Exodus 1-2: A Nation In Bondage

"But the people of Israel were prolific; they had children easily, and their numbers increased rapidly. As their numbers grew so did their strength. Eventually, they filled the land." Exodus 1:7, The Voice

It is here, in the very first verses of Exodus, that we see God fulfilling the first part of his promise to Abraham. He has made a great nation over the course of just a few generations!

But the people of Israel have much hardship in their future. Threatened by the great numbers of the Israelites, a pharaoh with no memory of Joseph enslaves them all. He forces them into backbreaking labor to try to prevent them from becoming a nation greater than Egypt.

"But the harder the slave drivers pushed the Israelites, the more rapidly they had children and spread throughout the land..." Exodus 1:12

Isn't it funny how the decisions we make in fear are always the wrong ones? Pharaoh is afraid of the rapidly expanding Israelite nation, so he enslaves them. Because he enslaves them, they grow more populous. Pharaoh makes the logical next step- he tells the midwives to kill any son that is born to Hebrew women. But that plan doesn't pan out for Pharaoh, because the midwives fear God more than they fear him, and let the baby Hebrew boys live. So he orders all baby boys to be thrown into the Nile.

Moses is a baby boy born during this time. But as you can imagine, his mother could not bear to throw her son to the crocodiles. So she floats him down the Nile in a little basket sealed with pitch, and sends her daughter to see what happens to him.

Moses' basket ends up floating into the bathing pool of the princess of Egypt. She decides to adopt him, and sends Moses' sister to find a nurse for him. He grows up in riches, all the while knowing that he is Hebrew and that his people are mercilessly enslaved. In a fit of rage, he kills an Egyptian who is beating a Hebrew.When this is discovered, he flees Egypt.

At the end of chapter 2, we find Moses married to the daughter of a desert priest, tending sheep in the mountains. The whole story seems a bit anti-climatic. What did God save Moses for?

The very last verse gives us a hint:

"The Israelites continued to moan because of their bondage, and they cried out to be rescued from their oppression. Their cry for help ascended to God. He heard their pleas and remembered the covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God saw the situation the people of Israel were in, and He was moved to take action." Exodus 2:23-25