Scripture reading Exodus 1
And then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.
It’s very interesting that the bible does not
talk about the name of the king (pharaoh). Or I wonder if God purposely did not put his
name in there. From this we understand that God is no respector of persons no matter
what position he/she may be in!
And to this pharaoh, Joseph meant nothing. I
perceive that he did not care or want to know Joseph. How difficult was it for him to know Joseph or the God of Joseph? These
were the same Egyptians who build the great pyramids for remembering people.
And now the pharaoh comes
up with a great concern “the
Israelites have become far too numerous for us. 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.” –
Exodus 1:9-10
If we were listening to pharaoh we would have agreed with him
no less, possibly because he was the top man saying it or perhaps cause this was a concern
of national security. Unfortunately here the pharaoh did not know or care to
know that what he was about to do was against the will of God. We may have a great vision and
people may listen and agree with us but if it’s not what God wants then it’s
sure to fail. Are we asking the Lord his will before we make any major
decision in our lives?
In Vs.15 he instructs the Hebrew midwives Shiphrah & Puah
to kill the Hebrew first born. However, these midwives feared God. What a
contrast to pharaoh! Here we see the word of God mentioning the names of these two
simple midwives. We also see that they feared God! In Psalm 147:11 that the Lord delights in
those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.
We see the Lord blessing these midwives
with their own families. What about the family of Pharaoh? The same pharaoh who
conspires to kill the first born Hebrew children in the end of all this ordeal loses his own first
born son due to his disobedience.
These midwives
give pharaoh an answer that he easily believes and is unable to do anything to
them. If you are not in the will of God you are also unable to discern. We see
the Lord protecting these midwives from Pharaoh.
Are we concerned about the interests of our Lord? Philipians 2:21 says For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.
What is Christ interested from me today?
Are we concerned about the interests of our Lord? Philipians 2:21 says For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.
What is Christ interested from me today?
