God Cannot Be Thwarted

We are in the book of Exodus for the first time today, so please turn your Bibles to

the book of Exodus, the second book in the Old Testament, right after Genesis and right

before Leviticus.

And let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Heavenly Father, we tremble before your Word.

For your Word is truth.

For your Word is power of God for salvation.

Because your Word is living and active.

Because your Word is breathed out from your own mouth.

And Lord, we want to hear you address us.

Lord, we look forward to, we eagerly anticipate what you have in store for us in this book.

So Lord, do the work that only you can do.

Exalt the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, in our hearts.

Fill us with your Holy Spirit.

Help us to live in our identity as servants of God.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Exodus chapter 1.

Exodus 1 · chapter mention

I'm going to read the whole chapter.

Verses 1 to 22.

It says,

These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob.

Each with his household.

Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah.

Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin.

Dan, and Naphtali.

Gad, and Asher.

All the descendants of Jacob were 70 persons.

Joseph was already in Egypt.

Then Joseph died.

And all his brothers.

And all that generation.

But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly.

They multiplied and grew exceedingly strong so that the land was filled with them.

Now there arose a new king over Egypt who did not know Joseph.

And he said to his people,

Behold, the peoples of Israel are too many and too mighty for us.

Come, let us deal surely with them lest they multiply.

And if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.

Therefore, they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens.

They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Ramses.

And 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.

So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves 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.

Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah,

When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew woman and see them on the birthstool,

if it is a son, you shall kill him.

But if it is a daughter, she shall live.

But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them.

But let the male children live.

So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them,

Why have you done this?

And let the male children live.

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.

So God dealt well with the midwives,

and the people multiplied and grew very strong.

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

Then Pharaoh commanded all his people,

Every son that is born to the Hebrews,

you shall cast into the Nile,

but you shall let every daughter live.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

Just some introductory stuff since we're in the new book.

Exodus is a loan word from the Greek word that means going out,

or leaving, or departure.

It comes from the Greek translation of Exodus 19, verse 1,

Exodus 19:1

which says,

On the third new moon,

after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt,

on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai.

So it refers to Israel's deliverance from Egypt,

which was, in the Old Testament,

the single greatest act of salvation that God had worked.

But the original Hebrew title for the book is actually not Exodus.

It's,

And These Are the Names.

It's not a creative title,

because it's the first words of the book.

The first words of the book are,

And these are the names of the sons of Israel

who came to Egypt with Jacob,

each with his household.

So in the original, it begins with the conjunction,

And,

And These Are the Names,

to show that it's a sequel to the book of Genesis.

It's continuing the story that we have seen in the book of Genesis.

And we were in the book of Genesis not that long ago,

though I guess maybe it's been a couple years now.

And that's why Exodus assumes a number of details

that we can only learn from the book of Genesis.

For example,

Who are the sons of Israel?

Why is Israel also called Jacob?

How did they end up in Egypt?

And where did they come from?

Who is this person named Joseph?

In verses 6 to 8.

And why is it significant that a new king arose over Egypt

who did not know Joseph?

So all that to say,

Exodus is continuing the story of the sons of Israel

that began in Genesis.

And if you were with us through that sermon series in Genesis,

you might recall that settling in a land

that is not the promised land of Canaan

is frowned upon all throughout the book of Genesis.

It's always the people who are outside of the covenant promises of God

that settle in places outside of Canaan.

So throughout the book,

God's chosen line of people,

there are always sojourners in Canaan,

the promised land,

while those who are outside of that chosen line

settle in various other places.

So for example,

Cain settles in the land of Nod.

The inhabitants of Babel settled in Shinar.

Genesis 13.12 tells us that

while Abram settled in the land of Canaan,

Lot settled in Sodom.

And we know what happens to Sodom.

It's destroyed.

Later, Ishmael settles in the wilderness of Paran.

And then in Genesis 36,

it says that while Jacob remained in the land

of his father's sojourning in the land of Canaan,

Esau settled in the hill country of Seir.

Why am I mentioning this?

Because the only time in the book of Genesis

when the people of God is said to have settled in a land

other than the land of Canaan,

the promised land,

and it is okay,

it is the book of Genesis.

Sorry, it's in Egypt.

And that's because it's a temporary arrangement.

Given in chapter,

it says in 47.27 that Israel settled in the land of Egypt.

And that's because God had already predicted this,

said that it would happen in Genesis 15.

13 to 14.

He told Abram that his descendants will be sojourners

in a land that is not theirs,

and that they will be servants there,

and that they will be afflicted for 400 years.

But then God promised that he will bring judgment upon that nation

that they serve,

and afterward that they would come out with great possessions.

And so Joseph at the end of his life,

at the very last paragraph,

Genesis in chapter 50,

he reminds his brothers of this promise of God

and tells them,

hey, when you are delivered from here,

take my bones up with you from Egypt.

So then Exodus is the fulfillment of that prophecy and promise from Genesis.

And Exodus, like Genesis, is written by Moses.

Throughout the New Testament,

the first five books of the Old Testament,

called collectively the Pentateuch,

are mentioned frequently,

and they're attributed to Moses.

In Mark 12, 26 to 27,

when Jesus answers the Sadducees

who denied the reality of the resurrection of the dead,

he said to them,

as for the dead being raised,

have you not read in the book of Moses,

in the passage about the bush,

how God spoke to him,

saying, I am the God of Abraham,

and the God of Isaac,

and the God of Jacob?

He is not God of the dead,

but of the living.

So he is there citing Exodus 3,

and he calls it a book of Moses.

And four times throughout the book of Exodus,

it self-notes,

that the book itself notes

that Moses was writing down what God was doing

and what was happening throughout the book of Exodus.

And so Moses is the author,

the principal author,

though I'm sure there have been other editors of the book.

The dating is also clearly indicated by Scripture,

when it was written,

and at what time period the events in Exodus take place.

So 1 Kings 6.1 gives us a very specific date.

In the 480th year,

after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt,

in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel,

in the month of Ziv,

which is the second month,

he began to build a house of the Lord.

So according to that clue,

the Exodus from Egypt was 480 years

before Solomon's fourth year of reign over Israel,

and we know that was 967 B.C.

And so that puts the date of Exodus right around 1447 B.C.

That's the time period when this was taking place.

Now the book can be outlined in three parts.

First chapters 1 to 18 speak of the salvation of the Lord.

It's the retelling of the Exodus.

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

Chapters 19 to 24 tell us about the law of the Lord.

And then chapters 25 to 40 tell us about the presence of the Lord

when the Israelites are instructed to build a tabernacle,

the tent where God will come to dwell with them, among them.

And so it's a story of how God delivers the Israelites

and gives them the law to govern them,

and then he dwells with them,

with his presence in the tabernacle.

And that basic outline of Exodus is taken up in the New Testament,

fulfilled ultimately in Jesus and in the people of God,

because Jesus accomplishes God's salvation through his life

and through his death as the Passover lamb

and through his resurrection.

And then after his ascension,

he sends the Spirit of God to set his people apart as holy,

and then he writes the law of God upon the people's hearts.

So there's the salvation and there's the law,

and then finally when Jesus returns to judge the world,

there will be a new heaven and a new earth,

and he will dwell forever with us.

God's dwelling place will be with man.

That's the presence of the Lord.

And so that outline captures the main theme of the book of Exodus,

namely that the Lord is present with his people as their Savior and King.

That's what we're going to see over and over again throughout the book.

And with that emphasis on the presence of God,

we're seeing a partial and initial reversal of what happened at the fall,

because God's people, Adam and Eve,

were exiled from the Garden of Eden,

removed from the presence of God,

and now in Exodus they're starting to make their way back,

though it's not fully there until Christ comes

and then until Christ returns.

And in this particular chapter,

the first chapter that we fear God and not man,

trusting that God's sovereign purposes will always prevail.

So that was the outline of the book before,

and then this is the outline of this chapter.

And we're going to first look at the spread of Israel

and the dread of Israel that falls upon Egyptians,

and then finally the fear of the Lord.

Let's first look at the spread of Israel in verses 1 to 7.

Verse 1 says,

And these are the names of the sons of Israel

who came to Egypt with Jacob,

each with his household.

Then verses 2 to 5 list the 12 sons of Jacob

with the accession of Joseph who was already in Egypt,

and then they tell us that all the descendants of Jacob

were 70 persons.

But there's something interesting going on here

because the phrase,

all the descendants of Jacob,

is literally all the persons coming out of Jacob's hip.

That's a very interesting way to refer to someone's descendants.

And that's intentional.

Because if you recall from Genesis 32,

while Jacob is wrestling with God,

asking for his blessing,

God in order to make Jacob stop,

what does he do?

He touches Jacob's hip,

puts it out of joint.

It's so that Jacob can't continue.

But Jacob persists and asks God continually to bless him.

And then that's when God gives Jacob a new name.

And he says to him,

your name shall no longer be called Jacob,

but Israel,

for you have striven with God and with men

and have prevailed.

It is then that Jacob receives that new name

and becomes the father of the nation of Israel.

It's now the people of God are finally becoming,

kind of coming together

and having its own identity as a people

and as a nation.

So Moses is alluding to that incident

when he says that all the persons

coming out of Jacob's hip were 70 persons.

And that's why he also,

in verse one,

calls the sons of Jacob,

the sons of Israel,

to remind us of that promise that God had made.

And that promise is now being fulfilled.

70 is not that many people,

but it is a number that represents perfection in scripture.

And here comes the nation of Israel.

Now we get to watch them grow.

Even though,

as verse six tells us,

Joseph died and all that generation with him,

verse seven assures us,

but the people of Israel were fruitful

and increased greatly.

They multiplied and grew exceedingly strong

so that the land was filled with them.

Look at how many words Moses uses

to tell us of Israel's population explosion.

They were fruitful,

increased greatly,

multiplied,

grew exceedingly strong

and the land was filled.

With them.

And that's no exaggeration.

According to Numbers chapter one,

verse 46,

around the time of the Exodus,

shortly afterward in the wilderness,

there were 603,550 men

over the age of 20.

So that means the total population,

you count the woman and the children,

is likely in the millions,

counting them all.

And so from 70 to millions.

And there's something else

that Moses is telling us here also,

besides the fact that the nation of Israel

grew very numerous.

Do these words ring a bell,

kind of remind you of any verses from scripture?

Fruitful,

increased,

greatly,

multiply,

filled.

They're echoing God's creation mandate

to Adam and Eve

in Genesis 128

and his mandate to Noah

after the flood

in Genesis 9,

1-2.

Be fruitful

and multiply

and fill the earth

and subdue it.

So then,

the chosen people of God

are fulfilling God's command to humanity

what the rest of the world

was not fulfilling.

God's initial blessing to humanity

is now continuing

through the nation of Israel.

So this is also a fulfillment

of a promise.

It's also a fulfillment

of the specific promises

that God had given to the patriarchs,

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,

because he said to them

numerous times

throughout the book of Genesis

that I will bless you

and make you a nation

and your offspring

will be as numerous

as the stars of the heavens,

as the dust of the earth,

and as the sand of the seashore.

And that's now being fulfilled.

That's all great,

but here comes

the conflict of the story.

Verse 8 says,

Now there arose

a new king over Egypt

who did not know Joseph.

The word know in Hebrew

has a range of meaning.

It could refer merely

to kind of surface knowledge

about a person,

but it can also refer

to intimate relational knowledge

of a person.

So this doesn't necessarily mean

that this Pharaoh

knew nothing of Joseph,

though it can mean that.

But even if Pharaoh

knew something of Joseph,

he didn't care about him.

In the same way,

people might say to someone,

Who are you?

Not because the identity

of that person is unknown,

but as a way of dismissing them

or ignoring them.

So this new king over Egypt

did not know Joseph.

The way that Joseph,

as a powerful ruler,

second only to Pharaoh,

had delivered Egypt

and its surrounding nations

from the seven years

of severe famine

with the guidance of God

and wise stewardship,

that memory is now distant.

This king feels no obligation

whatsoever to Joseph

and his progeny,

his people,

the Israelites.

So this prepares the way

for verses 9 to 10.

And he said to his people,

Behold,

the people of Israel

are too many

and too mighty for us.

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.

Notice how Pharaoh

shrewdly uses this

us versus them mentality,

that contrast.

He says to his people

that those people,

the people of Israel,

are too many

and too mighty for us.

The descendants of Jacob,

think about this,

the descendants of Jacob

have been living in Egypt

for almost 400 years.

It's longer than our country

has been around.

And still,

the king of Egypt

does not consider

the Israelites his people.

Instead,

he sees them

as a security risk,

a potential threat

to his rule,

so he stirs up xenophobia

among his own people.

He stokes their fear

of losing power,

and then he turns them

against the people of God.

This is a common tactic

used by rulers

to this day.

Look at how numerous

they have become.

Look at how powerful

they have become.

They are not one of us.

We must contain them.

We must control them.

We must send them

to concentration camps

to re-educate them.

That's how the Holocaust

was justified.

Six million Jews

killed in Nazi Germany

throughout Europe.

That's how the Armenian

genocide was justified,

where 1.2 million

Armenians,

many of them Christians,

were killed

in the Ottoman Empire.

That's how the Rwandan

genocide was justified,

where 800,000 Tutsis

were killed by Hutus.

That's how the Rohingya

genocide was justified,

with 25,000 Muslim Rohingya

were killed

when they were killed

by the Burmese military.

It goes without saying,

but eliminating people

who are unlike us

is never the way

to try to preserve

our cultural influence

or societal power.

even if wicked rulers

go to Zahn.

In setting himself

and his people

against the people of Israel,

Pharaoh puts himself

in direct opposition

to God himself.

Because as I mentioned earlier,

in Genesis 15,

God had promised to Abram

that his descendants

will come out

of the land of affliction

after 400 years

of sojourning.

And anticipating this,

remember Joseph said

to take my bones

out with you,

but that's precisely

what Pharaoh is trying

to prevent.

He doesn't want

the Israelites

to leave the land.

It's interesting, right?

On the one hand,

he feels threatened by them,

but on the other hand,

he doesn't want them

to leave.

So what's going on

is he wants them

to be just big enough

for him to be able

to abuse them

and use them for labor,

but he wants them

to be just small enough

that they'll never be

a real threat

to his rule.

So he wants

to control them.

So Pharaoh reduces Israel

to back-breaking

slave labor

as a way of subjugating them

and controlling the population.

He says in verses 11 to 12,

therefore they set taskmasters

over them

to afflict them

with heavy burdens.

They built for Pharaoh

store cities,

Pithom and Ramses,

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.

The Israelites are sent

to forced labor camps

to build store cities

for Pharaoh

and by reducing the Israelites

to slave labor,

the Egyptians are trying

to break their spirit

and strength.

They're treating them

like cattle,

thinking perhaps

that they can tame

and control them

like livestock,

hoping perhaps

that if they exhaust them

with work

that they would

stop having

so many children.

But ironically,

the more they were oppressed,

the more they multiplied

because it's the promise

of God.

The Egyptians learned

very quickly

that God cannot

be thwarted.

God's plans

always prevail.

And in Genesis 9,

I mentioned this earlier,

of God's command

to Noah

to be fruitful

and multiply

and fill the earth.

God also said

to Noah

in that same passage,

the fear of you

and the dread of you

shall be upon

every beast of the earth

and upon every

birds of the heavens

and upon everything

that creeps on the ground

and all the fish

of the sea.

Into your hand

they are delivered.

So it's ironic.

Here the Egyptians

are treating the Israelites

like cattle,

like slaves,

but instead

it's the Egyptians

that become

like the beasts

of the earth

who stand now

in dread of them.

If we fear God

and fear no man,

those who oppose God

and his purposes

will stand in dread of us.

The Egyptians

are spooked

because the Israelites

continue to grow

so they redouble

their efforts

to oppress them.

It says in verses 13 to 14,

they ruthlessly

made the people of Israel

work as slaves

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.

Notice the repetition,

the verses,

verses 13 and 14,

they begin and end

with the statement

that the Egyptians

ruthlessly

made the people of Israel

work as slaves.

And that frames

the middle section

in that they made

their lives bitter

with hard service

in mortar and brick

in all kinds of work

in the field.

Many of us

having grown up

with much freedom

and much comfort,

we don't know

what it's like

to be made bitter

with hard service.

To do work

that is so intensive

and unrelenting

that it literally

breaks our back,

drives us to despair.

Brick making

was that kind of labor.

There's ancient literature

that mock brick makers

because they were

always muddy

and always miserable.

That's what the Egyptians

forced the Israelites

to do.

And in this short span

of two verses,

there are five words

that contain

the Hebrew root

for serve.

The word slave,

the word service,

the word work,

they're all variations

of the same Hebrew word

for serve.

And this is significant

because the book of Exodus

poses this question

again and again.

Will the Israelites

be servants of Pharaoh

or will they be servants

of the Lord?

And that's why

in his confrontation

with Pharaoh,

God says over and over again,

let my people go

that they may

serve me.

And here again then,

we see Pharaoh

standing in direct opposition

to God's purposes.

He wants Israel

to serve him

rather than God.

He forces Israel

to make store cities

but later,

God will liberate Israel

to commission them

to build his tabernacle.

The word tabernacle

and store city

in the Hebrew

sound almost exactly

the same

and are spelled

almost exactly the same.

So there's a contrast

there also.

The Israelites

should not be reduced

to slave labor

serving Pharaoh

and building his store cities

because they belong

to the Lord

and should be serving

the Lord

and building

his tabernacle.

who are you serving?

Who are you working for?

Are you merely

building

storehouses of man?

Or are you building

God's house?

You might be

working hard

to build

a company

or a career

but what are you doing

to build up

God's people?

His church?

His temple?

Is your life

dominated by

your work

to the neglect

of the worship

of God?

Even when you work

you are not

ultimately

to work

for man

or for yourself

but you are

to work

for God

as an act

of worship.

Colossians 3

23

24

says

whatever you do

work heartily

ask for the Lord

and not for man

knowing that

from the Lord

you will receive

the inheritance

as your reward.

If you work

only for men

you will not work

as you ought to.

You might cut corners

and slack off

and no one's looking

or you might

overwork

and enslave

yourself to man

because you're

expecting to receive

your reward

from man

and not

from God.

Are you living

as a servant

of man

or as a servant

of God?

Pharaoh is

thwarted again

in his efforts

to control Israel

so he resorts

to even greater

atrocities

he says in

verses 15

to 16

then the king

of Egypt

said to the

Hebrew midwives

one of whom

was named

Shiphrah

and the other

Puah

when you serve

as midwife

to the Hebrew

woman

and see them

on the birthstool

if it is a son

you shall kill him

but if it is

a daughter

she shall live.

After enslaving

God's people

and exploiting them

the wicked king

resorts to infanticide

and then he tries

to hide it.

He commands

the Jewish midwives

Shiphrah and Puah

to kill the male babies

when they are born.

If they are

probably not

the only Hebrew

midwives

because if that

was the case

they would have

been really

really busy.

But Pharaoh

doesn't need

to command

all the midwives

to do that

right?

Because his goal

is not

the extermination

of the Jews

it's control

population control

so he wants

enough Jews

to press into service

but not so many

to risk rebellion

so even if only

two midwives

cooperate

he could kill

a significant

number of male

babies

Hebrew babies

over time

limiting

and he could

in doing so

also limit

the number

of people

who are in

the know

and keep

himself

from being

exposed

in his

sinister plot.

And why

male babies?

Because the

line

the family

tradition

passes on

through the

men

in this

culture

Egyptian

men can

take the

Hebrew

woman

but if

the Hebrew

men

continue

to marry

Hebrew

woman

then that

line

that

family

that

identity

continues

presumably

he expected

the midwives

to kill

the babies

without being

detected

coming to

acting like

they're helping

with the birth

and then

the unthinkable

act

I'm sorry

the baby

didn't make

it.

which was

common

neonatal

deaths

were more

common

back in

those days

it's a

wicked

plan

and he's

turning the

Hebrew

midwives

against their

own people

and violating

the king's

command of

course would

have dire

circumstances

and so these

Hebrew

midwives have

to decide for

themselves whether

they will

preserve their

own careers

their own

livelihoods

perhaps their

own lives

or save

the male

babies

that they

have in

order to

kill

and verse

17 to 21

tell us what

happens next

but the

midwives

feared

God

and did

not do

as the

king of

Egypt

commanded

them

but let

the male

children

live

so the

king of

Egypt

called

the

midwives

and said

to them

why have

you done

this

and let

the male

children

live

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

that's a

way to rub

it in his

face

so God

dealt well

with the

midwives

and the

people

multiplied

and grew

very strong

and because

the midwives

feared

God

he gave

them

families

Shiphrah

and Pua's

defiance

of Pharaoh

is a display

of remarkable

courage

because remember

that Pharaohs

were treated

like gods

in those

days

had absolute

power

in their

nation

Rachmire

who served

as prime

minister

under

Pharaohs

Thutmose

the third

and Amenhotep

the second

in the

15th century

BC

describes the

Pharaoh

this way

quote

what is

the king

of upper

and lower

Egypt

he is a

god

by whose

dealings

one lives

the father

and mother

of all

men

alone

by himself

without

an

equal

that's

what

Shiphrah

and Pua

are up

against

David

and Goliath

situation

certainly

except

a lot

worse

since

verse 21

tells us

that God

gave

Shiphrah

and Pua

families

in response

to their

obedience

to him

at the

time

of

the

Pharaoh's

command

they did

not have

families

so they

didn't have

husbands

to protect

them

or look

after them

maybe

they were

young

women

or single

girls

or maybe

widows

Shiphrah

is a

Hebrew

name

that

means

fair

or

beautiful

and

Pua

is a

Canaanite

name

that

means

little

girl

here

are

Shiphrah

and Pua

the

fair

girl

and the

little

girl

defying

one of

the most

powerful

man

most

powerful

ruler

in the

ancient

world

and how

were they

able to

stand up

to

Pharaoh

twice

this

passage

tells us

because

in

verse

17

verse

21

they

feared

God

they

were

not

controlled

by the

fear

of

Pharaoh

because

they

feared

God

if

you

grew

up

by

the

ocean

swimming

in

its

waves

you're

not

going

to

be

afraid

to

swim

among

the

ripples

in

the

pond

this

doesn't

mean

that

Shiphrah

and

Pua

were

terrified

of

God

it's

referring

to

their

reverence

their

acknowledgement

of

God's

authority

and

power

it's

the

fear

that

constrains

them

to

live

with

integrity

knowing

that

all

that

they

do

ultimately

is

accountable

to

God

to

fear

the

Lord

is

to

live

in

humility

before

the

presence

of

under

the

authority

of

and

then

for

the glory

of

God

Proverbs

29

25

to 26

says

this

the fear

of man

lays a

snare

but whoever

trusts in

the Lord

is safe

many seek

the face

of a ruler

but it is

from the Lord

that a man

gets justice

so Shiphrah

and Pua

knew that

they did not

seek the face

of Pharaoh

they sought

the face

of the Lord

God

and sought

his protection

and his

justice

instead of

fearing man

they feared

God and trusted

in him

if we

want to

stand up

to crooked

bosses

and rulers

we too

need to

cultivate

the fear

of the

Lord

if we

want to

serve

the

Lord

we must

fear him

and not

men

and Shiphrah

and Pua

are rewarded

for their

fear of

God

verse 21

says

and because

the midwives

feared God

he gave

them

families

families

in Hebrew

the phrase

is literally

he gave

them houses

because house

can represent

the household

and the word

also sets up

a wonderful

contrast

because

the term

Pharaoh

literally means

the great

house

it originally

referred to

the palatial

estate of

Pharaoh

of the

Egyptian king

and then

eventually

it came to

refer to

the king

himself

so here

Shiphrah

and Pua

defy

the great

house

and receive

houses

from the

Lord

themselves

if you

guys are

into history

maybe some

of you are

wondering

at this

point

who this

infamous

Pharaoh

is

because

Egyptians

kept a

pretty good

record

of their

kings

and it

is possible

by corroborating

historical

and architectural

data with

what scripture

tells us

to identify

the most

likely

candidate

but I'm

not going

to tell

you the

name

because

scripture

doesn't

tell us

you'll

search

in vain

through the

chapters of

Exodus

for any

name

of

Pharaoh

none

of the

Egyptian kings

are named

in the

book of

Exodus

but God

is named

Yehovah

the Pharaoh

is not

named

but guess

who else

is named

Shiphrah

and Pua

the Hebrew

midwives

are named

in Exodus

Exodus 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

surely

Moses

if he knew

the name

of those

two midwives

would have

known

who the

Egyptian king

was

but he

doesn't name

him to make

a theological

point

because from

God's

eternal

point of

view

this Pharaoh

however powerful

he may have

been

is an

anonymous

non-entity

but these

Hebrew

midwives

they are

his

precious

daughters

the heroes

of the story

from God's

point of

view

so that

children

can be

named

after them

so their

names

are here

your name

might never

be found

among the

who's who

lists

of the

world

you might

not make

it to

any kind

of hall

of fame

but I

can assure

you that

almighty

God

creator

of the

universe

is not

impressed

with those

lists

what

ultimately

counts

is not

whether or

not

you are

known

by

man

but

whether or

not

you are

known

by

God

whether

or not

he has

called

you

by

name

Isaiah

Isaiah 43:1

43

verse 1

says

now

thus says

the

Lord

he who

created

you

old

Jacob

he who

formed

you

oh

Israel

fear

not

for I

have

redeemed

you

I

have

called

you

by

name

you

are

mine

the

book of

revelation

mentions

again and

again a

book called

book of

life

on which

is written

the name

of God's

chosen

people

the names

that the

Lord Jesus

will confess

before his

father

and before

his angels

saying

these

belong

to the

kingdom

they

belong

to me

I

have

saved

them

but

anyone

whose

name

is not

written

in the

book

of life

will be

thrown

into the

lake

of fire

is your

name

written

in that

book

if you

want

your

name

in the

book

of life

of the

lamb

who was

slain

you

must

confess

the

name

of that

lamb

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

Pharaoh

is even

more upset

and so

at the

end

of this

chapter

one

he

resorts

to even

greater

atrocity

he says

then Pharaoh

commanded

all his

people

every

son

that is

born

to the

Hebrews

you

shall

cast

into

the

Nile

but

you

shall

let

every

daughter

live

now

he's

indiscriminate

not just

the ones

that the

midwives

happened

to find

all the

male

babies

take

them

down

1500

years

or so

later

another

king

would

try

to do

the

same

to try

to wipe

out

the

seed

of

Israel

to try

to kill

the

Messiah

who was

born

King

Herod

tries

to kill

the male

babies

but

Jesus

like

Moses

his

forerunner

the one

who

foreshadowed

him

Jesus

survives

by

God's

to fulfill

God's

sovereign

purposes

and this

Jesus

lives

the life

of perfect

obedience

and then

he dies

on the

cross

for our

sins

to pay

the penalty

for our

rebellion

against

God

we are

described

in scripture

as enemies

of God

but Romans

5

10 says

while we

were enemies

like Pharaoh

we were

reconciled to

God by the

death of

his son

Jesus

the son

of God

became a

son of

man

and died

for our

sins

on the

cross

as our

representative

as our

substitute

and it's

by his

death

and by his

resurrection

that he

reconciles

us to

God

even though

we've been

rebelling

against him

as every

bit as much

as the

Egyptians

as Pharaoh

himself

if you're

here today

and you

have not

confessed

the name

of Jesus

I urge you

to confess

the name

of the

Lord

Jesus

he promises

us in

Matthew

Matthew 10:32

10

verse 32

everyone

who

acknowledges

me

before

men

I

also

will

acknowledge

before

my

father

who

is

in

heaven

acknowledge

the name

of Christ

confess him

as your

Lord and

Savior

and our

good Lord

will call

you by

name

and you

will find

your name

indelibly

written

in the

book of

life

forevermore

let's

pray

God we

rejoice

this evening

that our

names

are written

in the

book of

life