“Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain.” —Jude 11
Readers can ponder those questions as we survey the beginning of the second book and man's continuing inhumanity to man.
Pharaoh's suppression of Israel
►Pharaoh attempted to control the Israelite population through enslavement and hard labor (Exodus 1:7-14). While in Egypt, God had made Israel fertile and blessed their offspring with good health. Pharaoh viewed a burgeoning Israel as a threat because he forgot God’s goodness to Egypt under their ancestor Joseph. He forced them to leave their own fields and flocks in order to build his cities and work his fields.
►Pharaoh then attempted Israeli genocide through murder (Exodus 1:15-22). There must be a lesson in the fact that the more Israel was afflicted, the more populous they grew—but that would be a subject for a different blog. Pharaoh’s failure at population control did not, however, cause him to stand down. Instead, he ordered Israeli midwives to kill all Israeli males at birth. When that failed, rather than accepting the sovereignty of God, he instituted a reign of terror and ordered everyone to join in the murder of Israelite newborn sons.
The ways of Cain and Lamech
►When he was grown, Moses took the problems of his people into his own hands (Ex. 2:11-12). Siding with his birth ethnic group rather than that of his adoptive mother, he thought he could overcome injustice through violence. He murdered an Egyptian for beating an Israelite. This was an unjust act of vengeance, in the manner of Lamech. Pharaoh rightfully sought to avenge the man’s death by killing Moses, but Moses escaped to Midian.
►Israelites were essentially no better than the Egyptians, using violence against each other, brother against brother, in the manner of Cain. Moses stopped two of them from killing each other but, because he too was a killer, they could not acknowledge him as a just judge (Ex. 2:13).
Bright spots in the record
►Despite Pharaoh’s edict, the midwives’ preserved the lives of Hebrew baby boys. They refused to comply because they feared God. Whether they slow-walked obedience or lied in service to God has been debated through the ages. Regardless, God remembered their names and blessed them with families of their own.
►Similarly, Moses’ parents found a way to circumvent the king’s order, going to great lengths to spare his life. They followed the letter of the law, not its spirit. Moses was thrown into the Nile, but not in a way that ended his life.
►Pharaoh’s daughter also defied her father. A young baby when she found him, Moses was still eligible for death, but she found compassion (pity, mercy) in her heart for an outcast.
The bravery and ingenuity of women (mother, midwives, sister, princess) are notable in these episodes.
"An Egyptian delivered us"
►In Exodus 2:16-20, Moses stood up for women who were being mistreated, which apparently was common enough that their father expressed surprise at their early arrival home. Moses showed he cared not only for brothers but also for sisters from another son of Abraham (Midian, by Keturah). He married into the family and had a son. The name he gave his son showed that he understood what it was to be a stranger, alien, foreigner, and how difficult it must have been for him to have been brought up between two worlds.
►Some Egyptians showed kindness before the 7th plague (Ex 9:18-21). God had given fair warning of what would become a tree-shattering storm of hail. He'd advised Egyptian leaders to protect their people and livestock: “Every man and beast that is found in the field and is not brought home, when the hail comes down on them, will die.” People who heeded His warning behaved differently than those who did not. Those who feared the Lord and believed His word moved their people and animals to safety, while those who did not believe left their servants and animals in the fields to die.
Conclusion: In mankind's early history, there was no law that told people right from wrong, and yet some discerned what behavior would please God and what would not. The ones who saved lives did so because they took into consideration God’s hand in creation, His supremacy over creation, His character, and mankind’s unique position in creation.
Early biblical narratives seem to beg for the introduction of law that is on the horizon in following chapters of Exodus. God’s law for the people of Israel would codify how people should care for each other and how they should punish failures to do so.
Next: Is God pro-life?
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Image credit: Pharaoh and the Midwives, James Tissot, 1902
I like the highlight all those who defied Pharoah -- the midwives, Moses' parents, and even Pharoah's daughter. Our pastor made the interesting observation in his sermon two Sundays ago that the first and the last of God's plagues against Egypt were related to Egypt's murder/attempted murder of Israelite infants.... first, the Nile turned to blood, and finally, Egypt's firstborn were killed.
ReplyDeleteOoo, those are good observations. I only noticed in the study for this post that God talked about killing Pharaoh's firstborn well before the plagues began, in Exodus 4:23 - "So I said to you, ‘Let My son go that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn.’”
DeleteThat's interesting! I hadn't noticed that.
DeleteI'm very intrigued by your comment: he [Moses] thought he could overcome injustice through violence. Definitely not! Violence takes away the life of the violent. We were just reading Proverbs: `They lie in wait for their own blood, They lurk secretly for their own lives' (1:18). Pharaoh plotted against the Israelites and in doing so, he set the events in place for the end of his own son and eventually himself. Thank you so much for highlighting the women! I had never noticed before how they were overcoming injustice not through violence but by risking their lives to preserve the life of the baby boys. In fighting injustice by risking their own lives to break the cycle of violence, they set events in place for babies to be saved and their own lives to flourish. This is God's World and it operates according to His ways. Always. I wonder if the midwives give us a little glimpse of what it would mean for Jesus give up his life to break the cycle of violence. They risked their lives and many were saved; Jesus gave his life for the ransom of many.
ReplyDeleteBecause this is a `pro-life' blog, I would just like to commend the non-violent work of pregnancy support centers, their supporters, staff and volunteers.
Amen about the pro-life pregnancy centers!... which, by the way, are staffed primarily by women. It's easy to say, "I'm pro-life," but much harder to give of your time and resources to break the cycle of violence that is abortion. As you say, it has to be sacrificial, risky.
DeleteI appreciate your comments. I'm sorry the system here is difficult but, as you see, your message did get through.