Today’s passage: Exodus 1
Helpful thoughts:
- The beginnings of a nation (70) came to Egypt and there they flourished. Our knowledge of the growth of the people and the land of Egypt being “filled with them” sets up the reader to understand what comes next.
- Egypt’s response to Israel’s flourishing fulfilled God’s word to Abraham in Genesis 15:13.
- No matter what the Egyptians did to stifle the Israelites, they only grew. Fear was the motivator to enslave the Israelites.
- The efforts of the Pharaoh to have the males killed and the midwives fear of the Lord over their earthly king provides our understanding of the environment within which Moses was born.
Questions to consider:
- In what way does the theme of fear run through this chapter? Who was feared? For what reasons? What did these different kinds of fear produce in people’s actions?
- How does the honest report of the midwives potential dishonesty show the historical authenticity of this narrative? What did the midwives potentially do that could have been wrong? What did they do that was right? For what were they rewarded?
- How does the fear of God affect how you see your relationships, your work, your time, etc.?