EXODUS 1: Israel’s Suffering in Egypt
Understanding the Timeline Gap from the End of Genesis: Genesis 50 concludes with the death of Joseph at the age of 110.
The Start of Exodus:
- Exodus 1 opens: after a generation has passed, noting that the Israelites multiplied and a new Pharaoh arose who did not know Joseph.
- The 430-Year Clocks: Scholars look to the biblical mention of 430 years in Exodus 12:40–41. Opinions on this passage differ on whether the 430 years measure the total time from Abraham’s covenant or just the time spent living inside Egypt.
- Common Estimates: Depending on the chronological model used, the literal gap between Joseph’s death and the events of Exodus 1 is typically calculated between 250 and 300 years, while traditional rabbinic literature like the Talmud suggests a much shorter span of about 50 years.
- Remember Joseph was 110 years old: and he was the second youngest of all his brothers, Benjamin being the only younger brother. Many of Joseph’s brothers may have or probably were already dead by the time of Joseph’s death.
The book of exodus, like the other books of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible), names no particular author. Early Jewish and Christian tradition, however, affirmed that Moses was the writer. In several places, the book indicates that Moses wrote down God’s instructions (see Exod 17:14; 24:4; 34:27-28). Thus, though the book is formally anonymous, there is every reason to accept the tradition that it was written by the main character in its storyline: Moses. The book also shows how God moved the people of Israel into the wilderness to begin the process of developing them into the nation he wanted them to become. This is a reminder that after deliverance comes development.
- It is in the wilderness, that Israel (the people) will learn to walk with God, trust Him, and receive their national constitution, the Ten Commandments. These familiar rules are guidelines God gave the Israelites regarding how they were to relate to Him and to each other.
God also gave strict guidelines for constructing the tabernacle and placing it at the very center of the Israelite camp in the wilderness. This was to teach the people that He was to be at the very heart of their worship and their lives. Thus, Exodus is a book about what it means to worship God and keep Him at the center of our lives.
- These principles are at the heart of kingdom living: And so with that, we have come to the end of our study through the book of Genesis. We have moved from creation to a Garden, and ended in a coffin in Egypt.
But I leave you with this thought…The Hebrew word for “coffin” ‘ārôn (eye-rhone), is the same word for “ark”, as in the ark of the covenant. Joseph was placed in the “’ārôn”, the 10 commandments were placed in the ‘ārôn. So, while the Israelites were wandering in the desert after the Exodus, they carried two shrines with them, one in the coffin(aron) carrying the bones of Joseph, the other in an aron carrying the 10 commandments written by the living God.
- As you have seen, I have given several examples of Joseph as a type, or a model, a foreshadowing of Jesus.
- And it reminds us that Joseph had faith that he would be brought up out of Egypt to his homeland. That God would fulfill his promise.
My prayer for all of us that we would have faith in Jesus Christ, so that even though we die, because of your faith and trust in him, like Joseph, God will come to us, and take us up out of this land. That after death, we will also be brought into the place promised us, the city and the Heavenly home God has prepared personally for you.
Israel’s Suffering in Egypt
Exodus 1:1-6 New King James Version
1 Now these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt; each man and his household came with Jacob:
2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;
3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;
4 Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
5 All those who were descendants of Jacob were seventy persons (for Joseph was in Egypt already).
- The first verses of Exodus reach back some 430 years. The story of the Exodus begins where the story of Genesis ends: a large family with a crucial place in God’s plan of the ages and their migration to Egypt.
6 And Joseph died, all his brothers, and all that generation.
- Joseph was the remarkable great-grandson of Abraham who saved Egypt — and the world — from terrible famine because he listened to God’s voice speaking through Pharaoh’s dream. Because of his wisdom and administration, he was lifted to high and honored office in Egypt. Yet eventually, Joseph died and the status his family enjoyed died with him.
EXODUS 1:7-9
7 But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.
- Genesis 47:27 says, So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly. They did indeed multiply exceedingly over the generations — so that the land was filled with them. “The Hebrew language deliberately repeats three verbs used in Genesis 1:21,22 which may be translated ‘were fruitful… swarmed… became numerous’.”(Cole)
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.
9 And he said to his people, “Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we;
- The ancient Egyptians were famous — or infamous — for their proud sense of racial superiority towards all other people.
- It isn’t surprising to see them afraid and discriminating against this strong minority group in their midst, which looked as if it would not be a minority very long.
EXODUS 10-13
10 come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land.”
11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses.
- In the event of war, they could also join our enemies and fight against us: At the time, the Egyptians feared invasion from the Hittites of the north. If the Hebrews among them joined with the Hittites, it posed a significant threat to their security.
12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel.
- I love this statement, the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. Tell me God doesn’t have a sense of humor!!
13 So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor.
- When the children of Israel were set to slave labor they built many of the great cities and monuments in Egypt — though not the pyramids, which were built much earlier. Since we don’t know exactly when this forced labor began, we don’t know how long it lasted. Some estimate slavery lasted 284 years, others 134 years.
EXODUS 1:14
14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage—in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.
- The more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew: This was God’s purpose for Israel’s time in Egypt. Egypt served as a mother’s womb for Israel, a place where they rapidly grew from a large clan to a mighty nation.
- Please understand, the nation could not grow this way in Canaan. It was practically impossible to avoid intermarriage with the pagan and wicked inhabitants of Canaan. Egypt was so racially biased and had such an entrenched system of racial separation that Israel could grow there over several centuries without being assimilated.
- This growth in the face of affliction has consistently been the story of God’s people, throughout all ages — the more they are afflicted, the more they grow. As the ancient Christian writer Tertullian said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”
Suffering and persecution are like a great wave that comes upon a ship and looks as if it will destroy it; but the ship catches the wave and just uses it to speed along. So, Pharaoh tries a new direction:
The king of Egypt tries to destroy Israel by ordering the death of all male babies.
EXODUS 1:15-16
15 Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiph-rah and the name of the other Puah;
16 and he said, “When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”
- We shouldn’t expect that these two women were the only midwives for all the children of Israel. They were probably the leaders of some association of midwives.“Shiphrah and Puah are two good Semitic names, of an archaic type… meaning something like ‘beauty’ and ‘splendour’ respectively.” (Cole)
- If it is a son, then you shall kill him: The king of Egypt commanded them to kill all the male babies, to utterly weaken and practically destroy the people of Israel within a generation.
- We may see the command of Pharaoh as consistent with Satan’s plan of Jew-hatred through the centuries, as an attack against God’s Messiah and ultimate plan for Israel in His plan of redemption.
- Satan knew that the Messiah — the Seed of the Woman, the One who would crush his head (Genesis 3:15) — would come from the children of Israel. Therefore, he tried to destroy the whole nation in one generation by ordering all the male children killed.
EXODUS 1:17-19
17 But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive.
18 So, the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive?”
19 And the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.”
- Thank God the midwives feared God more than man: They probably feared Pharaoh and his power; but they feared God more.
For them, the choice was clear. The civil government commanded something that was clearly against God’s command. The midwives did the only right thing: they obeyed God rather than men.
- Saving the male children alive: They acted on the same principle as did the persecuted apostles in Acts 4:19, when Peter asked the civil authorities: Whether it is right in the sight of God, to listen to you more than to God, you judge.
- Though generally we are called to obey the government and honor civic rulers (Romans 13:1-5), we are never called to put government in the place of God. Therefore, if the government tells us to do something against God’s will, we are to obey God first.
EXODUS 1:20-22
20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty.
21 And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He provided households for them.
22 So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.”
Have you ever wondered why the boys? Girls have babies, populations grow primarily because of girls having children.
- Preserving the Workforce: Killing the baby boys removed the military threat, while letting the girls live allowed Egypt to maintain and absorb a captive labor force. Surviving females would eventually have to integrate, (if there were no other men to marry) Egyptians or raise future servants for the kingdom.
Many people assume that the Hebrew midwives lied to Pharaoh when they said this (for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them).” However, this may not be the case. The midwives may have told the truth, perhaps indeed the Hebrew women were heartier than the Egyptian women, yet the midwives did not explain all the reasons why the babies were spared.
- “This might be no lie, as many suppose, but a truth concerning many of them, and they do not affirm it to be so with all… So here was nothing but truth, though they did not speak the whole truth, which they were not obliged to do.” (Poole)
- We are not told whether the midwives were lying, or whether the quick delivery of ‘Hebrew’ babies was a biological fact… Even if they lied, it is not for their deceit that they are commended, but for their refusal to take infant lives.” (Cole)
Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: Even if the midwives deceived Pharaoh, that was not what God blessed; He blessed their godly bravery in obeying God before man.
The people multiplied and grew very mightily: The worse the persecution against God’s plan to multiply the children of Israel in Egypt, the more God made sure His plan succeeded. This is a wonderful example of the goodness and the power of God. Pharaoh said, “less” and God said, “more.” Pharaoh said, “stop” and God said, “go.” If the battle were just between Pharaoh and the people of Israel, Pharaoh would have clearly won. But the real battle included God in the equation, and that changed everything.
- God obviously won this battle; but He won His victory through some courageous individuals who were willing to stand up to the power of Pharaoh and do what was right.
- He provided households for them: This was God’s blessing on the midwives — He enabled them to have children of their own. Usually, midwives held their occupation because they had no children of their own.
Every son who is born you shall cast into the river: Seeing that his plan did not work, Pharaoh made a far more radical command, that all male children should be killed.