The Book Of Exodus
Exodus 3:14 "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say
unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."
Verses 1-7: For the third time Moses and Aaron go before Pharaoh and relay God’s command to let His people go so that they might serve Him. If Pharaoh refuses, God will bring forth a judgment of frogs. (v.1-2) Pharaoh, of course, refuses, and Moses tells Aaron to stretch forth his rod once again over all the streams, rivers and ponds throughout Egypt. A mighty host of frogs come up from the waters, filling every house, every bedchamber, every kitchen and oven, even getting into all the food. (v.3) (Psalm 105:30) And, once again, Pharaoh’s magicians perform the same miracle by the power of Satan. (v.7) Notice that Jannes and Jambres didn’t have the power to reverse the plague. All they could do was increase it. As I noted in the previous chapter, Satan is merely an imitator, a copycat. The only power he and his servants possess is that which God allows them and nothing more. And even that little that God allows is used only to bring about His divine will and nothing more.
Verses 8-15: Pharaoh summons Moses and Aaron and asks them to ask of God to remove the frogs. The word he uses here is “intreat”. (Exodus 9:28, 10:17, Numbers 21:7, 1 Kings 13:6) He is ready to let the Israelites go. (v.8) Moses asks when Pharaoh would like him to make the request, and Pharaoh says, “Tomorrow.” Moses tells him that it will be done, “…that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the Lord our God.” (v.10) (Exodus 9:14, 15:11, Deuteronomy 4:35, 39, 33:26, 2 Samuel 7:22, 1 Chronicles 17:20, Psalm 86:8, Isaiah 46:9, Jeremiah 10:6-7) Moses then cries unto the Lord and God responds accordingly. The frogs immediately die, and the people gather them in heaps, so much so that verse 14 says, “…the land stank.” And, as God had predicted, Pharaoh promptly hardens his heart and reneges on his promise to Moses and Aaron. (v.15) Notice here that Pharaoh doesn’t ask Moses to immediately intreat the Lord. Instead he says simply, “Tomorrow.” This indicates the hardness of his heart. He is more willing to suffer another day of misery with the frogs than to acknowledge God’s sovereignty and submit to His authority immediately. Pharaoh stubbornly refuses to let go of his pride and, thus, he is willing to cut off his nose to spite his face, as the old saying goes. Verses 16-19: God commands Moses to tell Aaron to strike the earth with his rod, and the dust becomes swarms of lice throughout all of Egypt. Every man and beast – save for the children of Israel, of course – is stricken with lice. (v.17) This time, however, when Pharaoh’s magicians attempt to do the same miracle, they fail. (v.18) Even they now recognize that “…this is the finger of God…”, and they tell Pharaoh this. (v.19) (Exodus 7:5, 10:7, 1 Samuel 6:3, Psalm 8:3, Luke 11:20) But Pharaoh’s heart remains hardened, proving that he had already determined he would never believe, no matter what Moses, Aaron, or his own servants testified. Not even the miraculous judgments that he is witnessing with his own eyes compel him to change his heart and surrender to God’s sovereignty and authority. Verses 20-24: For the second time God tells Moses to rise up early and meet Pharaoh as he goes down to the Nile river to bathe. (v.20) And, once again, Moses relays to Pharaoh God’s command: “Let my people go, that they may serve me.” This time, Pharaoh’s refusal will cause swarms of flies to plague every Egyptian. (Psalm 78:45) Their houses and their lands will be covered with flies. But the land of Goshen will be completely spared so that “…thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.” (v.22) This is how we know that these plagues were not some naturally occurring phenomenon that happened to coincide with God’s words to Pharaoh. God miraculously caused each of these judgments, and they struck only specific regions of Egypt. The land of Goshen where the children of Israel dwelt was spared of every single plague. Again, this is a foreshadowing of the Tribulation that is prophesied in Revelation. The only difference there is that God will rapture His church from the world before He brings about judgment on the wicked and the unbelieving. In the same way that the Israelites were spared of these judgments against Pharaoh and the Egyptians, so shall we today (or whatever generation of believers are alive at the time of Christ’s second coming) be spared God’s wrath upon the world by fire and plagues. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) God states clearly in verse 23 that he is drawing a line in the sand for Pharaoh, separating His chosen people from the Egyptians. God alludes to His original statement to Pharaoh through Moses in Exodus 4:22-23: “…Israel is My son, even My firstborn…” God is reminding Pharaoh once more here in chapter 8 that the nation of Israel is His firstborn, and He has marked them as such. On the next morning, Pharaoh will know this by the sign of the flies that will plague only his house and all the houses of the Egyptians, but not a single man, house, or beast of the children of Israel will be touched by this plague. As promised, the swarms of flies fill the house of Pharaoh, his servants’ houses and all the houses of the land of Egypt. The flies decimate the whole land, in fact, save for the valley of Goshen. (v.24) Verses 25-32: Pharaoh once again calls for Moses and Aaron, but this time he tries to negotiate with God. He tells Moses that the Israelites may take a break from their labor to “…sacrifice to your God in the land.” (v.25) This is the first of four compromises that Pharaoh proposes to Moses in the course of these judgments, and there’s an excellent picture here of the way Satan uses the same strategy with us believers – especially newly saved Christians – today. What Pharaoh is essentially telling Moses here is that he’ll allow the Israelites to serve God, but that they don’t need to leave Egypt to do so. They can still obey God’s command because the important thing is the rituals and the sacrifice, not the location of where they perform those things. Satan used the exact same tactic with Eve in the garden of Eden. His first words to her were, “Hath God said…” (Genesis 3:1). But Moses refuses to fall for Pharaoh’s deception. He points out that the Egyptians will bring even more harm to the children of Israel if they sacrifice sheep upon their altars as God commands. (v.26) This was apparently an abomination to the Egyptians, and it hearkens back to the warning Joseph gave to his father and brothers in Genesis 46:34. Moses accurately states that the Egyptians will stone the Israelites to death if they do as God commanded within the borders of Egypt. Moses remains firm with Pharaoh. The children of Israel will go three days’ journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the Lord their God as He commanded them. (v.27) But Pharaoh again tries to compromise. “I will let you go,” he says in verse 28, “…only ye shall not go very far away.” He then asks Moses to intercede to God on his behalf once more. Moses responds that he will “…intreat the Lord…” on behalf of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, but he also warns Pharaoh to not “…deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” (v.29) God does not accept half measures from His children. (Luke 9:62) It’s either total and complete surrender and obedience to His divine will and His commandments or nothing at all. There is no middle ground, no riding the fence. This is yet another indicator that Pharaoh had willfully and defiantly hardened his heart towards God of His own choice from the very beginning. He had no intention of ever letting the Israelites go, and he was never truly, genuinely repentant of his sin. Moses intreats the Lord, and God removes the plague of flies from Pharaoh’s house and all the houses of the Egyptians. (v.30-31) But, as predicted by God from the beginning, Pharaoh hardens his heart yet again and won’t allow the children of Israel to leave Egypt. (v.32) (Psalm 52:2)
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Verses 1-7: God reiterates for Moses his new ability to do miracles in the presence of Pharaoh. The Lord had previously stated this to Moses in Exodus 4:16. (Jeremiah 1:10) This is what God means when He says here, “…I have made thee a god to Pharaoh…” Aaron would be the spokesman for Moses, just like a prophet. (v.2) God then lays out the game plan for Moses once more: He would harden Pharaoh’s heart so that His signs and wonders would be multiplied throughout Egypt so that Pharaoh would let the Israelites go, but only after the great judgments. (v.4) God is emphatic that it won’t just be the children of Israel that will know He is the Lord. The Egyptians, too, will recognize Him as the one true God when He frees “…the children of Israel from among them.” (v.5) And so Moses, now 80 years old, and Aaron, 83, go before Pharaoh a second time. (v.7)
Verses 8-13: God predicts that Pharaoh will demand a sign from Moses and Aaron. (Exodus 10:1, Isaiah 7:11, John 2:18, 6:30). God tells Moses to tell Aaron to cast down his rod, just as God had shown to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 4:2-3). Aaron does so, but Pharaoh is not impressed. (v.10) He calls for his sorcerers and magicians (Genesis 41:8, Daniel 2:2, 2 Timothy 3:8), and they are able to do the same miracle. (Exodus 8:7, 18, 2 Timothy 3:9, Revelation 13:13-14) But, even after Aaron’s serpent swallows up all of their serpents (v.12), Pharaoh’s heart is still hardened. He refuses to bow to God’s sovereignty and authority, just as God predicted. (v.13) It was the power of Satan that allowed Pharaoh’s magicians and soothsayers to do those miracles. This whole episode of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt was a power struggle between God and the devil, and God allowed Satan to work through Pharaoh and his “wise men” (v.11) so that God’s power and name would only be further magnified throughout Egypt and the rest of the known world at that time. Paul states in 2 Corinthians 11:14 that “…Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” Lucifer is a created being, same as all the other angels, same as you and me, and, thus, he has no genuine, original power of his own. God allows him to do what he does, and his days are numbered. Satan hates God and all that He loves, and so Satan does his best to deceive us – God’s creation – by imitating God’s miracles. This, too, was all part of God’s plan for delivering His chosen people from the hand of Pharaoh. Verses 14-25: God tells Moses and Aaron to meet Pharaoh at the bank of the Nile river the next morning. The phrase “…goeth out unto the water…” most likely refers to bathing. (Exodus 2:5) The Nile river was the lifeblood of Egypt. It was the source of all the drinking water for the Egyptians as well as the primary means by which they watered their crops. Some of the gods in the Egyptian pantheon were represented by the river itself as well as the animals within it. Many of the plagues – or judgments – were directed against specific deities of Egyptian mythology. (See the chart at the end of this post.) This was yet another way in which God demonstrated his power and sovereignty over the natural world, as well as proof that He was – and is – the one true and living God, the creator and sustainer of all things. God tells Moses and Aaron to tell Pharaoh that, because he refused to hearken to the word of the lord, God will turn the Nile river into blood. All living creatures within it will die, and the river will stink. There will be no drinkable water anywhere in the land. (v.19, 21) As soon as Aaron stretches forth his rod over the river, the judgment comes true. Verse 22 states that Jannes and Jambres, Pharaoh’s magicians (2 Timothy 3:8), also turn the water to blood, and thus Pharaoh stubbornly refuses to believe Moses, just as God had predicted. It’s unclear if the sorcerers were able to turn the blood back into water and then into blood again, or if only a portion of the river had been turned into blood first by God and then the rest by the magicians because of God allowing them to do so to fulfill His judgment and prophecy. Whatever the case, every single drop of water throughout the land of Egypt – except the Goshen valley where the Israelites dwell (Genesis 47:6) – is turned to blood, even that which had been stored in wooden vessels and other pots within the Egyptian houses. (v.19) The effects described in verse 21 indicate that the blood was real. This was no mere illusion or something that resembled blood. It was actual human blood. As noted in my study Bible, “In addition to the loss of all their fish and their drinking water, the Egyptians suffered the extreme indignity of seeing the gods of the Nile made loathsome before their very eyes.” Pharaoh returns to his house, persisting in his unbelief (v.23). Despite their efforts digging for fresh water around the river, the Egyptians fail to find any to drink (v.24) God allows the judgment to stand for seven days. Though it doesn’t say specifically in this passage, we can safely conclude that many Egyptians died of thirst in those seven days. The ten plagues that God uses here in Exodus to judge Pharaoh and his people are a foreshadowing of the judgments He will bring upon the whole world during the Tribulation. This first one, specifically, will be repeated in the second trumpet and the second and third vials. (Revelation 8 & 16) And, just like Pharaoh here in Exodus, there will be many then that will harden their hearts in unbelief, thus sealing their judgment of eternal damnation in the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15) CHAPTER 5:
Moses and Aaron stand before Pharaoh, and Aaron delivers God’s message: “…Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.” (v.1) Pharaoh’s response, as I noted in the previous chapter, is boastful and defiant. “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.” (v.2) In Egyptian myth and culture of that time the Pharaoh was not just considered a representative of the gods, but was a god himself. Thus, the Exodus account is a confrontation between gods: Pharaoh vs Yahweh, the one true God. Moses and Aaron respond by explaining that “…The God of the Hebrews…” commands all the children of Israel to go three days’ journey into the desert to perform “…a sacrifice unto the Lord our God…” lest he punish them. (v.3) Pharaoh’s retort is both dismissive and sneering. He tells them, in essence, that the Israelites have no time for such nonsense and that Moses and Aaron should get back to work. (v.4) Verses 5-19: In a further response to Moses and Aaron’s demands, Pharaoh orders his taskmasters to no longer gather the straw for the Israelites that is the main ingredient for making bricks. They are now to gather it themselves, but their daily quota will not change. Since they have so much free time to talk about their God and plan a journey into the desert, Pharaoh reasons, they must have plenty of extra time to gather the straw needed for their work. (v.7-8) This, of course, only increases the physical labor of the Israelites, which leads to harsher punishments of the Israelite officers that the Egyptian taskmasters had set over the other slaves. (v.14). They are unable to meet their daily quota with the newly added burden of gathering the straw. The officers go before Pharaoh to complain about the new rule. (v.15) But Pharaoh dismisses them with the same retort he gave Moses and Aaron. If the children of Israel have time to talk about going into the desert to sacrifice to the Lord, then they must have plenty of time to gather the straw needed to make their daily quota of bricks. (v.17) He demands that they immediately get back to work. (v.18) Verses 20-23: The Israelite officers complain to Moses and Aaron, blaming them for the new conditions and harsher punishments that Pharaoh is inflicting upon them. (v.21) Moses, as he will do so often in the years to come, takes their grievance to the Lord, and adds his own complaint as well. He doesn’t understand why he did what God told him to do, and it only made the situation worse for the Israelites. Where was the deliverance God promised? “Why is it that Thou hast sent me?” he asks with a despairing tone. (v.22) As happens so often in our own lives, Moses can’t understand why obeying God seems to have made the situation worse rather than better. From his – and the Israelites’ – perspective, God had failed in His promise to deliver them. The plight of the children of Israel looks even more hopeless and bleak than ever before. Rather than rebuke and punish Moses for his lack of faith and trust, God once again shows Himself to be the compassionate and loving Father that He is. His initial words to Moses in verse 1 are a reassurance and a reminder of what He first told Moses at the burning bush: “…Now shalt thou see what I will do…”. God reminds Moses that Pharaoh will indeed let the Israelites go, and not only that, but “…with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.” In other words, Pharaoh would not only release the children of Israel from their enslavement, but he would do so eagerly and forcefully, the complete opposite of his current attitude and disposition of rebellion and pride. CHAPTER 6: Verses 2-9: One of the remarkable attributes of God is His infinite patience and loving kindness towards us, especially when we are so quick to forget His promises and His past providence in our lives. Moses had so quickly forgotten the game plan God had laid out for him just a few weeks earlier at the burning bush, and now God reminds Moses not only of His promise to deliver the children of Israel from their bondage, but also goes all the way back to Abraham, reassuring Moses of the initial promise that God had made with him, Isaac and Jacob. “…I have remembered My covenant,” God says to Moses in verse 5. He then tells Moses to go back to the elders and reassure them of this same covenant. “…I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments.” (v.6) In verse 3, God states that He was known to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob “…by the name of God Almighty, but by My name Jehovah was I not known to them.” (Exodus 3:14-15, 15:3, Psalm 68:4, 83:18, Isaiah 52:6, Jeremiah 16:21, Ezekiel 37:6, 13, John 8:58) Moreover, in verse 7 God tells Moses that “…I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God…” (Genesis 17:7, Exodus 29:45-46, Leviticus 26:12-13, 45, Deuteronomy 29:13, Revelation 21:7) In other words, God had not made Himself truly, personally known to Abraham, Isaac. Jacob and Joseph. He had revealed Himself to them, He had guided them, cared for them, and made a covenant with Abraham, but He had not revealed His true name until now. What God is saying to Moses in this passage is that He will not just deliver the Israelites from their bondage, but He will also have an ongoing, personal relationship with His chosen people. He will reveal Himself to them in ways that He never did with their forefathers. We see this later on in the books of Exodus and Leviticus, when God gives Moses and the Israelites the ten commandments, the law, and the instructions for the priesthood and the tabernacle. God is basically reminding Moses that He’s only just begun to work on behalf of His people, and that they haven’t seen anything yet. God is about to demonstrate His true power and majesty, not only for all the children of Israel to see and to wonder, but also for the benefit of the Egyptians and all the surrounding nations as well. (Joshua 2:10-11) Unfortunately, when Moses relays all of this to the elders of Israel, they don’t believe him because of the despair and anguish caused by their current circumstances. How often are we like them! God promises over and over in His word that He will never leave us, or forsake us, or fail to fight on our behalf, yet we fall into persistent misery and self-pity because our deliverance does not come immediately when we first cry out. Like Job, we often feel like God has abandoned us completely, and it must have been the same for the children of Israel until Moses and Aaron arrived on the scene to relay God’s message of the promise of deliverance. Yet, when that deliverance did not happen immediately, and when the situation only seemed to get worse, the Israelites fell into deeper despair and despondency. Instead of strengthening their faith and trust in God, they blamed Moses and God for making their pain and anguish even worse, and they persisted in their doubt and unbelief. Verses 10-13: God commands Moses once again to go before Pharaoh and demand that he release the children of Israel. (v.11) And, once again, Moses complains that Pharaoh is not going to listen to him since the Israelites didn’t believe him either. Moses gives the excuse that he is not an orator, basically reminding God that He’s picked the wrong man for this mission. (v.12) But God merely, patiently reiterates His command to Moses and Aaron. (v.13) Verses 14-30: What follows here is a brief genealogy that lists the descendants of Jacob’s first three sons: Reuben, Simeon and Levi. As you’ll recall from Genesis 34 and 35, theses three men had each committed a grievous sin. They were immoral, proud, rebellious, quick to anger and slow to forgive, and yet God used each of them to be the fathers of what would soon become the twelve tribes of Israel, God’s chosen people. The reason that only these three and their descendants are listed instead of all of Jacob’s sons is because the point of this passage is to go only as far as the appearance of Moses and Aaron. Moses, when he was later writing all of this down as a record for the Israelites, wanted to convey for the reader the point that God specifically uses the proud, the angry, the immoral, the weak, the broken, and the murderers (Moses, remember, had slain a man in the same vengeful manner as Simeon and Levi), and yes, even the stammerers, to execute His divine will and plan. God has always magnified Himself the most through the most broken, rebellious and sinful of humanity, and He’s about to magnify His name in a mighty way not just through Pharaoh and his hardened, arrogant heart, but through Moses’ weaknesses and shortcomings as well. Verses 1-9: Despite God’s promises – including the revelation of His name – to Moses, Moses is still not ready to commit to the task that God is calling him to. His third objection in verse 1 is a fear that the Israelites will not believe him when he says that God sent him. In response to this, God performs two miracles for Moses. He tells Moses to cast his rod upon the ground. Moses does so, and the shepherd’s staff instantly becomes a snake. (v.3) This was no mere illusion, for the text says that Moses fled from it. It was an actual, living snake, and this is significant for two reasons. One, the snake was an oft used symbol in Egyptian iconography and in their mythology. Two, the serpent, when seen in scripture, is always representative of Satan. (Genesis 3:1) When God tells Moses to grab the serpent by the tail – as opposed to the neck which would have protected Moses from getting bitten – He was, in effect, showing Moses that he would have victory over Pharaoh by God’s power and authority. The snake is turned back into a staff once more. (v.4) By this one miraculous sign, God was demonstrating His power not only over Satan and the false gods of the Egyptians, but, by extension, the Pharaoh himself, also an agent of the devil.
Next, God tells Moses to put his hand inside his cloak. When Moses withdraws it he is stunned and horrified to see it white with leprosy. (v.6) God then tells him to put it back inside his cloak, and after Moses withdraws it a second time it’s made whole and clean. (v.7) God tells Moses that these two signs will prove to the Israelites that it is the God of their fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that has sent Moses unto them. (v.5, 8) But, if they won’t believe those two miracles, then God tells Moses to draw up water from the Nile river and pour it out upon the land. It will be turned to blood, and then they will believe. (v.9) This is a foreshadowing of the first plague. (Exodus 7:19) Verses 10-17: Moses’ final excuse to God for why he’s not the right man for this job is that he’s not eloquent. “…I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.” (v.10) Eloquence and oratory skills were highly prized among the Egyptians, and Moses is explaining to God that he’s not an orator. He wouldn’t know what to say to Pharaoh to convince him to let the Israelites go. Even after God has already told Moses that He will be with him, and that Pharaoh will refuse Moses’ requests at first, Moses still thinks that he’s going into this alone, that it will be up to him to convince Pharaoh to free the children of Israel. Once again, God patiently assures Moses that He will tell him what to say. (v.12) God also reminds Moses that He is sovereign above all things, including the tongues of men. (Psalm 94:9, 146:8, Matthew 11:5, Luke 1:20, 64) But Moses is still not convinced, and he finally, bluntly, asks God to send someone else. (v.13) At this point God’s patience with Moses is at an end, and He tells Moses that He will send Aaron, Moses’ brother, to go with Moses, but that God will still speak to Moses and Moses will relay the messages to Aaron. Aaron will be the one to stand and speak before the Israelites and before Pharaoh. (v.14-16) (Deuteronomy 5:31) God’s final command to Moses is to take up his rod by which he will do the miracles that God will perform through him as signs to the Israelites and to Pharaoh. (v.17) Verses 18-23: Moses returns to Jethro and asks permission to return to Egypt to free his people. Jethro gives his blessing. (v.18) The Lord then informs Moses that it’s safe for him to return to Egypt “…for all the men are dead which sought thy life.” (v.19) So Moses gathers his family and his shepherd’s staff and departs for Egypt. (v.20) Along the way, God adds further instruction for Moses, repeating that he is to perform the signs and wonders that God showed him earlier at the burning bush. But then God adds, “I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.” (v.21) In verse 22, God refers to the nation of Israel as “…My son, even my firstborn.” (Isaiah 63:16, 64:8, Hosea 11:1, Romans 9:4, 2 Corinthians 6:17-18) Then, in verse 23, God explicitly states that Moses is to tell Pharaoh that if he doesn’t let the children of Israel go, God “…will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.” (Exodus 12:29, Psalm 105:36, 135:8, 136:10) There is an interesting dichotomy here in that God has displayed a pattern of most often choosing the second – or third or fourth – born son rather than the firstborn. With the exception of Abram/Abraham (Genesis 11:27, 12:1), God has selected the younger/youngest son for a special calling, i.e. Abel over Cain, Jacob over Esau, Joseph and Judah over Reuben, and, eventually, David, the youngest of all the sons of Jesse, as the second king of Israel. Yet here in this passage God refers to the children of Israel as His firstborn, and He has marked them as His chosen people ever since, even to our present day. Verse 21: This is a good spot to park for a moment and address the issue that has caused much debate about the sovereignty of God and His divine will versus human free will and choice. As I noted in my commentary of Exodus 3, there are ten references in the first 14 chapters of this book that clearly state that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. But, at the same time, there’s verses that also clearly state Pharaoh hardened his own heart. (Exodus 8:15, 19, 32, 9:7, 34-35) The central question, to me at least, is whether or not God gave Pharaoh the opportunity to repent first before the judgment, or whether God chose to reject Pharaoh from the very beginning since He knew that Pharaoh would never repent, despite all the proofs of God’s existence and His power and sovereignty over all things. As I’ve stated before, 2 Peter 3:9 says that God is longsuffering, “…not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” John 3:16 states that God “…so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Yet, in Romans 9, Paul addresses this very topic of Pharaoh and God’s sovereign election in verses 17 and 18: “For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.” Then, in verses 20 and 21, Paul says, “Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?” In one sense, it seems that God deliberately hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that he would serve as a vessel of dishonor in order that God’s power and majesty and sovereignty would be known throughout the whole earth. Paul even quotes Exodus 33:19 in verse 15: “For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” The logical conclusion to this is stated in verse 18: “…whom He will He hardeneth.” Therefore, it seems that Paul is directly contradicting what Jesus Himself stated in John 3:16 and what Peter echoed in his epistle. If God granted mankind free will to either choose or reject Him, and if God is not willing that any should perish, but that ALL come to repentance, why does He deliberately harden some men’s hearts and speak in parables so that some will never understand, “…lest their sins should be forgiven them.” (Mark 4:12) Do we truly possess free will, or is that merely an illusion? Has God already determined long before each of us is born whom He will save and who will be vessel of dishonor with no hope whatsoever of salvation? When Moses meets Pharaoh for the first time in Exodus 5:1 and relays God’s message to him, Pharaoh’s response in verse 2 is, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.” Pharaoh knew of God because of the presence of the Israelites. Ever since the arrival of Joseph in Egypt four hundred years earlier, all of Egypt knew of the God of Jacob and the children of Israel. The mention of high priests such as Melchizedek and Jethro, who were of other nations and people groups that were not related to Abraham and his chosen seed, indicates that God was known to all the world at this time, long before the children of Israel appeared on the scene. Paul states in Romans 1:19-20 that “…the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made…”. God has revealed Himself to His creation in a variety of ways, the primary one being conscience. All of us are born with an innate and subconscious knowledge of what is right and wrong. He is also revealed in the order and design of the natural world around us. Our ability to question our existence, to instinctively seek out a purpose and an answer to the existential question, “Why am I here?” is external evidence of our souls seeking the One who made us. Thus, Paul concludes verse 20 by saying, “…they are without excuse.” Pharaoh, like so many of us today, rejected his conscience as well as the knowledge passed down to him from his forefathers who knew Jacob and Joseph. He rejected the children of Israel by continuing the oppression and enslavement of them begun by his grandfather, thus rejecting and rebelling against God Himself. Pharaoh did exactly what Paul describes in verses 21-25 of Romans 1. “…they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful.” (v.21). “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” (v.22) “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator…” (v.25) The many false gods of the Egyptians – as well as those of the heathen nations that currently inhabited the promised land at that time – were depicted in writings and drawings of that time as animals, or as celestial bodies, such as the sun god Ra. The Egyptians elevated the created things – the animals, sun, moon, stars, etc – above the Creator, thus rejecting God and causing their consciences to be seared. (I Timothy 4:2) Therefore, both the truths stated in John 3:16, 2 Peter 3:9, Mark 4:12, and Romans 1 are correct. God has revealed Himself to man in a variety of ways so that all of us are without excuse. (Romans 1:20) Some of us, of our own free will, have rejected that truth, as in the case of Pharaoh. As a result, God hardens the hearts and sears the consciences of those who have willfully, continually rejected Him and His truth. He deliberately blinds their eyes and ears as a form of judgement. (Mark 4:12) Furthermore, He gives them over to “…vile affections…” (Romans 1:26) and “…a reprobate mind…” (Romans 1:28) as a form of judgment. This is exactly what happened to Pharaoh throughout chapters 5-14 of Exodus. He continually and willfully rejected Moses and defied God, and thus God hardened his heart as a form of divine judgement. What complicates all of this, and what is hard for us with our finite, temporal minds to fully understand, is that God already knows who will reject Him and who will accept Him. It’s not that He deliberately chooses whom He will save and whom He will condemn without even giving us the opportunity to repent; it’s that He merely knows who will eventually receive Him as Lord and savior and who will persist in their sin and pride and rebellion against him. Commentary from my study Bible on this passage: “One must remember that God deserves the right to judge sin and the sinner whenever He desires. The sinner is subject to the wrath of God at any point in his/her life. God has the right to judge sin in any way He so desires the first time one commits sin. It is really the mercy of God that allows the sinner to continue to live. Pharaoh sinned knowingly, willfully and continually. (Exodus 9:34)” We are born sinners, and we deserve the fate of Hell for our sin. God could have withdrawn completely from His creation the moment Adam and Eve ate that forbidden fruit. But He didn’t. He loved us so greatly, and He desired so greatly to restore the fellowship and communion that was lost because of sin that He devised the plan of salvation by sending His only begotten son to die for all mankind. But the opportunities that God grants each of us to repent of our sin and turn to him are not infinite. As in the case of Pharaoh, God may give sinners only so many chances and then, after they consistently refuse Him, He may withdraw his mercy and execute judgment at any time. He will, in effect, give them what they desire: the freedom to continue in their pride, rebellion and wickedness. Then, after they die and stand before Him, He will execute the final judgment: “…Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Matthew 25:41) But before that, while they persist in their sin in this life, God will use them in spite of their rebellion to bring about His honor and glory, just as He did with Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Verses 24-26: This brief interlude, which takes place during the journey to Egypt, is a bit confusing. But from the little information that we are given in these three verses, we can conclude that Moses did not completely obey God regarding his calling. Though it never clearly states anywhere in chapters 3 and 4, we can safely assume that God commanded Moses to circumcise his sons, just as Abraham did with himself and all his house when God first initiated His covenant with him. So it appears that, for whatever reason, only one of Moses’ sons was circumcised, and thus, God’s anger is kindled against Moses, and He seeks to kill him. (v.24) According to my Moody Bible Commentary, “The death threat was probably some life threatening illness but the exact nature is not clear.” Therefore, it’s up to Zipporah to perform the ritual, which she very likely found disgusting and repugnant due to her non-Israelite origins. Her words in verse 26 can be interpreted as a declaration to Moses that he is her bridegroom a second time because her action stays God’s judgment and delivers Moses from certain death. This also explains why God later tells Aaron to meet Moses back at Mount Horeb. (v.27) God’s punishment for Moses required that he and his family return home to Midian. According to Moody, “The significance of this passage is twofold. First, it demonstrated that if Moses was to be the spokesman for the covenant-keeping God of Abraham, he needed to keep the provisions of the covenant (Genesis 17:9-22). Second, it foreshadowed the requirement that those participating in the Passover were required to be circumcised (Exodus 12:43-48).” Verses 27-31: God tells Aaron to go meet Moses at Mount Horeb. Aaron, presumably, has been living in Egypt this whole time, and his reunion with his younger brother is a joyful one. (v.27) Moses relays to Aaron all that God has told him, and then they go to Egypt to meet with all the elders of Israel. As God promised, Aaron does all the speaking for Moses, and he also performs the miracles for the people that God showed Moses. (v.30) And, as God had also promised, the children of Israel believe when they witness the signs and wonders and hear Aaron’s words. They respond to this belief by bowing their heads and worshiping YAHWEH, the Lord God of their fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the great IAM. Verse 1: Moses is a shepherd, tending to his father-in-law’s flock on the backside of the desert. He spends forty years here (Acts 7:30), living in peace and quiet, rearing a family, until one day when he brings his sheep to the mountain of God at Horeb. (Exodus 17:6, 18:5, 1 Kings 19:8).
Verse 2-3: Moses sees a nearby bush on fire, yet the bush is not consumed. (Deuteronomy 33:16, Mark 12:26, Luke 20:37) This is another Christophany, an appearance by the Angel of the Lord. (Genesis 16:7, 21:17, 22:11, 24:7, 31:11, 32:24, 48:15-16) Moses marvels at this sight, moving closer to investigate. Verses 3-6: When God sees that Moses is drawing closer to the bush, He calls to Moses. Moses answers, “Here am I”. (v.4) God tells him to not come any closer, but to take off his shoes instead, “…for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” (v.5) God then identifies Himself to Moses as the God of his fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. As soon as Moses understands whom he’s speaking with he hides his face out of fear and reverence. Verses 7-12: God has heard the cry of His people (v.7) (Nehemiah 9:9, Psalm 106:44), and He’s prepared to deliver them from the Egyptian bondage “…unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey…” (v.8) (Genesis 15:13-14, Numbers 13:27, Deuteronomy 1:25, 8:7, Joshua 3:17). He then lists for Moses the names of the people groups currently inhabiting the land of Canaan, the land which God had already promised to Abraham and his seed. God then tells Moses that he is the one whom God is sending to “…bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.” (v.10) Moses responds with the question, “Who am I?” (v.11) His objection is that he’s a nobody. He’s not a leader, and he’s not a hero. He’s an eighty year old shepherd who’s been living in quiet seclusion for forty years and has no experience whatsoever for this monumental task to which God is calling him. In essence, he’s asking, “Lord, are you sure you’ve got the right man? You want me to do what???” But God’s response is calm and firm and reassuring: “Certainly, I will be with thee.” (v.12) (Genesis 31:3, Exodus 33:14, Deuteronomy 31:23, Joshua 1:5, Isaiah 43:1-3, Romans 8:31) Is there any words of God at once sweeter and more savory than that phrase “I will be with thee”? From Noah to Abraham, to Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and now Moses, God has never – not even for a moment – abandoned those whom He called. As it was with Abraham, so now it is with Moses: God has chosen the man through whom He wants to accomplish His will, and He will give him the strength and means to do just that. God then tells Moses that after he’s brought the Israelites out of Egypt he will return to this very mountain to serve God. (v.12) This is another sign, another promise that God would do as he said. God does the same for you and me today. God never calls us to a mission or a task without also promising to always be with us and to give us the wisdom, courage and strength that we need to fulfill that calling. God also doesn’t fail to supply all the physical necessities that we need to serve Him. (Philippians 4:19) Verses 13-15: Moses’ response to God’s promise is a bit unusual. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph had never once asked God for His name. (Or if they did, it was never recorded in scripture.) Moses is the first to wonder about the name of God. (v.13) This is an odd question to me because the Israelites are already familiar with God. They know who he is. Jacob passed down the knowledge of the God of his fathers to his twelve sons, and they, in turn, passed it on to their sons, and so on. We can logically infer from scripture that no specific name has been attributed to God up to this point, but that seems incidental. God is God, the creator of all things, and the sustainer and provider of His chosen people. Why does it matter – especially to Moses – what His name is? The only logical answer, to me at least, is that Moses is stalling. He’s full of doubt and, perhaps, unbelief. It’s very possible that Moses, up to this point in his life, has had very little to do with God. Being reared in the Egyptian court, it is certain that he was not taught anything about the one, true God. But since Jethro is a high priest of God, we can safely assume that he taught Moses about God. But it’s clear from this passage that Moses has never attained the close, personal relationship with God that his forefather Abraham cultivated and enjoyed. God’s response to Moses is simple and direct: “I AM THAT I AM.” (v.14) According to the commentary in my study Bible, this name “…constitutes the idea that the “I AM” in this passage reveals God as the Being who is absolutely self-existent, and who, in Himself, possesses essential life and permanent existence. To the Hebrew, ‘to be’ does not just mean ‘to exist’, but to be active, to express oneself in active being. God is the One who acts. The imperfect tense of the verb becomes clear. God’s manifestation to Israel is yet future at the time of the burning bush incident. The ‘I AM’ or ‘I will be’ is God’s promise that He will redeem the children of Israel.” Another doctrinal note from my study Bible regarding this verse: “There are three primary names of God: Elohim (God), Jehovah or Yahweh (usually printed as ‘Lord’ in the KJV), and Adonai (Lord). Each of these names emphasizes a different aspect of the nature of God. The name Elohim appears 31 times in Genesis 1, where it emphasizes His strength and creative power. The name Yahweh is most often used to express God’s self-existence, particularly in relation to humanity. Adonai means ‘master’ and underscores the authority of God.” Another significance of God revealing His name to Moses is to separate Himself from all the other false gods and idols that the children of Israel had already encountered in Egypt and would soon meet with in the promised land from the heathen culture of the indigenous peoples. All the other gods had been born out of the corrupt and sinful imagination of man, and thus man named them. God, however, named Himself, demonstrating the very nature of what all the other false gods lacked: true sentience. God had revealed Himself to Abraham, had guided and cared for him and his seed, and is now giving Himself a name by which His chosen people will call upon Him and know Him. None of the false gods of Egypt or the Canaanites could do that! “This is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.” (v.15) God is. He has always been, and he always shall be. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, and there is none other like Him. To God, there is no such thing as “past” or “future”. He exists outside time and space, where there is only the “now”, with no beginning and no end. (Psalm 30:4, 97:12, 102:12, 135:13, Hosea 12:5) Verses 16-22: God tells Moses to go and gather the elders of Israel and tell them that “…I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt.” (Genesis 50:24-25, Exodus 4:31, Psalm 33:18, Luke 1:68) He then lays out for Moses the game plan. Moses and the elders of Israel will go before Pharaoh and ask him to allow them to take the children of Israel into the desert on a three day’s journey so that they might “…sacrifice to the Lord our God.” (v.18) But Pharaoh will refuse their request, and so God will stretch out His hand and smite all of Egypt with signs and wonders, after which Pharaoh will allow the Israelites to go. (v.19-20) Not only will the Egyptians let the Israelites go, but they will also give them clothes, jewelry, and other such wealth so that the Israelites will not leave empty handed. (v.21-22) (Exodus 11:2) God basically explains to Moses exactly how He will accomplish the deliverance of His chosen people. He knows already that Pharaoh will refuse Moses’ request, and He also has the foreknowledge of Pharaoh’s rebellion against Him. As in the case of Esau (Malachi 1:2-3), it appears that God has already rejected Pharaoh long before Pharaoh actually makes the foolish choice to defy God and Moses. This is interesting, considering that the phrase “…hardened Pharaoh’s heart…”, or some variation thereof, appears ten times in Exodus, and every time the action is attributed directly to God. (Exodus 4:21, 7:3, 13, 9:12, 10:20, 27, 11:10, 14:4, 8, 17) Exactly how that form of predestination and election fits with God’s plan of salvation for all of mankind, specifically His desire “…that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9), is a theological mystery. Even more so when one considers Jesus’ words in Mark 4:12 where He explains the meaning of the parable of the sower and the seed. As I’ve noted before in my commentary on Genesis, there is neither the time nor the pages available to do a deep dive on this topic, although I will discuss this a bit more in my commentary in the next chapter. For now, we must simply accept that God will harden Pharaoh’s heart, partly in response to Pharaoh's willful disobedience and rejection of God, but also in order that God might show forth and maximize His glory and honor in the deliverance of His chosen people, the Israelites. But Moses isn’t quite ready to say ‘Yes’ to God’s calling. Verse 1: Moses was of the tribe of Levi. (Exodus 6:16-20, Numbers 26:59, 1 Chronicles 23:14) His father’s name was Amram, his mother Jochebed. He was the youngest of their three children. (Exodus 7:7) His brother’s name was Aaron, and his sister was Miriam.
Verses 2-4: In defiance of Pharaoh’s order, Amram and Jochebed hide Moses for three months after he is born, when they see that he is “…a goodly child…”, meaning that Moses is strong and healthy and beautiful to look upon. (Acts 7:20, Hebrews 11:23) This implies that Pharaoh’s men were actively conducting random searches of the Israelite homes for any male infants since the midwives could not be trusted to follow Pharaoh’s orders. But as Moses grows, it becomes more difficult to hide him, and so Jochebed creates an ark out of bulrushes (Isaiah 18:2), coating it with slime and pitch to make it waterproof, and then lays Moses in the basket. (v.3) She puts the ark in the Nile river, setting it carefully among the reeds (Isaiah 19:6) near the shore where it will not get swept away by the current. Miriam is tasked with guarding her three month old brother from a safe distance, hidden as well. There are echoes here of Noah and the recurring theme of salvation through the providence of God by the building of an ark. Also, in an ironic twist, Jochebed does exactly what Pharaoh has ordered the midwives to do with the Hebrew male infants. As always, God uses the proclamations and efforts of sinful men against His chosen people to orchestrate His divine will. (Psalm 2:2-4) Verses 5-10: By the hand of God, the place that Jochebed chooses to hide Moses is very near to the spot where the Egyptian princess, the daughter of Pharaoh, goes every day to bathe. (Or perhaps Jochebed, aware of the princess’ habits, places her son in that exact spot, hoping and praying to God for a miracle.) Pharaoh’s daughter spies the basket among the reeds and sends one of her maids to fetch it. (v.5) When she opens the basket and finds a helpless, crying baby, she has compassion for the infant, recognizing immediately that he “…is one of the Hebrews’ children.” (v.6) Miriam, in an act of boldness and true courage, steps out from her hiding place and offers to go find a Hebrew nurse to care for the child. (v.7) Pharaoh’s daughter agrees, and Miriam returns with her mother. The princess tells Jochebed to nurse the child in exchange for payment, and Jochebed obeys. (v.9) When the boy is weaned, Jochebed returns to Pharaoh’s daughter and gives him her son. The princess names him Moses, meaning “…I drew him out of the water.” (v.10) (The Hebrew variation of that name, Mosheh, means “drawn out”.) It must have been heartbreaking for Amram and Jochebed to give up their youngest son. But they possessed the same faith and trust in God that had sustained Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph through all of their times of testing and trials, and so they made the same leap of faith that Abraham did when God first called him to leave his family and kinsmen for a journey to an unknown destination and an uncertain future. (Hebrews 11:23) Note from my study Bible: “The phrase ‘the daughter of Pharaoh’ has been interpreted by many to refer to the famous Hatshepsut (1504-1483 B.C.), considering an early date for the Exodus, since Moses would have been born about 1527 B.C. This would be during the reign of her father, Thutmose (1525-1508 B.C.). There is a good possibility that Moses was reared in one of the royal harems which were common in the New Kingdom period (c. 1570-1085 B.C.). The children of harem women would be educated by the overseer of the harem. (Acts 7:22) In due time, the princes (Moses was called “her son” in verse 10), were given a tutor who was usually a high official at court, or maybe a retired military officer close to the king. Thus, Moses was in a position to receive all the privileges and opportunities of a member of the Egyptian royal court. (Hebrews 11:24-25)” Verses 11-15: Moses, now a grown man of forty years (Acts 7:23), goes out among his Hebrew brethren where he happens upon an Egyptian taskmaster beating an Israelite slave. (v.11) Moses looks around to make sure there are no other witnesses before intervening and killing the Egyptian. He buries the man in the sand nearby. (v.12) The next day – or sometime shortly after this incident – Moses again goes out among his fellow Israelites where he comes upon two Hebrew men fighting one another. Moses again intervenes, demanding of the instigator, “Wherefore smites thou thy fellow?” (v.13) The man responds with a sneer, “Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? Intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian?” (v.14) This causes Moses great fear, for he thought that his vengeful act would not be so quickly known among the Hebrews, which means that the Egyptians also might know of it. Verse 15 confirms this, for it says that Pharaoh himself desires to bring Moses to justice. Acts 7:24-25 tell us that Moses expected the Israelites to treat him as a savior, as one of their own, not only because he rescued one of them from an Egyptian, but because he, too, was a Hebrew. But this was not the case. He is alienated from his own people because of his adoption by the daughter of Pharaoh and his life of wealth, privilege and ease in the Egyptian court. Pharaoh’s edict forces Moses to flee Egypt altogether, and he seeks refuge in Midian, a desert region between Sinai and what is today known as the Arabian desert. Midian is listed in Genesis 25:1-2 as one of the sons of Keturah, one of Abraham’s concubines whom he married after the death of Sarah. The slave traders to whom Joseph’s brothers sold him were called both “Midianites” and “Ishmeelites” (Genesis 37:28), indicating that these two people groups of that time were of the same family line as Ishmael, as well as all the other descendants of Abraham except for the line of Isaac. During the time of Israel’s wanderings in the desert, and even later during their initial occupation of the promised land, the Midianites are depicted as one of Israel’s chief enemies, allying themselves with the Amalekites. (Judges 6) Whether or not Moses is aware of the history of the Midianites and their current relationship to the children of Israel, or whether he simply seeks a desolate region far from the Egyptians that will hide him for awhile, is unclear from the text. Verses 16-22: Once again, as with Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18), there is a priest mentioned here, although he is not described with the additional phrase, “…of the most high God…”. However, Exodus 18:12 confirms that, like Melchizedek, this priest also worships God, and we also know from that same verse, as well as Exodus 3:1, that his name is Jethro. (Why he is called “Reuel” here in verse 18 is unknown. In Numbers 10:29, he is also referred to by this name, although a slightly different spelling. Perhaps that is the Midianite interpretation of the Hebrew name “Jethro”?) Jethro has seven daughters, all of whom arrive at the well where Moses has stopped to rest. They attempt to draw water to fill the nearby troughs for their father’s flocks but are driven away by other shepherds. Moses, however, intervenes and helps the daughters draw water for their sheep. (v.16-17) Once again, as with Eliezer (Genesis 24:15-16) and Jacob (Genesis 29:10), a well is the site for an important meeting arranged by God for His chosen servant. And, as with those previous encounters, the meeting results in a wife for the man of God. In this case, that woman is named Zipporah. (v.21) She bares him a son whom he names Gershom, which means literally “Stranger there”. Moses recognizes that he is a “…stranger in a strange land.” (v.22) He spends the next forty years dwelling with the house of Jethro, tending to his flocks on the backside of the desert. (Exodus 3:1) Verses 23-25: Pharaoh dies, and the children of Israel cry out to God because of their bondage and oppression. (James 5:4) God hears them and remembers His holy covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (Genesis 12:1-2, 15:13, 28:13, Psalm 105:8, 42) As noted in my earlier commentaries in Genesis, the word “remember” does not imply that God forgot about the children of Israel. Quite the opposite, in fact. When used in the Bible, especially as an action or characteristic of God, the word “remember” means that God places special emphasis on that person or people who is/are the subject of his remembrance. (Refer back to Genesis 8:1 and my notes there.) This chapter ends with an uplifting reference of God’s omniscience and compassion upon His chosen people. Verse 25: “And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.” (Exodus 4:31, Luke 1:25, Acts 7:34) The term “respect” here means that He acknowledges them. He hears the cries of Abraham’s seed, and He has already set in motion a plan to deliver them from their captivity and oppression. (Psalm 34:6, 68:5-6) Verses 1-7: Chapter 1 opens with wording that is nearly identical to that of Genesis 46:8. We are then given a very brief genealogy that concludes in verse 5 with the number seventy as the total of Jacob’s household when he arrived in Egypt. That includes Joseph and his family which Moses did not include in Genesis 46:26, hence the number sixty-six in that verse. Acts 7:14 gives the total of Jacob’s household as seventy-five, but that number most likely includes the five grandsons of Joseph. (Genesis 50:23) Keep in mind that Hebrew custom was to list and count in genealogies only the sons, so these numbers do not include all the wives and daughters. (Although, there seems to be an exception in 46:26, since those four would include Joseph, his wife, and his two sons.) As I noted previously, it was very likely that the actual number of Jacob’s house was closer to one hundred and thirty or forty. God had indeed blessed Israel and all his sons before they even arrived in Egypt, and now God would continue to bless Jacob’s descendants in the same manner, as verse 7 confirms.
Verses 8-14: A new Pharaoh ascends the throne, one of the Hyksos lineage. The Hyksos were not native to Egypt. According to my study Bible, “…the Hyksos came forcefully into Egypt between 1720 and 1700 B.C. and were expelled about 1570 B.C. This would better fit the time in which Jacob came down to Egypt, 430 years before the Exodus (Exodus 12:40), thus entering Egypt about 1877 B.C.” That commentary goes on to say that Joseph died around 1805 B.C. which means that there was more than enough years in Egypt by the time of the Hyksos invasion for the conquering Pharaoh to say, “…Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:” (v.9) The new Pharaoh is afraid of the Hebrew nation, scorning Joseph’s privileged status and honor among the previous dynastic line of Egyptian rulers. He institutes a system of control and forced labor for the Israelites, lest they side with Egypt’s enemies in the event of another invasion. (v.10-11) As with all foreign conquerors, the new ruler is fearful of being overthrown as well as eager to build new monuments to himself, and thus he sees in the children of Israel – who are also a foreign nation – a way of killing two birds with one stone. But even under an oppressive regime the Israelites continue to be fruitful and multiply, causing even more anxiety and grief for the new Pharaoh. (v.12) He and his taskmasters make the lives of the Israelites “…bitter with hard bondage…” by forcing them to manufacture bricks for the cities as well as being laborers in the fields, harvesting grain and other crops. (v.13-14) Yet, in this time of great sorrow, God continues to bless the children of Israel, as the remainder of this chapter shows. Verses 15-22: Pharaoh orders the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, to kill any child that is revealed to be a male at the time of birth. These two women were probably singled out because they were in charge of all the midwives within the nation of Israel. (v.15) (Matthew 2:16, Acts 7:19) But, of course, the midwives fear God more than the Pharaoh, and they disobey his vile order. (v.17) When Pharaoh summons them to account for their disobedience they tell him that by the time they get to the homes of the women who are in labor, the child is already born and it’s too late to intervene. (v.19) (Joshua 2:4, 2 Samuel 17:19-20) Yes, these women lied to Pharaoh, but God does not punish them for lying. (v.20) Quite the opposite, in fact. God honors their obedience to Him, and the children of Israel continue to multiply and grow, becoming an even more powerful and mighty nation. (Genesis 15:1, Ruth 2:12, Proverbs 11:18, Ecclesiastes 8:12, Isaiah 3:10, Hebrews 6:10) God also specifically blesses the midwives. (v.21) (1 Samuel 2:35, 2 Samuel 7:11, 13, 27, 29, 1 Kings 2:24, 11:38, Psalm 127:1) Pharaoh, furious with their insubordination, orders his people to intervene by casting into the river any male Hebrew baby that they discover at the time of birth. (v.22) From the very beginning, Satan has been working in the hearts of wicked men to thwart God’s plan for His chosen people. This is not the first time a powerful ruler of a heathen nation would actively seek genocide against the children of Israel. But the midwives feared God and trusted Him more than their own lives. They risked severe punishment – and even death – to defy Pharaoh in obedience to God, and God rewarded them accordingly. So it should be for us today. The law and ordinances of God always come first, and if man’s laws conflict with God’s law, then God’s law is what should be obeyed, no matter the cost – even of our own lives. |
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