Exodus 1: The New Boss is Not Very Nice

My Summary
And Jacob took his whole family to Egypt. After a while, the entire generation who had come into Egypt passed away. God caused the Hebrews to multiply greatly and they filled the land. The new pharaoh was afraid that the numerous Hebrews would join the enemies of Egypt so he had them enslaved. Even though they were treated harshly, the Hebrews kept growing in number. Pharaoh instructed the midwives to kill all the male Hebrews when born. The midwives obeyed God instead and did not kill them. They told Pharaoh that the Hebrew women gave birth before they could get there. God blessed the midwives with families because of their faith. Pharaoh then commanded that all Egyptians throw any male Hebrew babies they found into the Nile.

Random Historical Things
1. Although your version may not show it, the Book of Exodus starts with the word "and." It is a continuation of the story we just read in Genesis and is not meant to be understood separate from it.

2. In ancient Egyptian history there were many dynasties. As long as the line of pharaohs passed from son to son, it was considered the same dynasty. However, sometimes the Pharaoh did not have a son or the throne was snatched away from that family. Then a new dynasty was started. Probably the new pharaoh who started persecuting the Hebrews was the start of a new dynasty. This would explain why he would not have any ties to Jacob's family and may have been even more suspicious of them since they were loyal to the previous dynasty.

3. The prominence of women as heroes in this chapter is unusual in the literature of the time. The midwives stand as the heroes who disobeyed pharaoh and obeyed God to save the children of Israel. Once again, we see the Bible willing to place women in a position of honor even though the culture of the time did not see their value.

4. Midwives were often women who were barren. Since they did not have children of their own, they had time to deliver the other babies in the community. So for God to bless them with a family would have been a huge deal!

And So What We Have Learned Applies to Our Lives Today...
1. We see the promises of God to Abraham coming true. He told Abraham that Abraham would become a great nation with many descendants. Here in Exdous 1 we see the nothing can stop the Israelites from multiplying. The designs of the enemy to wipe out the line that would lead to Jesus does nothing to thrawt God's plan to make Abraham's descendants a great multitude. God always fulfills His promises! His faithfulness endures even though it may take time for the promises to be fulfilled.

2. We also see the growth of Israel in response to persecution. God's people always expand when someone is trying to stamp them out. The harder the Egyptians worked them, the more babies were born! In the same way, the harder the church has been attacked, the more it has grown. In Greek mythology there is a 7 headed creature called a hydra. For every head one cuts off of the hyra, 2 more grow in it's place. The harder you work to defeat it, the stronger you make it. This was true for Israel and it remains true for the church today. Let that strengthen your faith. The church can not be beat because God is on it's side!

3. Let us be motivated by the courage and faith of the midwives. They risked the wrath of pharaoh to do what they knew was right. There was no way they were going to allow helpless children (who are a blessing from God) be killed. Although the families of the babies the saved might have never know what the midwives did for them, God recognized their faithfulness and blessed them for it. Obedience to God takes precedence over obedience to anyone else. Obedience to the law is required for Christians, but when it contradicts the law of God, Christians obey God first.