When God Promises - Exodus 1

Good morning. It's good to see each of you today on a nice bright sunshiny day and Looking forward to the Lord's blessing this morning as we study the word. We've already had a good study in Psalms this morning and We have a couple of announcements.

We want to give Next Sunday you get to sleep an hour later. So next Sunday is the time change and so you fall back in fall. Am I right? So you'll get to sleep in another hour next to Sunday, but so that'll make you nice and rested and During the Sunday school our pastor is going to start an evangelism class.

Just once a month. But next Sunday during this the Sunday school hour will be an evangelism class. So I know you'll enjoy that rather than Psalm. So he's going to set Psalms aside for one week and go into the evangelism class and he has overheads and you'll need to take Notes, so you need to bring something to scribble on and so I think you'll enjoy that.

Also next Sunday is Communion Sunday. We look forward to remembering our Lord and what he has done for us. We want to also remind you in the bulletin it says we have the adult Sunday school starting at 930 each Sunday morning and Sunday night at 6 o 'clock.

We have a prayer time and it's a very enjoyable time to get together and bring our requests to the Lord and Also, we have a men's Bible study every Saturday at 330 we've been going through the book of Hebrews and Getting very close to the end of the book, but it's been a very enjoyable time doing that also.

Remind you every third Saturday is women's Bible study at 10 o 'clock and it's usually 10 to 11. So that's the third Saturday of the month and that will be November the 20th. If I have my calendar, correct is the next one.

So we would look forward to having you with us there also, if you have your bulletins, there's a Article in there about the homeless outreach on November the 3rd on a Saturday Witnessing to the homeless on that Saturday.

It's always been a blessing to those that have gone and done that so if you have any questions about What they do and if you want to join them you talk with Dave and he'll bring you up to speed on all of that.

Thanksgiving for God’s Bounty and Prayer for the Service

Our last verse in the the Sunday school this morning was Psalms 136. I will sing to the Lord because he has dealt bountifully with me. And if that's the case, we look forward to singing to the Lord today.

Because we know that he has dealt bountifully with us. So let's open with a word of prayer before we sing Our Heavenly Father and our God we come before you this morning. Thanking you that you've given us another day.

Thanking you Lord for the life that you give to us. We realize that you are the giver of life and we thank you for the eternal life that you offer to us. And we thank you for that Lord. We would pray for this service and we pray for each individual that is here today.

Give each one of us open ears to hear what you have to give to us. We pray that you would be with pastor Ilgen and as he brings your word We would also pray that you would continue to give him Liberty.

With the things that you have laid on his heart. We look forward to a blessing from you this day Lord, and we'll thank you for that and we pray in Jesus name Amen.

Exodus 1 and God’s Faithfulness to His Promises

Please turn with me to Exodus 1. Exodus 1 Now these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt Each man and his household came with Jacob Reuben Simeon Levi and Judah Issachar Zebulun and Benjamin.

Dan.

Naftali Gad and Asher all those who were descendants of Jacob were 70 persons. For Joseph was in Egypt already and Joseph died all his brothers and all that generation.

But.

The children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly. Multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty and 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 Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we come.

Let us deal shrewdly with them lest they multiply. And it happened in the event of war that they also join our Enemies and fight against us and so go up out of the land. Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens and they built for Pharaoh supply cities Pithom and Ramses.

But the more they afflicted them the more they multiplied and grew and they were in dread of the children of Israel. So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage and mortar and brick and in all manner of service in the field all Their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.

Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives of Whom the name of one was Shifra and the name of the other who are and he said? When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women and see them on the birth stools if it is a son Then you shall kill him.

But if it is a daughter, then she shall live. But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them but saved the male children alive. So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them.

Why have you done this thing and saved the male children alive and the midwives said to Pharaoh. Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.

Therefore God dealt well with the midwives and the people multiplied and grew very mighty and so it was. Because the midwives feared God and he provided households for them so Pharaoh commanded all his people saying Every son who is born you shall cast into the river and every daughter you shall save alive.

This is the word of the Lord. Let us pray Father we are thankful that your word is true and Thankful. We're thankful that Exodus speaks to us today. Because it is scripture and God we pray that the truths that we hear this morning in your word would Nourish our hearts and lead our souls.

We pray that your spirit would protect us this day in Jesus name. Amen. Exodus is the second book in the Old Testament and it narrates how gracious and merciful God freed his people from the enslavement in Egypt and Delivered them to the promised land which he promised centuries before.

Before and during the Babylonian exile which occurred Hundreds of years after Exodus. God's people looked back to the historical Exodus With a hope that he would do it again. That he would deliver his people out of the land of bondage and to deliver them to the promised land and just and Their thought was just as God Delivered our ancestors out of Egypt.

He will deliver us out of Babylon and That's who he is and that's what he does deliverance and salvation by relying on God's past faithfulness, they hoped in God and God did not fail them and.

Ultimately.

God's deliverance of his people from Egyptian slavery points to God's deliverance of his people from a greater slave master sin and We see this in John 8 34 through 36 When in which Jesus said most assuredly I say to you Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin and A slave does not abide in the house forever But a son abides forever therefore if the son Makes you free you shall be free indeed.

The ultimate exodus happened when God purchased his people out of sin By shedding of his own blood on the cross. As The New Covenant people we have the privilege of Seeing the continuing thread of the Old Testament of the old Exodus to the New Exodus and look forward to the full realization of the gospel When Christ comes back for his people again today's text Allows us to see the continuity of God's faithfulness to his past promises.

Many of us may have heard from unbelieving families or friends who say well, I Don't like the God of the Old Testament But I like the God of the New Testament who's of love. When we study the book of Exodus, we will see that God's mercy and grace Has not changed from the Old Testament to the new he has been just as merciful and just as gracious to his people in Exodus just as he is in the New Testament and when we study God's past record of Faithfulness we can have assurance that he Has he is currently and in the future will be faithful to us To his promises Have you ever felt that God has forgotten about you or the promises that he has made to you or He said he would save me to the uttermost But I'm not sure about it this time.

He promised he would deliver me from my enemies But I don't think he will this time. Today's text however Tells us that.

God.

Keeps his promises and he has kept his promises ever since the beginning. Today's text is divided into three clear sections with increasing intensity in Which we see God keeping his promise to his people and In each scenario God's promise is kept faithfully despite whatever oppositions the people faced.

No matter how hard it gets God remains faithful to his people and keeping his promises. That's why the main point of this text Today is that God faithfully keeps his promises to his people by partnering with them.

God faithfully keeps his promises to his people by partnering with them. The first point is that God's promise to his people does not depend on the past heroes. God's promise to his people does not depend on the past heroes.

The book of Exodus starts out unexpectedly. In fact one may say that it does not start but continues. Now, these are the names of the children of Israel. At first a new reader may question who is Israel?

What is so special about his children that the book starts out with their names? This is because Exodus continues from Genesis. Exodus picks up where Genesis left off Moses the author of the Pentateuch.

The first five books of the Old Testament. Thus the whole Bible, right? The first five books of the whole Bible.

Assumes.

That you have read the first book Genesis. So what happened in Genesis? The vast majority of Genesis is centered around Abraham's family from chapter 12 to 50.

God.

Separated the childless Abraham and promised to bless him with many children and a land of his own. In Genesis God kept his promise and provided Abraham with the promised child. Isaac and Isaac bore Jacob also known as Israel.

Jacob had 12 boys and they are the 12 patriarchs the 12 leaders of Israel whom the all the tribes of Israel are named after. So these are important figures. To the ancient Jews who would have read this these were the heroes and verse 2 through 5 introduced them Reuben Simeon Levi and Judah Issachar Zebulun and Benjamin Dan Neptali Gad and Asher all those who were descendants of Jacob were 70 persons.

For Jacob was in Egypt already. Exodus picks up where Genesis left off in the ancient Jewish culture. This genealogy was significant. After all the first readers of Exodus were the former Jewish slaves.

Slaves do not normally keep up with their family history Because they're too busy surviving day to day. However, Moses starts Exodus with the family history of the Jews. Because God has promised the offspring of Abraham hundreds of years before and They will prosper their identity the people of God.

Their identity is not an enslavement but in the fulfillment of God's promise to make them his people it was special to them because they belonged to those tribes and Thus God had a purpose for them More than just as slaves.

This text would have answered the burning question in the minds of the Jewish slaves. Will God keep his promise to Abraham Isaac and Jacob in? Blessing them with many offspring. Even if they're stranded in a foreign land.

Will God do that.

After naming Isaac's Israel sons rather we are abruptly told in verse 6 that they all died and Joseph died all his brothers and all that generation. Here the focus is on Joseph one of the sons of Jacob.

Why was Joseph more special in? Genesis. Joseph was sold into slavery to Egypt by his jealous brothers. However God used Joseph in Egypt to interpret the Pharaoh's dream To save Egypt and the surrounding regions from a great famine of seven years.

Ironically Joseph the slave Was promoted to the Joseph a prime minister of Egypt the second man in charge after Pharaoh himself. Under Joseph the people of God were treated well. Under Joseph the people of God flourished in the foreign land.

Under Joseph the people of God had nothing to worry about. My family member is the prime minister. What more can I worry about? He was the national hero of the Israelites. However Exodus picks up after Joseph's death.

The question in readers mind is what will happen to the people of God without Joseph in charge? Will God keep his promise to Abraham Isaac and Jacob? Even after Joseph and the patriarchs. And. Verse 7 shows the answer to the previous questions.

But.

The children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly Multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty and the land was filled with them. The turning point is signified the word by the word but Joseph and his brothers died.

But.

The Israelites no longer had a man in Pharaoh's administration.

But.

The Jews were powerless without Joseph.

But.

Verse 7 is full of allusions to Genesis To show that God has not forgotten about his people in the foreign land first to be fruitful and multiply come from all over Genesis even starting from Genesis 1 when God created all things and he commanded them to be fruitful and multiply.

This command is repeated After the flood to Noah and his family be fruitful and multiply.

And.

This is also promised and commanded to both Abraham and Jacob Throughout Genesis. Be fruitful and multiply or your offspring will be fruitful and multiply. Second. The adverb exceedingly Was the same adverb used when God promised to multiple multiply Abraham's offspring in Genesis 17 2 And I will make my covenant between me and you and will multiply you.

Exceedingly. This adverb is used by Moses only four times in the Pentateuch, but the first five books of the Bible and Three times are God's promises to Abraham to multiply his family all found in Genesis 17.

The fourth one is found here. Only here Moses knew that the growth in Israel's number was not a mere accident. It was God's way of fulfilling his promise to Israel's ancestors Abraham Isaac and Jacob.

Third. The passive verb the land was filled with them points to the fact that the one who does the filling is not the people of Israel and This again is the case of the divine passive. The one who did the filling with Israel was none other than God himself.

It was God's action. God's miraculous intervention. Fertility was the sign of God's blessing on his people. God remembered his promise. God was faithful to fulfill what he had promised hundreds of years before.

He was faithful to fulfill his promises Without the help of his Joseph and his brothers. That's who God is. He is faithful to do what he has promised despite the absence of the former heroes. As God did not need Joseph in Pharaoh's administration.

God does not depend on the past heroes to fulfill his plan. The people of God thrived in the foreign land with or without the Prime Minister Joseph. This is a testament to the faithfulness of God. Oftentimes cry Christians we like to look back in the former glory days.

Billy Graham.

Right.

While stadiums were filled with people who were committing their lives to Christ and They all filled the stadiums to hear the gospel preached decades ago. Now stadiums are filled for Who knows what? Filthy entertainment.

I.

Don't know.

However, we have to be careful with such reminiscence of the glory days. Lest we think it was Billy Graham who filled the stadiums. God did not need Billy Graham to lead people to Christ. Just as God did not need Joseph to lead his people out of Egypt.

God is fully capable and fully faithful to fulfill his promises without the past heroes. Christians. God is fully capable of saving as many souls as He wants. With or without Great great preachers like George Whitefield or Charles Spurgeon.

God is fully capable of starting a revival and gospel reformation in our lifetime. With or without Martin Luther. Christians. God is fully faithful to provide for the church with everything that she needs.

With or without a Christian president in the Oval Office We can always hope in God and his word. Despite who is living in the governor's mansion in California our gaze.

It's always a blessing to hear the Word of God again our gaze.

Must be on God and his faithfulness. Not the past heroes who have done great things. Our greatest hope is not our heritage.

But God.

We do not look back hopelessly. But we look up to the faithful King who is seated on his throne. Now we look at his faithfulness we.

Dwell in.

His faithfulness. Can God's promise be stopped? When people directly oppose his plans, and that's the question. Well. Let's just say the past heroes. We don't need them. But what if there are people opposing God's plans?

There's an active opposition. That leads to my second point. God's promise to his people is fulfilled despite any active.

Oppositions.

God's promise to his people is fulfilled despite any active oppositions. God's fulfillment of his promises did not go unnoticed in Egypt. In This section Moses intricately structures the first opposition against the people of God.

Verse 8 starts with the new context of God's people. Verses 9 through 10 Proclaim the active opposition against God's people through Pharaoh's edict. Verse 11 shows the response done by God's people and verse 12 shows God's blessing through a miraculous growth in God's people despite the persecution.

And finally verses 13 and 14 portray the intensification of opposition by the Egyptians. This structure is worth mentioning because it is repeated in the next section verses 15 through 22 for both sections at the center of the paragraph.

In the middle of it in between two oppositions one opposition and intensification opposition. In the middle of it is God's faithfulness towards his people. Despite the opposition on both sides. The middle of the paragraph serves as the meat of the sandwich.

While the oppositions are like the bread that surround it. The focus however is at the center God's providential promise keeping. Despite the opposition that flank both sections at the center of it is God's faithfulness to his promises.

First Moses introduces the new situation after Joseph's death. Verse 8 now there arose a new king over Egypt who did not know Joseph. Moses clarifies that this new king had no idea How Joseph saved not only Israel, but Egypt as well from the seven-year famine.

In fact, we will see this that this new king was not fond of the Israelites at all. Not only did the king seize the cease the peace and prosperity of Israel under Joseph, but he subjugated them. Verses 9 to 10 introduced the active opposition against the people of God.

The Egyptian King starts out with an edict and He said to his people look The people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we. Come let us deal shrewdly with them lest they multiply and it Happen in the event of war that they also Join our enemies and fight against us and so go up out of the land.

It is helpful to know that in ancient Egypt The Egyptians were conquered prior by a foreign.

Army.

From the Asian region many of them Semites and they were called the Hyksos. So Egypt had experienced what it meant to be ruled by a foreign.

Nation and.

Because of that it makes sense that this new king is weary of foreign people Multiplying greatly in his land. That's why this edict makes sense. He's not just threatened by nothing. There's Egyptian history that he's probably learned That Egypt was once conquered by foreign nationals from the Semitic region.

Verse 11 shows God's people's response to the Egyptian opposition. Because God's blessing on Israel threatened the Egyptian king He promptly subjugated God's people for public works projects. Verse 11.

Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens and they built for Pharaoh supply cities Pithom and Ramses. The response of the Israelites, however is obedience. They do not rise up But obey and build supply cities for Pharaoh Pithom and Ramses.

Which are probably cities around the northeastern part of Egypt near Goshen and Goshen is where the Jews predominantly dwelt. That's where they were dwelling even in the time of Joseph. The purpose of Pharaoh's oppression is to weaken and reduce the power of Israel.

He believes the edict would reduce the number due to the new affliction. People groups don't really thrive under afflictions and On any normal circumstances the oppressed group of people would not have thrived.

However, this is not a normal situation. The Israelites have a promise keeping God on their side. Hence we see another but in verse 12.

But.

The more they afflicted them the more they multiplied and grew and they were in the dread of the children of Israel. Despite a national effort to subdue God's people the results backfired. The more they were afflicted the more they grew.

In fact this caused the oppressors to fear.

God.

Fulfilled his promises palpably. God's promise-keeping was visible and tangible to even the outsiders even to the non-believers. And what is the result of the Egyptians. Do they recognize that the Lord is God and let the Israelites be.

No, they increased the affliction. Verse 13. So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor and they made their lives bitter and hard bondage in Mortar and brick and in all manner of service in the field.

All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor. Verse 13 tells us That the Egyptians increased the misery of the children of Israel. Verse 14 further describes what this entailed. They were tasked with making bricks outside.

The New King James Version translates the adverb as rigor with rigor. But it is more proper to view it as ruthlessly.

Harshly.

Cruelly the same word is Used in Ezekiel 34 for Except in this context it is not the Egyptians who are oppressing the people of God But the people of God themselves are oppressing each other. The weak you have not strengthened nor have you healed those who were sick nor bound up the broken nor brought back What was driven away nor sought what was lost but with force and cruelty you have ruled them.

As.

A result of God's Providence the forced labor under the Egyptians became harsher. As A result of God keeping his promise the forced labor under Egypt became crueler.

Yet.

Despite Pharaoh's active and willful opposition against God's people God remained faithful to his people. When communists Took over China in the last century foreign missionaries in China had to leave.

In 1949 there were less than 1 million Protestant Christians in China and Everyone expected the church to crumble and not survive without the foreign missionaries. Everyone expected the church to die under the communist oppression Persecution and It seems not many expected God's faithfulness to his people but by 2010 there were 58 million Protestants in China and that is rather a conservative estimate.

Whether it is the Egyptian King or the Chinese Communist Party God keeps his promises to his faithful people to take care of them No matter who is opposing him and and this is important because as God's people we will face opposition.

Just because God keeps every one of his promises Does not mean We're free from opposition. He keeps the promises through the Oppositions despite the oppositions the promise is not deliverance from the opposition and brothers and sisters.

This ought to give us a lot of hope. Neither the Egyptian King nor the Chinese Communist Party could quench the promise of God. Now this does not mean that God will prevent any persecution that's coming in your life.

After all the ancient people of God were treated ruthlessly by the Egyptians. The church church in China was persecuted heavily by their government. It means God keeps his promises. Despite the persecution and opposition of any human or spiritual enemies no one can take away God's promise from his people and consider our enemies.

The world the flesh and the devil and they all want you to fall away from God leave Christ. This makes life extremely overwhelming for faithful Christians. How can you resist all temptations? How can you resist the prince of the world Satan himself?

How can you fight against the world when it wants you to submit to it rather than to God? How can you fight? against the world when it's so powerful and you're so weak and You know by yourself. You have no ability to fight any of them off and this is why we look to God's promises.

When you face oppositions, you know from this text and many others. That God's promises are not hindered by any oppositions. God will do what he says because he is not human. He is God whatever he says he will do.

He will accomplish. So what do you do when Satan attacks your identity in Christ in your sin? You start to believe that you have unsaved yourself in your sin. You start to doubt God's Presence you feel abandoned by God completely.

Instead of focusing on your circumstances and on yourself We go to God's promises. Knowing that God is able to keep every one of them. James 4 7 through 8 is a helpful promise. There's so therefore submit to God.

Resist the devil and he will flee from you draw near to God and he'll draw near to you. God's Word.

Scripture.

Promises that the devil. Even the devil will flee from you when you submit to God and resist him. Not only that when you draw near to God God will draw near to you. This is a promise not a hypothesis.

It is not that God draws near to you when he's available. It is not that God draws near to you Depending on his mood. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. That's the promise. You're not alone when you face the enemy.

We trust in God's promises Because no active Oppositions against them have thwarted them or can't thwart them now. Now if God will keep his promise despite any opposition Does this mean we just sit back and relax?

Well, the third point is that God's promise to his people involves his faithful servants. God's promise to his people involves his faithful servants. Just because God has a perfect record of keeping all of his promises Does not mean that his people need to sit back and do nothing.

God's redemptive plan has always involved his faithful followers.

As.

Mentioned before the structure of this section parallels that of the last section. Verse 15 sets up the new context for 16 depict Pharaoh's new edict to oppose God's people through male genocide. Verses 17 through 19 show the response of God's people the midwives to Pharaoh's unjust edict.

And verses 20 through 20 again in between the two oppositions We have God's blessing on his people through multiplication and fruitfulness and verse 22 shows the further intensification of opposition.

Similar to the structure of the last portion of the text Moses sets a new context. Verse 15 then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives of Whom the name of one was Shifra and the name of the other Pua?

This is an important verse. First it shows that Egyptians persecution against the people of God did not work. A new edict Means there was a failed edict. Second Many of us may pass over this verse as unimportant background information.

But this verse tells us a lot about God and his word. These are the names that Exodus introduce. Introduces right after the names of the patriarchs to God. These two women are important to God. These two women are worthy of remembrance and Compare this to the only other active character introduced in the chapter the king of Egypt in the whole book of Exodus.

We do not learn of the Pharaoh's name. We will also not learn of his son's name. However. It pleased God to disclose the names of the Hebrew midwives who are about to save the innocent children of Israel Shifra and Pua.

What does this tell us about God. It shows that God honors and cares more about two Powerless yet faithful women of God Than the king of a global superpower. Verses like this is the proof that Bible is not against women.

Exodus 1 Honors two women who are midwives not in the royal court midwives over the king of Egypt.

Amen, and this also tells us.

About where God's heart is. According to God Might does not make right rather in God's economy right makes might. These two women will be remembered for all eternity. Yet the oppressive Pharaoh's will remain unknown to us in names.

The new context is followed by Pharaoh's edict to oppose God's people. However this time It is more covert and lethal. Verse 16. And he said when you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women help them give birth and See them on the birthstools.

If it is a son you shall kill them kill him. But if it is a daughter then she shall live. The words of Pharaoh revealed to us a lot about what kind of person this is. He is narcissistic. In order to accomplish his will he will resort to anything.

Even if it means murdering innocent male babies When they and their mothers are most vulnerable. He knew that these male babies would one day grow up to become warriors who could be a potential threat against Egypt.

Pharaoh wanted to nip it in the bud. To this King Humans were just tools. To this King Humans had no inherent worth. To this King humans were.

Disposable and.

Verse 17 Tells us despite the command from the King the Hebrew midwives do not follow through What is their reason?

But.

The midwives feared God and Did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. The two women feared God rather than the king of Egypt. These two women were more afraid of what God could do to them in their disobedience.

Rather than what Pharaoh could do to them if they disobeyed Pharaoh. These two women had more faith in God's sovereignty Than the Egypt's sovereign. They knew who was in charge. They knew despite the circumstances and despite the social and political state that Israel was in.

They knew who was seated on the throne and it was not an Egyptian man. And because of their disobedience Pharaoh angrily calls up Shifra and Pua. So the King Egypt called for the midwives and said to them Why have you done this thing and saved the male children alive?

And the midwife said to Pharaoh Because the children because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women. For they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them. Many people use this verse to justify lying.

However, that is not the main point of this passage at all. This portion is about God's use of faithful women who feared God more so than the earthly ruler. This is about will for willful disobedience to earthly rulers.

In obedience to the highest authority God. And there are two ways to read this. Without accusing the two women of lying first. There may have been a cultural difference in how Egyptian women give birth compared to how Jewish women give birth.

So the Hebrew women may have been more involved and more active during the process of birth. While the Egyptian women may have been more passive and just lying down waiting for the midwives to do everything.

That could be a possibility. The second one I lean more towards. The second one is.

That.

These Hebrew midwives might have Instructed the Hebrew women who are pregnant to do everything possible before they get there. Do everything in your own power to? give birth. So that when we get there, we can't do anything about it.

Right and thus.

Saving not only the male babies. They were able to save themselves in the end. They didn't really Disobey Pharaoh if you look at it that way. They gave birth. What can they do? We may never know how the midwives actively saved the male babies but God knew and Verse 20 tells us.

Therefore God dealt well with the midwives and the people multiplied and grew very mighty and. So it was because the midwives feared God that he provided households for them. Verse 20 shows that through the faithfulness of the Shifra and Pua God fulfilled his promise to his people.

God not only blessed his people but also honored these two ladies personally. God did not forget about their faithful and righteous posture toward him. However, this chapter ends rather grimly. Because Pharaoh couldn't get his way.

Pharaoh who had to accomplish it his will no matter the cost.

He.

Sends another edict. He knows he can't trust the midwives so Pharaoh commanded all his people saying every son who is born you shall cast into the river and every daughter you shall save a life in. The end because he couldn't trust his own subjects He decided to trust nature.

Still.

Despite that We know what God can do and will do. Even through the river Christians. This is relevant to us. Because we worship the same God who used his faithful midwives in Exodus. We worship the same God who uses his faithful people to save lives.