The Cry of Oppression (Exo. 2:23-25)

Cry of Oppression
Exodus 2:23-25

INTRODUCTION:
In the Disney movie, Meet the Robinsons, there’s a scene with a Tyrannosaurus Rex who is trying to grab this little human and he makes the comment: “I have a big head and little arms. I’m just not sure how well this plan was thought through.”

James Weldon Johnson began a poem with these words: “Young man, young man, your arm’s too short to box with God.”

Family, Satan’s arms are too short to box with God and when we realize that, we will fear Satan less and serve God more.

The theme of the Bible is: The salvation of man through Jesus Christ to the glory of God. Before the Word can become flesh (John 1:1, 14), He needs a human mother, who will be part of a nation, which lives within specified borders, under a law. Thus, we see the need for: Israel, Canaan, and the Law of Moses. When Genesis concluded, Abraham’s descendants were in Egypt (50:26). The book of Exodus describes the exodus of Abraham’s descendants out of Egypt, their assembly at Mount Sinai where God gives them the Law through Moses, and makes plans for them to live in Canaan, which He promised them through Abraham (Gen. 15:18).

God does not have a strong active role in this first chapter. His role does not really begin until the end of chapter 2.

ISRAEL BEGINS SMALL - 1:1-6:
We observe that the book of Exodus begins with “and” (“now” in modern translations) which shows that it is grammatically connected with Genesis. It is also chronologically connected, thematically connected, and theologically connected. Perhaps writing on a separate scroll than Genesis, Moses summarizes in this first paragraph what had transpired to bring Abraham’s family into Egypt. Noting that there were 70 who came into Egypt sets the stage for the exponential growth that Moses will emphasize beginning in verse 7. That generation which was alive at the end of Genesis had died by the time Moses begins the story in Exodus. This point sets the stage for Moses’ comment at verse 8.

ISRAEL PROSPERS DESPITE OPPRESSION - 1:7-14:
“Fruitful” (ver. 7) was used in Genesis 1:22, 28. “To be innumerable” is used 14 times in the OT. It usually refers to insects which “swarm” or “teem.” It was used at Gen. 1:20-21. In Exodus, it is used here and 8:3. “To become many” was also used in Genesis 1:22, 28. “To become mighty” is used only here and 1:20. The verb can mean “to be vast, mighty, powerful, or numerous.”

The verb “to know” can mean “to understand, notice, observe, have sexual relationship with.” It is used 956 times in the OT. It is a key verb in Exodus, used 47 times. One should highlight each verb as it appears in Exodus.

“To be shrewd” (ver. 10) is used 28 times in the OT; it is the word “to be wise.” This is its only use in Exodus. The verb is a hithpael so we translate it with a negative connotation.“Enemies” is a participle of the verb “to hate,” used 148 times.

“To serve” (ver. 13) is another key word in Exodus. The verb means “to work, toil, cultivate.” It is used in the OT 289 times, in Exodus 31 times. This verb should be highlighted as one studies through the book. “Service” or “work” is the related noun to the verb used in the previous verse. The noun can be translated as “worship” in narrow contexts. It is used 23 times in Exodus.

The description of Israel’s phenomenal growth in Egypt (1;7) repeats descriptions of God’s promises to the patriarchs in Genesis 1:28; 9:1, 7; 17:2; 18:18; 28:14; 48:4.

“Pharaoh” means “big house” in Egyptian. Originally, the word described the royal palace. By Moses’ time, the word referred to the king of Egypt. It would be another six centuries before the word would be attached to the proper name. After another century, it would be used as a name for the ruler.

The process of making bricks would be hard, physically exhausting work, in the hot sun, in the midst of extremely dusty conditions. It would not be a pleasant task at all.

Verse 7 points out that God is blessing Israel, just as He had promised Abraham as early as 12:1-3. Count how many times and how many ways Moses emphasizes the growth of the nation. The “land” was filling with Israelites. We presume “land” refers to the land of Goshen. Ironically, the Hebrew word is the same word used in 1:28 (which 1:7 repeats): “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.”

A new king arose into power in Egypt who did not know Joseph. We do not know why he did not know Joseph. We do not know how many pharaohs reigned between the last one found in Genesis and this one. It is possible that he had heard of Joseph and what he did for Egypt but, because Joseph was a foreigner, chose not to be grateful for Joseph’s service and thus “did not know Joseph.” This ignorance led the pharaoh to be fearful.

Pharaoh, perhaps not realizing he was working against Jehovah God, tries to undo the blessing mentioned in 1:7. His oppression of Israel recalls the promise God made to Abraham in Genesis 15:13. In verse 9, Pharaoh notes that Israel was growing numerically. In verse 10, he suggests the Egyptians need to be “shrewd” or “wise” toward them. The reason is because Pharaoh fears if some war happens, perhaps instigated by a neighboring country, Israel will join the anti-Egypt alliance and fight against Egypt and so escape.

Observe in verses 11-14 how difficult Pharaoh made the lives of the Israelites. He set leaders of forced labor over them, to humble them through forced labor, and made them build cities for storage, namely Pithom and Rameses. However, his efforts have the opposite effect (verse 12), which suggests his “shrewd / wise” behavior backfired! The more he persecuted, the more Israel grew, and the more Egypt grieved!

Verse 13 notes Pharaoh made Israel serve “rigorously.” In verse 14, Moses notes the Egyptians made Israel’s life bitter with difficult service as they made bricks for their building projects. Again, Moses notes they worked “rigorously.”

Some thoughts for Christians to consider…
Pharaoh was, arguably, ungrateful for what Joseph had done for Egypt. It is still a sin to be ungrateful (Eph. 5:20; Col. 3:15; 1 Thess. 5:18; 2 Thess. 1:3; 2:13; Hebrews 13:15). Rabbi Gamaliel warned his fellow Jews that if they persecute Christians, they may find themselves “fighting against God” (Acts 5:39). Back in 2003 in the rugby World Cup series, Australia beat Namibia 142-0. Some teams are just completely outmatched. That’s the way it is between Satan and God. That’s the way it was between Pharaoh and God; that’s the way it will be between us and God if we today try to stop God’s word from being fulfilled.

It is good for us to remember our sinful past because it can help us appreciate the grace of God (2 Cor. 12:7-10).

GOD PROTECTS THE FAITHFUL - 1:15-22:
The word “stones” (ver. 16) is a literal translation. It is generally translated here as “birth stool.” Perhaps these were bricks on which the pregnant women squatted as they delivered their babies. The midwives would catch the baby as it exited the womb.

“Nile” can be translated more generally as “stream, river.” The word comes from the Egyptian language and is used 64 times in the OT. It was such an important part of the Egyptian economy, providing transportation, water, and nourishment for crops, animals, and humans that the Egyptians worshipped it as a god, which they called “Hapy.”

Isn’t it remarkable that in God’s word, the pharaoh is nameless but the two women who saved God’s children are named?! In fact, “Shiphrah” is still a popular girls’ name among the Jews. Since only two midwives are named, many suggest, perhaps correctly, that these two women were leaders among groups of women who performed this service for the Hebrew women. When Israel left Egypt, there were 600,000 men (12:37); we might presume there were that many, or more, women.

Pharaoh ordered these midwives, when the baby was a boy, to kill him and allow the girls to live. Boys would grow to be men, leaders, and soldiers. However, verse 17 notes that the midwives feared God and disobeyed the command of the king. In verse 18, the pharaoh is surprised by their disobedience. When he asked why they allowed the boys to live, they respond by saying that the Hebrew women give birth too quickly for them to kill the boys. It seems the midwives are saying that the moms give birth and are too alert for the midwives to kill the boys without the moms knowing what is happening. Many scholars state that the midwives were lying, but without knowing more of the facts and their intentions, we cannot be sure. Perhaps through the blessing of God, the Hebrew women did give birth before the midwives arrived.

But, the growth of Israel has been emphasized in this chapter, in verses 7, 12, and 20. No one cannot stop God from fulfilling His plans and promises! Pharaoh thought the men (boys) would be a threat to his rule but it is the women who keep the boys, especially Moses (chapter 2), alive! Verse 17 is the first verses in Exodus to mention God. The midwives feared God (ver. 17, 21), did not kill the Hebrews, and so God “treated them well” (ver. 20). The way He treated them well was to “make for them houses” (ver. 21). We do not know what image the midwives had of Jehovah God. We presume that they had access to some sort of revelation from God, either an inspired oral account or (more likely) some written form of the history of the patriarchs, what we know as Genesis.

In the last verse, Pharaoh commands the whole Egyptian nation to throw the newborn boys into the Nile River and allow the girls to live. This plan, too, will be thwarted. That is, modern feminists like to say the Bible is misogynistic, or at least its writers were. However, as Moses did in Genesis, here he shows women as the “heroes” of the scene. If the Bible was misogynistic, men would be the heroes, including Moses’ father (and brother) in the next chapter, rather than Moses’ mother (and sister).

Thoughts for Christians to consider…
David praises the king who rules with “fear of God” (2 Sam. 23:3). Nehemiah lived in the “fear of God” (Neh. 5:15). Eliphaz asks Job if he has “fear of God” (Job 4:6). The ungodly have no “fear of God” (Psa. 36:1).

Paul quotes Psalm 36:1 to the effect that the wicked have no fear of God (Rom. 3:18). In 2 Corinthians 7:1, Paul calls on Christians to perfect their holiness “in the fear of God.” While it is possible that Shiphrah and Puah lied to Pharaoh, God does not approve of their lying. Under the New Testament, the covenant of Jesus Christ, all lying is forbidden (Rev. 21:8). “God-fearer” became a common designation in NT times for a Gentile who believed in the God of the Jews (Luke 7:1-10; Acts 10:2, 22; 13:16, 26).

GOD REMEMBERS - 2:23-25:
We are skipping over the account of Moses’ birth and life because that’s a sermon all by itself. But I do want to point out what is recorded at the end of chapter 2…

I shared with you a few weeks ago a passage from Isaiah 19:23-25 to the extent that one day, Egypt would worship with Israel and God would consider Egypt His children, His inheritance. Just before that passage, Isaiah had also said, regarding Egypt:

“It will become a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Champion, and He will deliver them. Thus the Lord will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day. They will even worship with sacrifice and offering, and will make a vow to the Lord and perform it” (19:20-21).

So the Lord brought oppressors against Egypt, and then sent a Savior to save them. Egypt responds in worship!

Once that particular Pharaoh died, the Israelites felt a sense of relief. It is almost as if the oppression let up just enough to allow them to cry. They did cry out and their cry rose to heaven, into the ears of God because of the hard work they were required to do. Notice the emphasis in these last two verses on God: 1) God heard their cry; 2) God remembered His covenant; 3) God saw the sons of Israel; 4) God knew, that is, He knew what was going on with His children.

Then, God acted. He appeared to Moses in chapter 3, in the burning bush, in the form of the angel of the Lord. The last time God appeared from heaven, the last time God spoke from heaven, was several hundred years earlier, in Genesis 46. In that passage, God appeared to Jacob and told him to go into Egypt and he would get to see his son, Joseph, and God would bring him out of Egypt back to that promised land.

This “covenant” that God remembered is the covenant God made with Abraham as early as Genesis 12. The main components of that covenant are found in Genesis 15 & 17, but it was referred to several times throughout the book of Genesis. The main components of that covenant are:

1) God would be the God of Abraham’s descendants.
2) God would make them a great nation.
3) God would give them the land of Canaan for a dwelling place.
4) God would bless the world through Abraham’s seed.

Here at the end of chapter 2 as we move into chapter 3, God is going to begin working on fulfilling those promises.

Thoughts to consider…
In Deuteronomy 26:7, Moses refers to this paragraph, reminding Israel that God heard their cries and groans.

The NT portrays Christians as “foreigners” as well: Eph. 2:12, 19; Heb. 11:13; 1 Peter 2:11-12.

CONCLUSION:
While we serve the same God as we see pictured here in Exodus, He does not do for us exactly what He did for these midwives or for Moses in the next chapter. However, His character has not changed.

Even if we experience catastrophes in our lives, even if things are going poorly for us, God still hears our cries. He still sees our oppression. He is still moved in His heart, and He remembers. He remembers that we are members of the body of His Son. We are His children. He will come to our rescue. Satan’s arms are too short to box with God.

Take home message: We need to be faithful, fearing God as these midwives did, and be patient. Deliverance will come.

Start a evangelistic conversation: “I would like to tell you how I established a personal relationship with God.”