Exodus 1 - 2
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 9 viewsNotes
Transcript
Headlines
Prayer
So good to back with you for Wed night Bible Study. As most of you know we will begin a new adventure in the second book of Moses or the Pentateuch, which we call Exodus.
The name Exodus comes from the Septuagint’s title, the Greek Translation of the OT, and means “going out.”
The Hebrew name is “Shemoth.” It comes from second Hebrew word in the text. The Hebrew titles come from the first words of the text and the Greek titles come from the message of the narrative.
Just as we experienced in Genesis we will see Jesus Christ in “type”throughout the book. Some of the things we will be discussing are all things pertaining to Moses. Arguably the most important man in the OT. We will examine his time in Egypt and his connection to Pharaoh. His family and marriage. His call by God and the Burning Bush. We will examine the the plagues on Egypt. The Passover and the parting of the Red Sea. The giving of the Ten Commandments. The feasts of Israel and the Tabernacle and its parts and how it all relates to Christ.
So let’s stand as we get into “Shemoth” or Exodus.
1 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 All the persons who came from the loins of Jacob were seventy in number, but Joseph was already in Egypt.
6 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.
The book of Exodus is meant to be a continuation of the story in Genesis and here in our text we can see that the story just picks right up noting the death of Joseph and all his brothers. Verse 7 begins noting that what had begun as a family has now become a large nation. One might ask how many were there?
According to “AISH - ask the Rabbi website,”
The Aish Rabbi Replies
The Aish Rabbi Replies
It is written in the Torah, "The Children of Israel journeyed... 600,000 adult males on foot, besides the children." (Exodus 12:37)
Since the verse only includes the number of men who were 20 till 60 years of age, we can extrapolate the total population by including the women, children and elderly as well.
A plausible estimate, commonly propounded, is three million. (See Targum Yonasan (by Rabbi Yonasan ben Uziel, cir. 1st century CE, author of an Aramaic translation on the Pentateuch), to Exodus 12:37. He writes that each of the 600,000 had (on average) 5 children (under the age of 20). This implies a total of 600,000 men + 600,000 women + 3,000,000 children = 4.2 million (not including the elderly). However, some understand that it means there was a ratio of 5 to 1 men to everyone else, implying 3.6 million or more simply that the total population was 5 times the men = 3 million. See also Igros Moshe O.C. V 29.)
So suffice to say by the time of the Exodus the Jewish population was large, in fact the Hebrew word for increased greatly is the word normally translated “swarmed.”
Back to the text,
8 Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.
9 He said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we.
10 “Come, let us deal wisely with them, or else they will multiply and in the event of war, they will also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us and depart from the land.”
Now for those who were with us for Genesis you will remember that when we discussed who was Pharaoh when Joseph was second in command. We postulated that the Pharoah was of the Hyksos Pharaohs. These were Northern invader, i.e. Syrians or Assyrian, invaders who ruled Egypt for a few hundred years.
The reason I bring this up is that verse 8 seems to hint that this Pharaoh was not Egyptian. In the NASB version it says a “new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.”
The Greek Septuagint uses a specific word for “new.” In Greek there are two words for another, Allos - another of the same kind and Heteros= another of a different kind. Here the word Heteros is used. So this King was of a different king according to the Septuagint.
Also add to this a interesting passage fro Isaiah;
4 For thus says the Lord God, “My people went down at the first into Egypt to reside there; then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.
As an aside the title “the Assyrian” is considered to be a name for the Anti-christ.
This brings up the question of when did the Exodus happen and like the question of the Pharaoh at the time of Joseph speculation ranges from 1500 BC to 1200 BC but at this point we can’t say for sure.
What we can say is that this Pharaoh had reason to be concerned according to verse 10. So what does he choose to do?
Exodus 1:11–13 (NASB95)
11 So they appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with hard labor. And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pithom and Raamses.
The term “taskmasters” indicated forced labor camps and included both Egyptian and Jewish taskmasters.
12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out, so that they were in dread of the sons of Israel.
13 The Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously;
The word translated as rigor implies cruelty. Notice also that the more they were afflicted the more they multiplied. It is interesting that persecution results in growth.
14 and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them.
So it seems that the cruelty and affliction was not having the desired effect so the Pharoah changes tactics.
Exodus 1:15–16 (NASB95)
15 Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other was named Puah;
Their names mean Garnished and Glittering.
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.”
Image - Birthing stool
This gives a few things to consider. First this is a precursor of what would happen some 1500 years later at the time of Christ’s birth when Herod ordered all male children 2 and under to be killed. This is just another attempt by Satan to destroy the Jews, this time at the time of Moses’s birth.
Secondly, it asks the question what do we do when ordered by an authority or government to do something against our conscience or religious beliefs?
You might remember the Apostles answer when told that they could no longer preach the gospel,
28 saying, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”
29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
Here is what the midwives did..
Exodus 1:17–21 (NASB95)
17 But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.
18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and let the boys live?”
19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them.”seems to be
20 So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and became very mighty.
21 Because the midwives feared God, He established households for them.
So presumably the midwives made up there reason for not obeying the King. So is it ok to lie? As it seems God rewarded these midwives.
The answer and principal from scripture is that when it comes to preserving human life it seems to be acceptable.
Article- Is it ever right to lie?
The chapter ends with Pharaohs final command to parents of baby boys.
22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born you are to cast into the Nile, and every daughter you are to keep alive.”
We do not know if any or most Hebrews obeyed this order we only can say that Moses’ parents did not.
On to Chapter 2 as Moses enters the story.
Exodus 2:1–5 (NASB95)
1 Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi.
2 The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months.
The word beautiful is the Hebrew word “tov”. Which carriers the meaning: good (361x), better (72x), well (20x), goodness (16x), goodly (9x), best (8x), merry (7x), fair (7x), prosperity (6x), precious (4x), fine (3x), wealth (3x), beautiful (2x), fairer (2x), favour (2x), glad (2x), miscellaneous (35x).
Hebrew sages believe that Moses’ beauty was more than physical but a reflection of the Shekinah Glory of God. You might remember there are similar writings regarding Enoch as a baby.
3 But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile.
To water proof the basket.
4 His sister stood at a distance to find out what would happen to him.
5 The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, with her maidens walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid, and she brought it to her.
It is interesting that Moses’ mother choose to put him in the river the very place where she was to kill her child. Scholars argue that this was done in obedience to Gods direct command to her.
It is interesting how the HS will direct us to do the exact thing that we never have chosen on our own, Truly His ways are not our ways!
Article - Who was Moses’ mother?
Exodus 2:6–10 (NASB95)
6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying. And she had pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”
7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for you?”
Moses’ sister was Miriam.
8 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go ahead.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother.
9 Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him.
10 The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”
The name Moses in Hebrew is Moshe, it means drawn.
Article - Daughter of Pharaoh
The rabbis depict the daughter of Pharaoh as a righteous figure who did not follow her father’s wicked ways, but rather converted and ceased worshiping idols. By miraculously rescuing Moses, she was inadvertently responsible for the redemption of Israel, for which she was rewarded with a new name, Bithiah (daughter of God), identifying her with the genealogy in Chronicles. She was highly praised by the Rabbis, and the midrash includes her among the devout women converts and those who entered the Garden of Eden while still alive.
The daughter of Pharaoh did not follow her father’s wicked ways, but rather converted and ceased worshiping idols. She was highly praised by the Rabbis, and the midrash includes her among the devout women converts: Hagar, Asenath, Zipporah, Shiphrah, Puah, the daughter of Pharaoh, Rahab, Ruth, and Jael wife of Heber the Kenite (Midrash Tadshe, Ozar ha-Midrashim [ed. Eisenstein], p. 474). The midrash specifically praised the daughter of Pharaoh for her rescue of Moses, thereby aiding in the exodus of all the Israelites from Egypt. Moses was raised in her home, by a woman who believed in God. She radiated warmth and loved him as if he were her own son, and accordingly was richly rewarded: she married Caleb son of Jephunneh and joined the people of Israel. Some midrashim attest to her longevity and claim that she entered the Garden of Eden while still alive.
It is interesting how a many Gentile woman are used by God in the OT.
Exodus 2:11–14 (NASB95)
11 Now it came about in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his brethren and looked on their hard labors; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren.
12 So he looked this way and that, and when he saw there was no one around, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
He forgot to look up!
13 He went out the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were fighting with each other; and he said to the offender, “Why are you striking your companion?”
14 But he said, “Who made you a prince or a judge over us? Are you intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Surely the matter has become known.”
He knew at this point that the word of his murder was widely known.
Now on this section the writer of Hebrews says;
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,
25 choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,
As the son of the daughter of Pharaoh, Moses was in direct line to the throne.
One might wonder how did Moses know about his Hebrew heritage? On this one commentator writes;
Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary Birth and Adoption (2:1–10)
Your wages. It probably appealed to the robust Israelite sense of humour that Jochebed was ‘spoiling the Egyptians’ by receiving pay for nursing her own son: but there was also a deeper purpose in it. No doubt it was in these early years that Moses learnt of the ‘God of the fathers’ (Exod. 3:15) and realized that the Hebrews were his fellow countrymen (Exod. 2:11). Psychologists rightly stress the importance of impressions received during the earliest years. Without this ancestral background, God’s later revelation to Moses would have been rootless, and the Sinaitic Covenant could not have been seen as a sequel to, and consequence of, the Abrahamic Covenant (Exod. 3:6).
We can’t overstate the importance of Godly parents who share their faith with their children.
According to Acts 7 Moses was 40 at this time and would not return to Egypt for another 40 years at age 80.
Exodus 2:15–22 (NASB95)
15 When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.
There are several important meetings in scripture at wells. We remember Jacob meets Rachel at a well and Jesus meets with the Samaritan women as well.
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.
17 Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock.
18 When they came to Reuel their father, he said, “Why have you come back so soon today?”
19 So they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and what is more, he even drew the water for us and watered the flock.”
20 He said to his daughters, “Where is he then? Why is it that you have left the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat.”
We see that Reuel had 7 daughters… an interesting number.
21 Moses was willing to dwell with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses.
Zipporah means bird.
22 Then she gave birth to a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.”
Gershom means foreigner.
The chapter closes with God remembering His covenant.
23 Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God.
24 So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
25 God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them.
Aren’t we glad that God always remembers us His Church and will keep His promises to us!
Pray
