Read Exodus 1:8-2:10
8 Then,
a new king, who knew nothing about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. 9He
said to his people, “These Israelites are so numerous and strong that they are
a threat to us. 10In case of war they might join our enemies
in order to fight against us, and might escape fromb the country. We
must find some way to keep them from becoming even more numerous.” 11So
the Egyptians put slave-drivers over them to crush their spirits with hard
labour. The Israelites built the cities of Pithom and Rameses to serve as
supply centres for the king. 12But the more the Egyptians oppressed
the Israelites, the more they increased in number and the further they spread
through the land. The Egyptians came to fear the Israelites 13–14and
made their lives miserable by forcing them into cruel slavery. They made them
work on their building projects and in their fields, and they had no mercy on
them.
15 Then
the king of Egypt spoke to Shiphrah and Puah, the two midwives who helped the
Hebrew women. 16“When you help the Hebrew women give birth,” he said
to them, “kill the baby if it is a boy; but if it is a girl, let it live.” 17But
the midwives feared God and so did not obey the king; instead, they let the
boys live. 18So the king sent for the midwives and asked them, “Why
are you doing this? Why are you letting the boys live?”
19 They
answered, “The Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they give birth
easily, and their babies are born before either of us gets there.” 20–21Because
the midwives feared God, he was good to them and gave them families of their
own. And the Israelites continued to increase and become strong. 22Finally
the king issued a command to all his people: “Take every newborn Hebrew boy and
throw him into the Nile, but let all the girls live.”
The Birth of Moses
2 During this time a man from the tribe of Levi
married a woman of his own tribe, 2and she bore him a son. When she saw
what a fine baby he was, she hid him for three months. 3But when she
could not hide him any longer, she took a basket made of reeds and covered it
with tar to make it watertight. She put the baby in it and then placed it in
the tall grass at the edge of the river. 4The baby’s sister stood
some distance away to see what would happen to him. 5The king’s daughter
came down to the river to bathe, while her servants walked along the bank.
Suddenly she noticed the basket in the tall grass and sent a slave woman to get
it. 6The princess opened it and saw a baby boy. He was crying, and
she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.
7 Then
his sister asked her, “Shall I go and call a Hebrew woman to act as a wet
nurse?”
8 “Please
do,” she answered. So the girl went and brought the baby’s own mother. 9The
princess told the woman, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay
you.” So she took the baby and nursed him. 10Later, when the child
was old enough, she took him to the king’s daughter, who adopted him as her own
son. She said to herself, “I pulled him out of the water, and so I name him
Moses.”c
Think
The story of Israel is one of
struggle and then redemption. So - even
as a new King comes into power and oppresses the people God begins unfolding a
plan to rescue them. This story will
take a whole generation to unfold.
Pray
Lord, thank you for the
beautiful ways in which you rescue us and bring your Kingdom. Thank you for faithful people like the Jewish
midwives who chose to obey you rather than the powerful Pharaoh. Help us
through simple obedience to work for your Kingdom.
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