Exodus 1:8-21

7 Reasons to Fear God Alone

[Intro Difficulty] I don’t know about anyone else here, but I struggle with introductions. Whether I’m writing a paper or delivering a sermon I typically have more difficulty crafting my introduction than any other part. Now, contrary to what some of you may be thinking, I am not bringing this up as an opportunity to confess that I forgot to do an introduction.

[Intros are Important] No, the reason I say this is because we all as teachers understand the importance and significance of an introduction. Introductions are important because they will guide and shape the way an audience is going to perceive everything that comes after. The reason introductions are difficult is because they are important.

[Moses Intro to EX] I bring this to your attention because our text is from Exodus Ch.1, verses 8-21. And unlike me, Moses is no slouch when it comes to introductions. It is Moses after all who wrote Genesis 1… The introduction to the entire bible. And I believe that Moses wrote this introduction here in Exodus with the intent of orienting and guiding the hearts of his readers to understand and comprehend the truths that are to be revealed in this book and even in the rest of scripture.

[Genealogical Consistency] The significance of this introduction is highlighted in the fact that Moses himself draws attention to it by doing something unexpected and different from his normal pattern. However, for us to notice what is abnormal and out of place we have to consider what is the normal way that Moses writes his narrative. Throughout Genesis, Moses follows a strict Chronological, or better yet, Genealogical progression of events. That is to say that Moses does not skip any portion of history without a connecting genealogy. A genealogy connects Adam to Noah, Noah to Abraham. In fact, from Genesis 1 to Exodus 1:6 there are no gaps in Moses’ record. There is an unbroken chain of genealogies connecting every event from Adam to the sons of Joseph.

[Broken Chain] But in Exodus 1:8 Moses does something unprecedented. Something that should grab our attention and cause us to look twice. - . Moses breaks the chain. He skips 400 years of history and genealogy. Now, Moses does have a Genealogy in Chapter 6 which will connect the final events of Genesis to the current narrative. But the question is why doesn’t Moses do what he as always done before and put the genealogy before the new narrative. Why not start Exodus with the genealogy?

[Why? for emphasis!] I think it is safe to conclude that Moses put this narrative at the front of the book and prior to a genealogy in order to emphasize and highlight its content.

[Why the emphasis] So the question is, why is this story so important that it had to come first? What makes this narrative such fitting and well crafted introduction to the book of Exodus?

[What’s he introducing] To know that we need to consider - what is the content of Exodus which Moses is introducing?

[Exodus Revelation] Exodus reveals God. Most notably it reveals God through his redemption of Israel and the giving of the law. But it also reveals him through His words, through his mighty acts and judgments, in theophanies, in prescribed holy days, in the sacrificial system, and lets not forget the tabernacle and priestly garments which were constructed according the the pattern of heavenly things. Taking in God’s revelation of himself in Exodus is like drinking from a Fire-hose.

[Revelation wasted] But we must also come to grips with the fact that for many this self-revelation of God is not profitable. The first generation of those who actually experienced these events firsthand were themselves rejected by God. Their first hand knowledge of God was of no value. And likewise the words of this book may be of no value to those who read it.

[Key to understanding] But I believe that the key to understanding and profiting from this revelation is the point of Exodus 1. And the point of our text this afternoon is simple >< yet foundational. The point of Moses’ introduction and the key to profiting from the words of this book is The Fear God

[Fears of Midwives & Pharaoh] And in this passage we will see both the positive and negative sides to the fear of God. We will see Pharaoh, who fears men rather than God. And the midwives who fear God.

And as we walk through this passage together we will look at Seven reasons to Fear God above all

[Definition] But first, it would serve us well to have a working definition of the Fear of God. I believe that all of us here recognize that the fear of God is not simply being afraid of God. Rather the fear of God is expressed through our actions.

My short definition is as follows:

The fear of God is an obedience to God resulting from a reverence of God leading to knowledge of God.

The link between the Fear of God and actual practical obedience to God is found all over scripture. However, one verse that I believe makes this point especially poignant is Psalm 111:10. Let me read it for you.

Psalm 111:10 ESV

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!

Fearing the Lord is something you do. It is, as the psalmist says, practiced, not simply felt as an emotion.

With that established, let us begin by reading verses 7 and 8 of Exodus 1.

Exodus 1:7–8 ESV

7 But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them. 8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.

In this passage we see the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. Which leads to our first point. That is to

1. Fear God above all because God alone is able to fulfill his promises

[God alone is faithful] In other words, it is only God that truly has the ability to fulfill all his promises, so it is God that we should foremost seek to please. Verse 7 highlights for us God’s faithfulness to keep his promise to Abraham. As promised, Abrahams descendents grew strong and multiplied.

[Pharaohs failed promise] But whereas verse 7 shows us the unyielding steadfastness of God’s promises verse 8 exposes the collapse of a human promise. Lets not forget that 400 yrs previous all the sons of Israel were expressly invited by the Pharaoh at the time to inhabit the land of Goshen. Pharaoh and the Egyptians recognized that Joseph had saved the lives of the Egyptian people and they were more than ready to welcome and accommodate his family by giving them the legal right to inhabit the land. However, fast forward 400 years and the good faith of Pharaoh and the Egyptian people had run its course. The new Pharaoh no longer saw fit to continue treating the Israelites favorably because of Joseph.

[Selective memory of Pharaoh] Furthermore, when it says in verse 8 “there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph” It should be understood that it was not by ignorance that the king did not know Joseph, rather it was a willful setting aside of what he knew about Joseph and the current arrangement of the Israelites in Goshen. How do we know this? We can know this by remembering Gen 47:23-26, the passage where Joseph is selling food to the Egyptians through the famine and year after year the Egyptians give him all their money and cattle till they have nothing left to buy food with. To prevent the Egyptians from starving to death Joseph makes a statute in which the people and land of Egypt will all belong to Pharaoh but the people will be allowed to stay on their land and work it in exchange for giving Pharaoh one fifth of the produce. Interestingly enough, Moses notes for us in verse 26 that Joseph’s statute “stands to this day.” To what day? To the day that Moses is writing Genesis. And since these events take place prior to Moses’ birth it must be that Joseph’s statute was still in place during the reign of the Pharaoh in Exodus 1. This means that the Pharaoh that “forgot Joseph” was still enforcing and profiting from Joseph’s statute. Like so many people, Pharaoh’s memory was apparently very selective.

[God over world’s promises] God however, will not forget and he always remains faithful to those that fear him. The world is full of promises to allure us away from pure devotion to God. It may promise power, significance, or pleasure, but all that the world has to offer will not last, those things are temporary and passing away. Submitting our lives to anything other than God in the hope that it will bring joy, or peace, or fulfillment will never live up to its promise. Fear God above all for only he can fulfill what he promises.

Let us continue in the narratives so please follow along with me as I read verses 9-14

Exodus 1:9–14 ESV

9 And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. 13 So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves 14 and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.

In this passage Pharaoh, out of a fear of the Israelites, pursues an unjust policy to weaken the Israelite people and his plan is an abysmal failure. It is here we see that we are to -

2. Fear God above all because God resists those who do not fear him

[Pharaoh’s fear] It is apparent here that the central motivation of all of Pharaoh’s actions throughout this narrative and on into chapter for Pharaoh is his fear of man. Specifically, he fears the strength of the Israelite people.

[We are susceptible] But we should also recognize that we are not immune from the fear of man. We too are prone to making the same kind of mistake that Pharaoh made.

[Misguided priorities] So lets take a moment to consider Pharaoh’s actions. As we do so it is important to recognize that Pharaoh, as King, has two God mandated responsibilities. The first is to promote Justice within his kingdom by punishing wrongdoers as shown in Romans 13:4. The second is to protect his people from foreign threats as highlighted in 1 Samuel 8:20. Pharaoh’s actions in this narrative are motivated by his desire for National security as is made clear in verse 10. The problem is that he is doing so at the expense of his other responsibility to pursue justice. In other words, he was wrongly pursuing a legitimate responsibility. ]

[The Trap] And we too are prone to falling into this trap. How easy it is to promote one of God’s commands while neglecting others. Or to accomplish one activity by the negligence of another. Or perhaps we strive diligently in those tasks which receive public attention and pay little heed to those which are not. If our obedience is not born out of a reverence for God it is not truly a fear of God. The one who fears God does not pick and choose obedience in some areas and disobedience in others. Perhaps we may passionately defend the truth but do so without patience or love. Or we may tenderly pastor our congregation while neglecting to care for our own wives and children. It is impossible to content ourselves that we fear God because we are obedient in certain areas if we knowingly continue in unrepentance in other areas of our life.

[Inadequate fears] Furthermore, the fear of anyone or anything other than God will always prove inadequate for a life of holiness. For example, a man could refrain from adultery because he fears loosing his wife or the respect of others. But that fear is really just a fear of being caught. there are, after all other ways to avoid being caught. We may conform some areas of our lives to please a respected mentor, but it will be unable to conform the hidden areas of our life and mind to God’s will.

[Prideful priority] Know this for sure, if you choose to ignore certain God given commands and responsibilities in favor of those to which you assign greater value, then you, like Pharaoh, have proudly made yourself the final authority. And God will resist you.

[Discipling to fear God] This is important for us to consider not just for ourselves, but also for those that we disciple. We must recognized that those whom we disciple are prone to this same thing. They too might fall into the trap of trying to please us rather than God. For that reason it is important that we are always pointing those in our charge to the character and majesty of God so that they conform their behavior out of reverence for God and not us.

Moving on, please follow along as I read verse 15-17

Exodus 1:15–17 ESV

15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” 17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.

In this passage the midwives fear God despite the command of Pharaoh. In this example we see a reason to -

3. Fear God above all. Because the Fear of God casts out fear

[Pharaoh’s Cowardice] In this passage Pharaoh ramps up his plan to weaken the Israelite people. His desire is to reduce the male population and thus reduce the threat of a military uprising. Pharaoh could have sent out his army with orders to kill a portion of the Israelite men. However, this would have almost assuredly caused an immediate uprising among the Hebrews. Being a coward, Pharaoh instead embarks on policy of infanticide. And he recruits two women to do his dirty work for him.

[Reward/Punishment] These woman, Shiphrah and Puah, have been given a command by the most powerful man in the world. It is implicitly understood that to obey a King brings honor and reward, and to disobey brings punishment. These two women have a pretty serious reason to be afraid of disobeying Pharaoh’s command.

[God’s greater authority] But fortunately they realized that they had a greater reason to fear God. And by obeying God rather than Pharaoh they have entrusted themselves to God. Pharaoh’s power to harm is limited by the will of God and he can do nothing outside of God’s will. I don’t believe these women knew what would happen to them, but they did not allow the fear of what may happen at the hands of Pharaoh prevent them from doing what was right before God.

[Worldly fears] This world is full of things that can cause us to be afraid. COVID, politics, the national decline of morality, financial security, fear of loosing friends and family, or fear loss of reputation. As preachers we may fear that preaching a certain message may cause some to leave our church. And all of these worldly fears have a way of accumulating and compounding and have the potential to leave us a neurotic mess.

[Simplicity of fearing God] But the fear of God melts these other fears away. The one who lives in the fear of God can live with a mind undistracted by these other fears. For that person, as with these women, the one thought is “what must I do in this situation that will be honoring and pleasing to God” God will take care of the rest. No harm will come upon us that is outside the will of our loving father.

Now I also want you to see in this same passage the contrast made between Pharaoh and the midwives. Which brings us to a fourth point.

4. Fear God above all because God honors those that fear him

Bear with me a moment as I explain.

[Excluded Name] As students of God’s word, we sometimes wonder why certain details are left out. And here in this text we have a vary serious omission. !Moses doesn’t give us Pharaoh’s name. And that is kind of a big deal because that information would allow us to accurately date these and later events. Instead, we have countless commentators disagreeing with each other as to which Pharaoh this was and when it all happened. We might think that Moses left his name out because he simply didn’t know . This might seem plausible until we remember that this Pharaoh is also Moses’ grandfather! Rather than ignorance, I believe that this exclusion of Pharaoh’s name was intentional to make a point.

[Included name] And that point is made clear by the elaborate and intentional way in which the names of the midwives are included in stark contrast to Pharaoh. In the worlds eyes it is Pharaoh that deserves honor and recognition. It is Pharaoh and his accomplishments that deserve to be recorded in history. By contrast, the world has no reason to regard these barren women. No reason to honor or remember their names.

[God’s flipped assessment] But in God’s economy this assessment is flipped on its head. Pharaoh, who has a name of significance and importance before men, fears men rather than God and the result is that in God’s eyes he is dishonored. Shiprah and Puah on the other hand, who have no honor among the people and no children to remember their names; these woman honor God through their fear of him and they are honored by God and their names are forever remembered in the pages of scripture.

[Don’t seek worlds honor] If you seek to live a life of honoring God, you can expect it to be a life of little worth before the world. If you wish to be honored by God do not seek the honor and praise of men.

Follow along with me as I continue our narrative at verse 18

Exodus 1:18–19 ESV

18 So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”

In this passage the Midwives successfully deceive pharaoh. Which serves to illustrate our fifth point. we are to

5. Fear God above all because God is not deceived

[Midwives lie] In verse 18 we see that Pharaoh calls the midwives to ask them to give an account for their failure to execute his command. They tell Pharaoh that it wasn’t their fault but that the women had the babies before the midwives even had a chance to kill them. We know that this story of the midwives is not true because verse 17 tells us that the reason they disobeyed Pharaoh was not inability; but rather the fear of God.

[Pharaoh and others duped] And somewhat remarkably we see that Pharaoh, who apparently knows nothing of childbirth, is deceived by these women. He is totally duped. Even the most powerful man in the world can be deceived, but God cannot. The truth can be hidden from men, but never from God. So what good is it to modify your behavior in fear of people, whether mentors, congregation, or spouse; when you can hide your sin, lie about it, or otherwise deceive people into thinking your one swell guy. Why fear those that can’t see through to the truth that’s in your heart.

Fear God, For he will not be mocked. Not even our motives escape the knowledge of God

[Crippling Fear] This can be an intimidating thought. The fact that every action, and every though or motive is known by God and will be judged by God. It may lead some to think its impossible to please God so why try at all.

[Imperfect midwives] But as we look at these midwives we can recognize that they surely did not obey God perfectly. After all, they resorted to deception when questioned by Pharaoh. Which brings us to our next verse and our sixth point.

Lets read verse 20.

Exodus 1:20 ESV

20 So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong.

Our sixth point from this text, is that we ought to

6. Fear God above all because God is merciful

[Mercy over merit] The midwives are not presented to us as perfect or blameless women. Their lie, as previously mentioned, is one such indicator. In this act of God to treat the midwives well, we see God’s grace and mercy on display. God is not good to these women because he owes it to them. It is because of his abundant mercy toward those that fear him.

[God’s compassion] God knows our weaknesses. He knows that even those who genuinely desire to please him will falter. And he extends his mercy to cover our weaknesses and failings.

[Merit is not a motivation] We do not fear God because we hope to attain to his standard. We do not fear God in dread that one mistake and he will unleash his righteous judgement upon us. No, we fear God knowing that he has extended grace and mercy.

[All sins punished] And we fear God knowing that no sin is left unpunished and that we receive mercy because God has put our sins upon an acceptable sacrifice. A sacrifice which Moses and the prophets looked forward to and wrote about but which was fully revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.

[Who do you fear?] If anyone is sitting here thinking to themselves, I don’t really fear God. My whole life is a sham and I’ve cleaned up my life only enough for appearances. If this is you, then know that your only hope before God is to appeal to His mercy that is found only in Jesus Christ.

[Mercy motivates] And for those that truly know the grace and mercy that is Found in Jesus you also know that his mercy is never a license to sin. Rather it is a greater reason to honor and revere the one who’s love is so great. God’s mercy is one of the greatest reasons for us to live in the fear of God.

Which brings us to our final verse and final point verse 21

Exodus 1:21 ESV

21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.

Our final point is to

7. Fear God above all for God rewards those that fear him

[Worlds rewards] It is not enough, however, to simply recognize that God rewards those that fear Him. Because the worlds system also offers rewards. It goes without saying that had the midwives obeyed Pharaoh that they would have recieved some form of reward. Money, status, greater rank or authority. It would be like someone who works in a lowly position at Microsoft to be approached by the CEO of Microsoft with a special assignment. This is his big chance! An opportunity to move up in the company, so long as the CEO is happy with his work. It was the same with these women. But they chose to disappoint Pharaoh and please God.

[God’s superior reward] And look at how God rewards these women. He gives them families. He gives them something that Pharaoh never could. OF all the things that were in Pharaoh’s power to give; God gives these women something that Pharaoh never could. The point here is that God’s rewards are greater than that which the world has to offer. The reward that God offers is life. And he shows his power to give life in his reward to the midwives. He takes these barren women, Shiphrah and Puah, he takes their dead wombs and fills them with life.

[Eternal reward in Christ] The world is under the power of death, and so everything that the world has to offer will end in death. In God through Jesus Christ there is an offer of life everlasting. The pleasures that the world has to offer; wealth, status, sex, fame; these are fleeting. But in Christ we have the offer of eternal life and pleasures forevermore.