Marco Ambriz

January 26, 2025

How do you discern the right action in times of public anxiety?

Exodus 1:6-22

Everett Fox's translation below translates the poetic and literary nuance of the Hebrew language into English. What stands out to you?

6 Now Yosef died, and all his brothers, and all that generation.
7 Yet the Children of Israel bore fruit, they swarmed, they became many, they grew mighty (in number)—exceedingly, yes,
exceedingly; the land filled up with them.
8 Now a new king arose over Egypt, who had not known Yosef.
9 He said to his people:
Here, (this) people, the Children of Israel, is many-more and mightier (in number) than we!
10 Come-now, let us use-our-wits against it,
lest it become many-more,
and then, if war should occur,
it too be added to our enemies
and make war upon us
or go up away from the land!
11 So they set gang-captains over it, to afflict it with their burdens.
It built storage-cities for Pharaoh—Pitom and Ra'amses.
12 But as they afflicted it, so did it become many, so did it burst forth.
And they felt dread before the Children of Israel.
13 So they, Egypt, made the Children of Israel subservient with crushing-labor;
14 they embittered their lives with hard servitude in loam and in bricks and with all kinds of servitude in the field—
all their service in which they made them subservient with crushing-labor.
13 Now the king of Egypt said to the midwives of the Hebrews—the name of the first one was Shifra, the name of the second was Pu'a—
16 he said:
When you help the Hebrew women give birth, see the supporting-stones:
if he be a son, put him to death,
but if she be a daughter, she may live.
17 But the midwives held God in awe,
and they did not do as the king of Egypt had spoken to them,
they let the (male) children live.
18 The king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them:
Why have you done this thing, you have let the children live!
19 The midwives said to Pharaoh:
Indeed, not like the Egyptian (women) are the Hebrew (women),
indeed, they are lively:
before the midwife comes to them, they have given birth!
20 God dealt well with the midwives.
And the people became many and grew exceedingly mighty (in number).
21 It was, since the midwives held God in awe, that he made them households.
22 Now Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying:
Every son that is born, throw him into the Nile,
but let every daughter live.

Pharoah’s Escalation of Unjust Policies

Take note of some of the ways the sinful attitudes of one man escalate into a sinful national policy.

1. Fearmongering and Othering of the Hebrew people (Ex 1:9-10)

2. Institution of slave labor projects (Ex 1:11)

3. Increased scope and amount of slave labor (Ex 1:13)

4. Decree of a quiet genocide of Hebrew boys through intimidation (Ex 1:16)

5. Decree of public genocide of all Hebrew boys as national law (Ex 1:22)

How have you seen such events play out in history?

7 Yet the Children of Israel bore fruit — The Israelites’ increasing number in Egypt was a sign of God’s presence and blessing. They, like their forefathers, were fulfilling the creation mandate (Enns, 1274).

they swarmed — This verb is usually applied to animals (Fox, 257). It is language that dehumanizes. Can you give other examples of dehumanizing language in your own contextt?

8 Now a new king arose over Egypt, who had not known Yosef. — This new king was either wholly ignorant of his own nation’s history, or (more likely) that he simply chose to act in ignorance of Joseph’s wise counsel and how the Egyptians had benefited from it (Gen. 41) (Enns, 1275). How might this wilful ignorance be repeating itself today?

Egypt is a particularly centralized, absolute monarchy, the king/Pharaoh is considered divine (Janzen, 36).

10 and then, if war should occur — Pharaoh worried that the next time he was attacked, the Israelites would join forces with his enemies, outnumber his own army, and bring his dynasty to an end (Ryken, 32).

it too be added to our enemies and make war upon us or go up away from the land! — Why were Pharaoh and the Egyptians so threatened by the Israelites? Where do you see situations with similar dynamics in today’s world? Where do you see members of your culture or community responding violently against those who are different? (Coleman, 86)

11 It built storage-cities for Pharaoh — The sheer number of man-hours needed for the massive engineering and construction projects undertaken in the ancient world made the use of forced labor frequent. It was used as a form of taxation (for instance, the common people might work one month out of the year without pay on government building projects). When the government projects proved too ambitious to staff with native people and prisoners of war, and too expensive to hire labor for, vulnerable groups of people would be targeted for forced labor (Matthews, Ex 1:11). On whose backs is your own country prosperity built upon?

12 But as they afflicted it — "Afflicted" may also be expressed as “treated violently,” “were cruel toward,” or “hurt.” The Egyptians held their necks down (Osborn, 22).

14 all their service in which they made them subservient with crushing-labor. — Pharaoh's first step was to reorder the Israelites’ position in Egyptian society. No longer would they be an independent people but would instead be a slave caste under the control of slave masters, and their main purpose in life would be to perform forced labor assigned to them by the Egyptians. Their original identity had been as shepherds and contract herders in the grazing lands of northeast Egypt (Gen 46:34; 47:4–6, 27) with official recognition by the government in this role (Gen 47:6). Now the government redefined them as conscript construction laborers and, as the reader soon learns, forced them to do general labor and especially to make bricks (Exod 1:14; 5:7–19). The lower a group is on the social-economic scale, the less likely it is to be able to organize itself in opposition to those in authority (Stuart, 66-67). Wherever you are in the socio-economic "ladder", what can you do to be a subversive witness of God's love and justice?

15 Now the king of Egypt said to the midwives of the Hebrews — The nationality of the Hebrew midwives is uncertain because the Hebrew phrase may be read either as “Hebrew midwives” or as “midwives to the Hebrews.” They may have been Egyptian midwives assigned to serve the Hebrew women. It is better to think of them as “midwives who helped the Hebrew women” (Osborn, 24). If these midwives were, indeed, Egyptian, then they were disobeying their own nation and ethnic people. How significant would it be for Egyptian women to refuse to go along with a pro-Egyptian and anti-Hebrew policy?

16 if he be a son, put him to death, but if she be a daughter, she may live. — Pharaoh's decree begins as infanticide. But after a generation, without enough men…it will become genocide. 

They are to kill boys, as potential warriors and rebels, but spare girls, as potential childbearers. This was often the case in the ancient Near East (as in Judg. 21:10–14). No doubt the girls are meant to become wives of Egyptians, thus helping to increase the population of Egypt (Janzen, 38).

17 But the midwives held God in awe — The refusal of the midwives to carry out these royal orders—their civil disobedience, as we would say—is motivated by their fear of God. For the first time in Exodus, God is mentioned directly. God initiates the first and subtle countermove against Pharaoh. God’s agents are two women, a small force indeed when arraigned against the absolute ruler of an empire. Here, as throughout the Bible, victory does not depend on numbers and strength, but solely on alignment with God’s will (Janzen, 38). Share a time when you earnestly sought to align yourself with God's will, and saw a thing through.

and they did not do as the king of Egypt had spoken to them — What were the midwives risking by taking this stand against Pharaoh’s order? And how do we know when it’s appropriate to practice civil disobedience? (Coleman, 86)

they let the (male) children live. — This was an act of civil disobedience. Pharaoh gave the midwives a direct order, and they disobeyed it. But this is what God’s people always do when the laws of men contradict the laws of God. Our first allegiance is to God. There are times when Christians not only have the right but also the responsibility to resist. In a way this act of civil disobedience was the start of a revolution, the first beginnings of the slave revolt that ultimately led Israel out of Egypt (Ryken, 41). 

18 Why have you done this thing, you have let the children live! — Their passivism was actually activism. Sometimes, not acting unjustly is just.

19 before the midwife comes to them, they have given birth! — The implication was that by the time the midwives arrived, the family had already welcomed the child, and there was no way secretly to put him to death (Ryken, 41), under the guise of a stillbirth.

22 Now Pharaoh commanded all his people — The midwives are not up to the task of checking the Israelite population explosion. So the whole Egyptian population must now be enlisted (Fox, 261). Where does a national/political leader get their power/authority? Why should people obey or comply with a law that contradicts their own conscience?

Every son that is born, throw him into the Nile, but let every daughter live. Why would the ruler of a society that is (literally) built on slavery destroy his own workforce? The story does not describe a rational fear, but paranoia. Throughout history, oppressors blame a certain people group for various economic and political catastrophes not of their own making and were eliminated from a society that could have used their resources and manpower (Fox, 258). How have you seen this paranoia play out in your lifetime?

Lessons

1. In the face of public anxiety, we can still hold God in awe.
But Shiphra and Pua held God in awe (Ex 1:17).  — Who do you fear/revere most, God or human leaders?

2. In the face of public anxiety, we can still defy the dehumanizing voices of this world.
They did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do... — What dehumanizing words and tactics have you heard lately?

3. In the face of public anxiety, we can still protect the vulnerable.
"they let the boys live'" Exodus 1:17 — Who is vulnerable in your circle? What can you do to stand up for them?

Reflection

1. How have you typically responded when you felt put down, discounted, or mistreated? How did God work in these circumstances to prepare you or transform you?

2. What do you find most surprising in this story? Why? What do you find most inspiring?

3. Where can you encounter God this week even in the midst of public and national anxiety?

4. What can you do to still hold God in awe?

5. What can you say no to this week out of love for Jesus?

6. Who can you protect and advocate for this week?

Works Cited

Lyman Coleman, Life Connections Study Bible. Nashville, TN: Holman Bibles, 2019.

Peter E. Enns. Exodus. NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2000.

Waldemar Janzen, Exodus, Believers Church Bible Commentary. Waterloo, ON;  Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2000.

Victor Harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas, and John H. Walton, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000.

Noel D. Osborn and Howard A. Hatton, A Handbook on Exodus, UBS Handbook Series. New York: United Bible Societies, 1999).

Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005.

Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006.