. They took the stance described by Peter in
Acts 5:29 when he said, “We must obey God rather than men.”
At
the same time, we must ask whether it was right for them to lie. They told a deliberate deception. They lied.
Is this a case of situational ethics in which it is okay to do wrong for
the right reason? I don’t believe it to
be necessary to take such a stance.
At
the outset, we must point out that the Scriptures in this case make no specific
judgment about whether their action was right or wrong. We are told the facts of the matter without
any corresponding moral commentary. On
the other hand, we can see in verses 20-21 that the Lord blessed the midwives
and established households for them.
However, we are not told that this blessing came because of their lie,
but rather because of their fear and respect of God. Here is the principle. God sees the heart and blesses accordingly,
even when the actions are not necessarily correct.
A
ROYAL DECREE
Then
Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born you are to
cast into the
Now
the Pharaoh takes a more direct approach.
He had previously moved in secret; now his oposition
to the people of God is made public as it takes the form of a royal edict. The edict is that all baby boys are to be put
to death by throwing them into the
This
passage prepares us to hear the story of Moses.
God was going to move in this dark episode of history to send His
deliverer who would rescue the people from their bondage. We will see the birth of Moses in the next
chapter and will compare his birth and deliverance with the birth of the
Greater Deliverer, Jesus Christ.
|
Moses |
Jesus |
|
Born of simple
parents |
Born of simple
parents |
|
The pharaoh
issues a decree to kill all male children |
Herod issued a
decree to put all the male children in |
|
Moses would grow
up to be the deliverer of his people |
Jesus would
grow up to be the Deliverer of all men |
It
is in this last contrast that we see the true greatness of Jesus. While Moses became the deliverer of all the Israelites,
the deliverance of Jesus is such that it reaches out to all mankind, even to
those who were guilty of trying to put the Chosen One to death.
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