Mon.’s Devo - Exodus - The Beginning

Read Ex. 1:1-22 It just seems right that we continue into Exodus. We start with a list of Jacob’s sons that came into Egypt: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. Joseph was already there. While in Egypt, the children of Israel become very prosperous and mighty. Joseph and all the brothers die- a whole generation. The next king of Egypt never knew Joseph but he notices that the children of Israel are multiplying and gaining in strength so much that they have become a threat to his kingdom. He decides the answer is to make them slaves and sentence them with hard labor. They were put under severe circumstances and were made to carry huge bricks and build cities to put the pharaoh’s treasures in. So they built Pithom and Raamses. Pithom means “the mouth of a monster” and Raamses means “thunder of the standard”. I would say that they described this Pharaoh’s heart pretty well. Jesus said that where your treasure is, your heart is also. (Luke 12:34) The Pharaoh thought this would diminish the tribes, but instead, they grew in number and strength. In desperation, the Pharaoh called in all the midwives and told them to kill the Hebrew boys at the birth, but let the girls live. The two midwives were Shiphrah which means “fairness” and Puah which means “to glitter in brilliance”. They were both fair and brilliant and feared God so they disobeyed the king’s orders and allowed the Hebrew boys to live. When they were called back in to the king they explained that the Hebrew women were so healthy that they delivered their babies before they could get there. Because the midwives refused to abort these babies, God blessed them and gave them houses. So, since the Pharaoh’s plan didn’t work covertly, he decided to try one overtly. He ordered all the Hebrew boys to be cast into the river. Notice the way Satan works. He is afraid of God’s people and his plan is to steal, kill, and destroy. This is one reason why bad things happen to good people and many times, unfortunately, God gets the blame. Lord, help us to see how we are a threat to the enemy and the object of his revenge. Let us be strong and courageous and fight with the weapons you have given us and win.