Exodus 1:11-22
So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly. The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?” The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.” So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile but let every girl live.”
AN EXODUS MAN/WOMAN
The children of Israel had just come through one of the biggest famines that was seen in that day. If you go back to Genesis, it will tell you how Joseph was the savior of the people then as he accepted his father Jacob and Jacob’s children to be a shelter for them during the famine. Joseph had been earlier thrown into a pit and later sold into slavery by his own brothers. Little did his brothers know that this was the beginning of their salvation. We are now in a place in our text where the children of Israel were thriving. They outnumbered the Egyptians by almost four to one. Many hundreds of years had passed, and Egypt had gone through many Pharaohs and leaders and kings. It is at this time where we come to a place in history where the current king of Egypt did not know Joseph and what Joseph had done. The Jews were plunged into a world of darkness where they were enslaved and afflicted. The Egyptians had forgotten about Joseph and all he had done for their nation and saw his descendants as thorns in their eyes. It was a time in which everything that had been in the time of Joseph was reversed or obliterated. The Israelites were in their first exile. This king was not sympathetic to the children of Israel. He even got bad advice about how susceptible Egypt was to these vile people. He even said that if we let this continue, in terms of the Israelites continuing to grow, that the Egyptians would be run over by them as he felt the Israelites would take the side of the enemy.
According to our account, the midwives’ names, Shiphrah and Puah, were code names for Miriam and Jochebed, Moses’ sister and mother. Shiphrah was Jochebed because Shiphrah means “cared for” and Jochebed used her skills to care for newborns. Puah equals Miriam because Puah means “cry out” – and Miriam would “cry out through the Holy Spirit, ‘my mother will bear a son who will be the savior of Israel.’” A midwife was someone who helped in the delivery children in that era. Sort of like being a nurse who was an OBGYN.
So far, we know that the children of Israel were protected by God. We know that they flourish in this strange land. We know that they knew God. The other thing we know is that the children of Israel is that they adopted some of the practices of their captors, the Egyptians. we know this because of the names that some of the people were given were Egyptian names and not Israeli names. this is what happens my brothers and sisters when we stay in a place that is not sanctioned by God or we start doing some of the things that our captors are doing. we're in a place now where we have to be able to stick out in a world that will beat us up just for being people of God. we're living in a place where we, as Saints of God, can find ourselves captured or captivated by the world and the world society. it is like we are in Egypt right now. how often do you hear Saints of God talk about God as the Bible depicts him? today we see ourselves being overtaken by the world in the world system. Social media, our cell phones have us enslaved to the world. We are captivated by preachers who don't mind preaching about it being OK to be gay or for two men to be married. we hear about the world system where if you say things like “I feel like”, it makes it OK. we hear things about how hatred is OK as long as it is hatred against a certain group of people. I think we're in a world where we have settled into the world system just like in Egypt. the people of Israel became comfortable in this place called Egypt. Nobody tried to go home. No one thought about going back to Jerusalem. No one thought about taking advantage of the wealth they had accumulated to go back to their own home. my brothers and sisters we must get to a place where we don't mind going home which is church. we have to go home which is on our knees. we must go home which is the word of God. we must go to a place where we're not distracted by the world and the world system.
The children of Israel were flourishing even in a strange land. And because they were flourishing, the king there ordered that the Israelis be put into slavery. He even made the slavery very, very harsh. When you stand with God, and you are part of God's workmanship, you will flourish. If you allow the world system to take over your thinking and your walk, then you will not flourish. When we follow God and flourish the enemy will get angry. The enemy will cause us to second guess serving the God who has bought us through all that he has brought us through. Is important that we hang on to our Christian traditions, our Christian beliefs and our Christian commitment to God. It does not matter how much we are punished or kicked to the curb by the world system or even taken off of social medial because of what we believe, we need to stay with God.
It's amazing how this book of Exodus, which is written by Moses, starts off focusing on 2 midwives rebelling against the current system. Because of the growth of the Israelis, the king had ordered that every male child be killed. And because the midwives were the first ones who would see if a child was male or female, had the command by the king to kill them. This decree did not go out to the Egyptian males but only to the Hebrew males. Our Text tells us that the midwives feared God and refused to follow this decree. we have to realize that though man has power God has all power. Though mankind can dictate a lot to us, God is the ultimate in taking care of us. God is always there to take care of us. It is by faith that these women said no to the king. We are supposed to be good citizens and follow the law of this world. But we're not supposed to sacrifice our commitment to God because of a command by the world. an exodus man or woman realizes that their commitment is to God and not to the world and the world system. An Exodus man or woman realizes that although times look bleak, they need to follow God. An Exodus man or woman realizes that God is more important than men. An Exodus man or woman realizes also that their faith in God will be challenged, and that challenge will not always be easy.
These midwives could have been ordered to be killed by the king at the moment he found out that they disobeyed his decree. It is understandable that the midwives knew this, but also knew that God was in charge. They had to have known that God was bigger than this king. They had to know that God has a plan and had a plan for them. We don't always know God’s ultimate plan for us. Therefore, we walk by faith and not by sight. We cannot imagine how Miriam new that this would be the opening for her brother to be born. A brother that would lead these people to the Promised Land. We could not have known that Jochebed would be the one who bore this savior Egypt to bring them out exile and slavery to the promise Land. We don't know what the end would look like, that is why we continue to run this race. An Exodus man a woman will continue to walk by faith and not by sight. They will not let the world dictate how they walk. These two women knew that they could have been killed but they also knew they God was their protector. We have to know that God is our protector and be willing to follow Him even in the midst of our greatest trials. Oftentimes. we allow the world system to tell us that they will comfort us and take care of us through drugs and alcohol. We often settle in and allow the world to satisfy us through women and men, thru false fellowship with unbelievers. This is a lie of the enemy to cause us to be distracted from God. An Exodus man or woman realizes that God always has a plan for us. It is better that we allow God to take care of us than to make excuses to follow the world. It is far better for us to hold on to God’s unchanging hands than for us to believe that the world could ever take care of us. This was what the enemy wanted Adam and Eve to believe; that the enemy was able to take care of them better than God. Allowing God to take care of us means that we will often have to sacrifice being pleasured by the world. We know that we will be in his presence later. But not even later. We could be in his presence now we go into prayer, read his word and fellowship with other believers.
Our Text goes on to tell us that God was kind to the midwives and to the children of Israel. the people increased. To me that means not just in number but in wealth, status and in faithfulness. When we are faithful to God, he will take care of us. When are faithful to God, he will show us things about ourselves and him that we would never see. When we are faithful to God, God will move us. he will deliver us from evil. He will deliver us from that habit. He will deliver us from the thing that the world has us bound to. He will deliver us from those things that keep us depressed and lonely. He will deliver us from the world and the world system. With God on our side who will we ever fear. As An Exodus man or woman, realize that God is in charge. Realize that God always has a plan. Realize that God is never caught by surprise. Realize that when walk we will see more of him. Realize if we fellowship more with others then we will see more of God in our lives. Realize that no weapon formed against us shall ever prosper. Realize that though they slay me yet will I trust. Realize that we may be in the world, we are not of the world. Realize that we need to stand firm and stay real to what God has said. Realize that Jesus came down through 42 generations healing is sick and raising the dead. Realizing that he was nailed on the old rugged cross. Realize that He stayed in the grave for 3 days and 3 nights after he died on that cross. but early on Sunday morning, he got it with all power in his hand. Realized it as an Exodus man or woman it is important for you to follow God no matter what the situations may dictate.
