Seder 45: Exodus 1 and Isaiah 27---Israel the Fruitful Vineyard

 After the family of Jacob settled in Egypt, they prospered.  Exodus 1:7 reports, "But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled them."  This was a fulfillment of promises God had made to Abraham (Ge 15:5).  The family's growth continued even after their enslavement (Ex 1:12).  

Israel has experienced lots of ups and downs during its long history.  Prophecies like Isaiah 27 make clear that God's ultimate purpose is to bless the nation.  They experienced suffering for the purposes of correction and cleansing (vv 7-11), but they will be regathered and restored and will bear fruit again.  Isaiah 27:6 says, "In days to come Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots and fill the whole world with fruit."

Seder 45: Between Exodus 2 and Exodus 3---Moses' Silent Years

 The Bible tells us little about Moses' 40 years as a shepherd in Midian.  It is interesting to speculate on Moses' mindset as he fled to Midian and settled down there.  Mosheh Lichtenstein presents some interesting discussion of this topic in his book-length character study of Moses. 

On the day after Moses intervened on behalf of an Israelite slave, Moses saw two Israelites fighting.  A midrash suggests that they were fighting about what Moses had done.  Some Israelites felt that it was time to rebel against the Egyptians, while others strongly opposed such a move.  Lichtenstein proposes that Moses was disappointed that his people were not united.  Rashi says Moses had learned that there were some Israelites who were traitors and collaborators with the Egyptians.  Perhaps Moses became disillusioned and despaired of the possibility of freeing his people.  So he retreated from public life and decided to live a quiet existence, communing with God in the wilderness.

There is speculation that Jethro and Moses were kindred spirits in this regard.  In one midrash, presented in Exodus Rabbah and the Talmud, there was once a meeting of Pharaoh, Balaam, Jethro, and Job to talk about the Israelites.  Balaam proposed killing male Israelites babies, and Pharaoh readily agreed.  Jethro fled to the wilderness, repulsed by this idea but powerless to do anything to stop it.  (Job said nothing.)

At any rate, Moses spent 40 years away from Egypt, and he surely was disappointed that his earlier efforts to help the Israelites had not led to anything.  He would need some convincing to take up this cause again.

Seder 45: Exodus 2---Moses, a Deliverer-In-Training

 While the Israelites suffered in slavery, God had not abandoned them.  He arranged for Moses, the man through whom he would work to deliver Israel, to be raised in Pharaoh's household.  As Stephen would later tell it, "Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds" (Acts 7:22).  One story, related by Josephus, has him become an Egyptian military leader.  (It was in this capacity, the story says, that Moses obtained the Cushite wife spoken of in Num 12.) 

As an adult Moses chose to embrace his Israelite identity.  Heb 11:24-26 states, 

"By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.  He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward."

Stephen says that he was 40 years old (Acts 7:23) when he saw an Israelite being beaten by an Egyptian (Exo 2:11).  Moses then "looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand" (v 12).  

Verse 12 does not mean that Moses looked around to see that no one was looking.  Instead, he was hoping that someone would do something to stop the injustice being perpetrated upon the Israelite.  

The Hebrew expression in Exo 2:!2 also appears in Isa 59:16, which says of God.  "He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him." 

Moses' heart was in the right place, but he was not ready to lead Israel's exodus.  The death of the Egyptian was probably an accident, but he should not have killed him.  When what he had done was discovered, he fled Egypt for Midian, where he rescued a damsel in distress, married her, and settled down as a herdsman working for his father-in-law Jethro.  Another forty years would go by before God called him for a special mission. 

Seder 45: Exodus 1-2---Israel Enslaved but not Defeated

 Egypt and its rulers had benefitted greatly from the wisdom of Joseph and the presence of his family.  This is one example of the promise to Abraham and his descendants in Gen 12:1-3.  

But eventually they refused to acknowledge the truth.  A pharaoh warned of the threat posed by the presence of this growing nation within their nation (Ex 1:9-10).  He questioned the loyalty of these people who, he knew, planned to return to Canaan one day.  

The Egyptians then enslaved the Israelites, but this did nothing to reduce their numbers (vv 11-12).  The continued growth of the Israelite population shows God continued blessing and implies highlights the faith of the women of Israel, who continued to carry out the commandment to "be fruitful and multiply" even under these trying circumstances.  

The Pharaoh then decided to pursue a policy of genocide, ordering the leaders of the midwives of the Israelites to have all male infants killed.  

Questions are often raised about the rationale behind such a policy.  The idea may have been that with fewer males, Israel would pose less of a military threat.  Another possibility:  one midrash says that the royal magicians had determined that a male deliverer of Israel would soon be born. 

Whatever the rationale, the policy was ineffective.  The courageous midwives refused to enforce it, continuing in their commitment to promote life and fearing God rather than Pharaoh.  God rewarded these brave women for their faith and courage.  

While Pharaoh focused on the threat posed by Israelite men, a number of women thwarted his policies, including his own daughter, who rescued the baby Moses (Ex 2:1-10).  

We do not know the name of this woman who chose to defy her father's order.  The book of Jubilees (47:5) calls her Tharmuth, and Josephus calls her Thermuthis.  Another tradition identifies her as Bithiya or Batya, the daughter of a Pharaoh who married Mered from the tribe of Judah and became an Israelite (1 Chr 4:17).  The name Batya means "daugther of God."  One tradition says since Batya adopted Moses as her son, God adopted her as his daughter.  

Rob Wilson spoke on Exodus 1-2 at Church of the Messiah on Feb 20, 2021.