The midwives feared God

Exodus 1: 15-17: “And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live. But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.”

This section gives us the names of two of Israel’s greatest heroes. Shiphrah and Puah may have been midwives but they were slaves as well. They risked their own lives to save the Israeli boys who were born during that period. We know much more about the great warriors, generals and kings of the Old Testament, including women like Deborah but who remembers the names of these women? They saved the boys, including Moses. After Israel left Egypt they had 603,550 fighting men (Num 1: 46) plus the Levites and all the boys who were under age. I wonder how many of these men were saved by the Hebrew midwives? It is possible for anyone to do great things for the Lord even though they don’t have a high profile or powerful job. The only requirement is that we fear the Lord.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Let us deal wisely with them

Exodus 1: 8-14: “Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.”

Egypt had previously been invaded by the Hyksos but they had driven them out after about a century. The new king of Egypt was probably afraid that the Israelis would try to take over and control Egypt as well. However, Joseph, one of the children of Israel had saved Egypt from complete starvation and had proved to be a good friend of the Egyptians. This Pharaoh was ungrateful for the fact that Joseph, the Israelite, had saved Egypt and decided to enslave them so that they wouldn’t develop into an organised unit and take the kingdom from him. They forced them to work long hard hours to keep them exhausted but the Lord blessed them by allowing them to multiply. The first time that we discover multiplying in the Bible is in Gen 1: 22 (“And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.”) and it is also the first time that we discover God blessing something. Even though Pharaoh decided that he would enslave Israel, the Lord blessed them. Nothing on the earth can stop the Lord from blessing whoever He chooses to bless.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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These are the names

Exodus 1: 1-7: “Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already. And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.”

While Genesis gives us the long term context for the formation of the nation of Israel Exodus gives us the immediate context for the formation of that nation. How did a nation of slaves become God’s agents in punishing the Amorites for their sin and then take possession of the Promised Land? Why did they have any right to possess the Land at all? (These questions are specifically answered in Genesis 15). However, this book begins with a nation of slaves . Never the less, God still remembered each one of these slaves and their names were graven upon the palms of His hands (Is 49: 16). We may be in the most difficult of circumstances and we may feel that escape is impossible but the Lord still remembers who and where we are. The first time that we read about “fruitful and multiply” is on the fifth day of creation (Gen 1: 22, “And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.”) Even though these people were slaves God was still blessing them because being fruitful and multiplying is a consequence of being blessed God. The whole story of Israel began when God promised that He would bless Abram and God still blessed Abram even though his descendants were slaves in a strange land God was defining Israel’s sons as a distinct and exceptional nation.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Joseph dwelt in Egypt

Genesis 50: 22-26: “And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father’s house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years. And Joseph saw Ephraim’s children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph’s knees. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence. So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.”

This section should be read in conjunction with the Lord’s promise to Abraham (see Gen 15: 13-16, “And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.”) Genesis sets the context for the rest of the books of the Law and the books of the Law set the context for the rest of the Bible. However, behind everything we see that God is determined to bless all the families of the earth, which is another way of saying “whosoever believeth in Him shall have everlasting life.”). In many ways everlasting life is equivalent to eternal life but it is different in the fact that it is accessible today. Joseph experienced the beginning of his everlasting life before he died, while he was still living in Egypt. Have you begun experiencing your everlasting life today?

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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God meant it unto good

Genesis 50: 15-21: “And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him. And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.”

Joseph’s brothers were guilty because they knew that they had behaved very badly towards their own brother. They also judged him by their own standards and expected him to seek revenge as, no doubt, they would have done. They manufactured lie by telling Joseph that their father had specifically commanded him not to take revenge. However, Joseph was made of different stuff and he knew God personally. He understood why he had been through all those years of trials and tribulations. First, he understood that vengeance belongs to the Lord and not to any man (Deut 32: 35, “To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence;” and compare Heb 10: 30, “For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.”).Joseph had no business seeking vengeance because he knew the Lord would take care of any vengeance that was needed. He also understood the truth that Paul wrote about as well (Rom 8: 28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”) No matter how people deal with us, if we trust our lives to the Lord then He will work for good. Joseph also predicted the words of the Psalmist (Psalm 119: 65-80, “Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O LORD, according unto thy word. Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments. Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word. Thou art good, and doest good; teach me thy statutes. The proud have forged a lie against me: but I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart. Their heart is as fat as grease; but I delight in thy law. It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes. The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments. They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word. I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me. Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant. Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for thy law is my delight. Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with me without a cause: but I will meditate in thy precepts. Let those that fear thee turn unto me, and those that have known thy testimonies. Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed.”)

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Joseph returned in Egypt

Genesis 50; 14 “And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.”

When we face a crisis in our lives we often want the world to stop to allow us time to recover. If we have suffered a severe bereavement or set back then it is very hard to look around and see other people continuing their lives without a care in the world. How hard is it to attend the funeral of a dearly loved person and see other people laughing and, seemingly, enjoying their lives without a care in the world.? Joseph had to go back to Egypt after his father had died and continue to serve grain to everyone else so that they could survive as well. If we trust in God we can face these issues with security because we know that we have a secure future. We will be with the Lord Jesus Christ forever when all the trials and griefs of this world are over.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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A grievous mourning to the Egyptians

Genesis 50: 7-13: “And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father’s house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen. And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company. And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days. And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abelmizraim, which is beyond Jordan. And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them: For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.”

Even though Jacob sons were born in strife and lived in strife, they agreed with each other when it came time to bury their father. Some of them hated him, as we can see by the fact that his eldest son slept with his concubine, but they all realised that there was something beyond this life to look forward to. While the Egyptians were weeping the children of Israel were ensuring their place in eternity. We too face the same issue; are we going to weep about the things we have lost in our presents lives or are we going to rejoice in the secure future that God has stored up for us, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ?

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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