1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; 3 Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; 4 Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. 5 The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all; Joseph was already in Egypt.
Exodus is one the most amazing books in all of scripture. There is history, murder, miracles, God showing up in amazing ways, courage, weakness- it has it all! It begins with a reference to Jacob and the first settlers of Jews in Egypt some 430 years before. This is important because it reaches back to a few stories in Genesis that set the scene.
The first is the story fo Jacob. Jacob was told by God to go to Egypt with his entire family (Gen. 46:1-4). God tells him to not be afraid, for He will make him into a great nation. It is also important to note that Jacob is also known by the name Israel. So if we are to see the symbolic nature of this story, it is that God is building the nation of Israel through Jacob’s faith.
The second story is that of Joseph. His story begins in Genesis 37 and details the jealousy of his brothers, who ultimately throw him in a cistern and leave him to die. But Joseph is picked up by a caravan and taken to Egypt where he becomes second in command to Pharoah. When his path once again crosses his brothers, he is able to show forgiveness rather than vengeance. Because of Joseph’s presence already in Egypt, he is able to reinstate his family.
6 Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, 7 but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.
After Joseph’s generation dies out, we see that the Israelites continue to prosper. The land of Egypt becomes filled with them. God’s promise to Jacob has come true, but the eyes of Egypt are on them.
8 Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. 9 “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. 10 Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.” 11 So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites 13 and worked them ruthlessly. 14 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.
Time passes and a new king emerges. Joseph, who had favor with the Pharoah of his time, is not known by this new Pharoah. It was common practice for the incoming Pharoah to obliterate the successes and records of the outgoing king. So it isn’t surprising that Joseph’s legacy is not part of known history.
This new king is afraid. His fear is rooted in this growing population of Israelites. His concern is this: if they continue to grow and they align with his enemies, they will overwhelm Egypt. So the new Pharoah enslaves them. This was probably easy to do. The Hebrews most likely didn’t have a structured political system and as we will see later on, they had no military to speak of. So the Egyptians swoop in, enslave them, and create a new worker class in Egypt.
But the enslavement does not slow down their fruitfulness. The result is hard labor and ruthless treatment. The idea is for Egypt to keep the Israelites weak. Their lives consist of making bricks, erecting buildings, and work in the fields for Egypt.
15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 “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.” 17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?” 19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.” 20 So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. 22 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.”
The two women called out here were probably not midwives to all of Israel but most likely leaders of an association of midwives. They are brought to the Pharoah and he commands them to kill any boy that is born and let the girls live. His idea is cruel and cunning: if he kills the boys he slows down the fertility and avoids any strong future uprising. But the women don’t listen. Way in the future, Peter would ask a similar question (Acts 4:19). We are called obey authority, but when it is plainly against the will of God, we need to take a stand to obey God first.
The midwives may or may not have lied to the Pharoah. Perhaps the Israelite women are more vigorous that Egyptian women. Maybe they were overwhelmed by the love and concern the Israelites had for their children. Whatever the case, the women are blessed for their bravery in the face of the power of the Pharoah. Ultimately they were rewarded with children of their own. And Israel continues to grow, the blessing and promise of God swelling against the tyranny and opposition of the Egyptians.