Notes for BSF
Deuteronomy 7:9, NIV
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.
THE PHAROH OPPRESSES THE ISRAELITES (Exodus 1)
To prevent the Jews from becoming too great, the new Pharaoh decided to enact 3 things:
1. To enslave them (v. 11)
2. To kill all the newborn baby boys (v. 16)
3. On a national level, every Egyptian citizen was to kill all Jewish boys (v. 22)
Yet, despite the Pharaoh’s attempts…
1. The Israelites continued to multiply
2. The Israelites continued to spread
(Who can stand against God or His people?)
Genesis 15:12-14
As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.
When God formed the covenant with Abram, God already knew that Abram and his descendants would be strangers in a country that did not belong to them, that they would be enslaved and mistreated. However, God also made it clear that He will redeem them, giving them hope that all this suffering was not forever but just a part of God’s plan of redemption! (See also, Isaiah 43:1-4; John 16:33; 2 Corinthians 1:4, 9.) As long as the Israelites remained faithful in God, they would have the hope that one day they will be redeemed.
Be pleasers of God, not pleasers of Man
Shiphrah and Puah feared God and thus did not heed the king’s orders. They risked losing their physical lives but gained eternal life with God!
Exodus 1:20-21
So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
When we do the will of God, we will be blessed.
Just as how the Pharaoh wanted to destroy the Jewish people through water, so, too, will God use water to destroy the Pharaoh and his army of men.
GOD PROTECTS MOSES THROUGH BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD (Exodus 2)
With the Pharaoh commanding that all Jewish newborn baby boys be killed, Moses’ parents hid him for as long as he could, for by faith, they knew Moses was a special child (Hebrews 11:1, 6, 23). When Moses’ mother realized Moses could no longer remain hidden, she placed the fate of her son in God’s hands…
Moses’ mother probably knew that the Pharaoh’s daughter had a tender heart (Exodus 2:6). And so, she put Moses in a basket and floated him down toward the Pharaoh’s daughter at the time she would be out there bathing. Moses’ sister, Miriam, kept a close eye on Moses throughout this whole process, so that when the Pharaoh’s daughter picked up Moses, Miriam was able to immediately ask if she needed the baby boy to be nursed by one of the Hebrew women (who happened to be the mother!). Even at such a young age, we can see Miriam as a faithful, strong, and smart young girl. She knew to look out for her family, and her instincts kept Moses protected.
What a wonderful turn of events for Moses and his family, isn’t it? Instead of being constantly afraid of the Pharaoh carrying out the death sentence against Moses, Moses was reunited with his family, AND his mother got PAID to take care of him! Furthermore, with him being reared as the adopted son of the Pharaoh’s daughter (Exodus 2:10), Moses was able to grow up privileged and protected – No more threats on his life!
By faith, Moses’ family kept him alive at the risk of losing their lives. For their faith, they were blessed with the return of Moses and the ability to take care of him, under the protection of the Pharaoh’s household!
How ironic for the Pharaoh and, ultimately, Satan’s plan! This is just one very vivid example of how God always overcomes the evil scheming of not just man but of Satan as well.
Moses' mother did more than just nurse him…
Moses’ mother taught him about God and His promises and His people, all within the first 2-3 years of his life before she would have to give him over to the Pharaoh's daughter as her adopted son. Moses grew up understanding his heritage, learning of God’s Word, learning that he was one of God’s chosen people.
Being brought up as royalty in Egypt under the Pharaoh’s kingdom, Moses also had the best education in Egypt, brought up with all the wisdom of the Egyptians and became powerful in speech and action (Acts 7:20-22). Egypt was a pagan nation, believing not in God but taking pride in the feats they have accomplished themselves. There was a good reason for their pride: Their culture was very advanced, and their country was the strongest of their time. Growing up in this environment was very much like growing up as first world citizens of today: Everything was high tech, and surplus was everywhere. There was luxury and convenience, and the nation was on the top of the world. In a way, Moses received the best education – Think of it as him going to Harvard or Cambridge, learning from the best and performing at the cutting edge of knowledge. However, if that were his only source of education, if he didn’t also learn about his heritage from his mother, he would have had no understanding of God, he would have had no relationship with God! And then, how could Moses possibly have been the leader to take God’s people out of Egypt! Moses had the best of education in Egypt, and we see none of those paganisic traditions infiltrate his writing of the Tonach, And when it came time to choose between being an Egyptian to a Hebrew later on in his life, Moses didn’t hesitate to reclaim his identity as a Jew.
Knowing how Moses grew up to be one of Israel’s greatest leaders, we can glean great encouragement from this history. When we teach our children early on about the Holy Spirit, He protects our children from the corruption the world has to offer. What we teach our children in the early years is critical!
It would be decades before Moses would be able to lead his people out of bondage. During these tough, tough years, the Israelites had great hope, for God’s promises were made clear very early on, before even this great nation of people were born:
Genesis 12:1-3
Now the LORD had said to Abram, Depart from your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you: And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curses you: and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Genesis 15:12-14
As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.
Genesis 15:18
In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto your seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.
Genesis 17:4-8
As for me, behold, my covenant is with you, and you shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall you name any more be called Abram, but you name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made you. And I will make you exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come out of you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto you, and to you seed after you. And I will give unto you, and to your seed after you, the land where you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
Genesis 17:15-16
And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai your wife, you shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give you a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
Genesis 22:17
That in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies.
Genesis 28:14-15
And your seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in you and in your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with you, and will keep you in all places where ever you go, and will bring you again into this land; for I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken to you of.
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