Shemot “Names”
Exodus 1:1 - 6:1
This weeks’ reading tells us about a new Pharaoh rising. The sons of Israel in Egypt had grown their people and become a strong group. A new Pharaoh rose up over Egypt who knew nothing of Joseph. This Pharaoh became worried about these people because they had grown into a mighty group. He decided to try and oppress them by adding extra taxes, and then making them slaves working them harder and harder and demanding more and more. He then ordered for all the Hebrew midwives to kill all the Hebrew baby boys that were born. The midwives feared God, so they told Pharaoh that the women had all given birth before they could arrive to assist. We see God’s hand! The Hebrews continued to grow and multiply. Pharaoh was not happy and then commanded the people to throw all Hebrew baby boys into the river….
A Hebrew couple from the house of Levi had a son and kept him hidden for (3) months. When the mother could no longer hide him, she wove a basket, and placed her baby boy inside this basket among the tall grass reeds on the bank of the river. Little did she know, his sister had been watching her from afar. When Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the river to bathe, she saw the basket and noticed the child inside it and he was crying. She took pity on the sweet baby. The woman that had been watching came over and asked Pharaoh’s daughter if she could fetch a Hebrew mother to nurse the baby. The women agreed and lo and behold the baby’s actual mother was able to nurse her own son, Moses! As Moses grew up he could see the burdens and hardships placed on his Hebrew brethren. He saw an Egyptian man beating a Hebrew man, he quickly checked to see that no one was watching and he killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. Soon after Moses saw his own brethren fighting and he asked one of the men,”why are you trying to kill your neighbor”, the man answered and said, “do you intend to kill me as you killed that Egyptian man”? Moses realized what he had done had been witnessed. Pharaoh eventually finds out and wants Moses killed. Moses flees to the land of Midian. Pharaoh dies; however the Hebrews remained slaves in the land of Egypt.
God hears the cries of the slaves in distress and remembered the covenant God had made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Moses has an encounter with God in a burning bush. God tells Moses, He will bring the people out of Egypt. God gives Moses signs, because God knows the ruler of Egypt will not let the people go. God hardens the heart of Pharaoh, so he decides to make the Hebrews lives and work much harder. The people are upset and outraged and question why this has happened. God tells Moses, “now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh; for by a strong hand will he let them go. Indeed, by a strong hand will he drive them out of his land.”!