Thou wilt light my candle in the darkness. Thou hast bottled all my tears in love. Out of many waters thou hast drawn me. Shown your tender mercies from above. You have given songs of hope to millions. Brought your scattered flock back to their land. Given promised beauty for their ashes. Joy for mourning. Freedom in Zion. You have set your watchmen, on the walls of Jerusalem. A praise in the earth she shall be. As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride. So my God shall rejoice over me."
The psalmist rejoices that "God will bring down the "high looks" in Psalm 18:24, and save the afflicted people. To have ones candle "lit in the darkness," is similar to Psalm 23, and having God prepare you a table in the midst of your enemies, or being constantly anointed with fresh oil."
Barnes notes on the New Testament states that the light here is an emblem of prosperity, success, happiness and holiness, contrasted to the darkness which is the opposite.
Exodus 1:8-14 1 Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob.
2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3
Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4
Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
5 And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.
6 And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.
7 And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.
8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.
9 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:
10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.
11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.
12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.
13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:
14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick; and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.
15 And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:
16 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.
17 But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.
18 And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?
19 And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.
20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.
21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.
22 And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.
BIBLE STUDY ON MOSES PRINCE OF EGYPT
"Our of Zion the Deliverer...To turn away ungodliness from Jacob." Romans 11:26
The second book of Moses is called Exodus in the Hebrew. From a concordance, or Hebrew dictionary; what does this mean?
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The promise God gave Jacob on his departure from Canaan is fulfilled. The children of Israel settled in what was the most fertile land, the most fruitful province in Egypt, and thus grew into a great nation. But God's prophetic words to the patriarch Abraham were also fulfilled.
Exodus chapter 1 opens with: "Now these are the names of the children of Israel."This chapter contains the fulfillment of God's prophetic words to Abraham, when He made covenant with him:
"Know of a surety that your seed will be a stranger in a strange land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them 400 years." (Genesis 15:13)
In Exodus 1:1-4, what are the names of the children of Israel? Include the meanings of their names as well, on a separate sheet of paper.
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What was the number of souls that came from Jacob?
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In verse 6, we read: "And Joseph died and all his brethren; and all that generation." The government Joseph had instituted, by the hand of God, had deteriorated at this time. The Egyptians who had known these were also now dead and gone, and a new generation had arisen.
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During the reign of Joseph in the Egypt, we read that the children of Israel, were PARU, a Hebrew term, which speaks of them as "healthy trees;" The second Hebrew term YISHRETSU, likens them to "fishes."
In 215 years, they'd multiplies to approximately 600,000 people. According to Exodus 1:7, write at least three or more of the descriptive terms used to show how their lives were at this time.
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God's original intent for His people, prior to the fall, was that man should do what, according to Genesis 1:27-29. ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ After the fall, when Adam and Eve sinned, God said that man would earn his living by what, according to Genesis 3:17-19? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ Work is not a bad thing. It's a good thing, and the scriptures have many things to say about the "work ethic." Jesus worked to bring forth creation, (Colossians 1:16) and the same Hebrew term, ASAH; is used to describe both the work of God and man. In fact, when God said: Let us make man in our own image and likeness, He was speaking prophetically of His plan in Christ, that man be co-workers together with God, in the endtime harvest field and to bring the church to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. (Eph. 4;13) The word "works" is a special and favorite designation used in the book of John, of the healings, and miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ. In John 5:36, Jesus speaks of the need to stay "on task." We prosper when we see things through to completion. In this way, "a man is satisfied by the work of his hands." How does He describe this need for faithfulness, in His own words? See also John 10:38 and John 15:24) ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ In Exodus 1:8, a new king arose over Egypt. This king was possibly Ramesses Miamum or his son Amenophis, who succeeded him in government. The prosperous condition of the children took a turn at this time. We learn that the new king "knew not Joseph." The Hebrew text signifies "not to perceive, or to acknowledge" and bears out that he: "wanted to know nothing about Joseph." And the forgetfulness of Joseph brought the favor shown the Israelites to a close. ____________________________________________________ According to Exodus 1:9, what was the concern here? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ In order to avert the situation, an idea was concocted. A stradegy was devised to deal with this perceived threat, with the words: "Let us deal wisely (i.e. act craftily with them." The initial stradegy in verse 11 to lessen the physical strength of the Israelites? What was Pharoah really afraid of here? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ What did the new ruler keep the Israelites busy doing for his own kingdom? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ In verse 11, Pharoah set over the children of Israel "Chiefs of tributes," when they anticipated the loss of revenue that could result from the loss of this peaceful and industrious people. These "chiefs" were men of rank, superintendents of the public works; and distinguished from subordinate overseers. What does Exodus 1:11 call these who were called in the Hebrew "chiefs or princes of burdens" to afflict them, in verse 11? It is interesting, that there is a counterpart to the wicked and the pagan "chief of burdens," sent to afflict, and it is a gifting from the Lord. This is the prophetic calling. In the psalms, worship leaders, who received prophetic songs by the Spirit, were called "chief of the prophetic burden," and they ministered in service to the tabernacle. Where were these Egyptian forced labor camps or public works located? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ These cities in which the labor camps were located in Egypt, were called "treasure cities," or "storage cities."These were also graineries. Read Amos 8:11-14, which prophesies of the famine to come. What sort of famine is this? _________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ God wants you as an individual to be a "treasure or storage city of this sort you read of in Amos prophecy!" He wants your church to be one. The Egyptians had kept enough of a knowledge of Josephs past administration, to continue these "storage cities." What they'd lost was the heart and purpose that originally built them, to bless the people. Now the blessing has been turned into a curse, and these are being rather utilized to "afflict the people of God," as they are made to put their shoulder to the burden of these in an ever increasing way. Tell what the bible says in Luke 12:34. ___________________________________________________ Many years ago, in America a "tax" was devised to pay off the national debt, called the "Social Security Tax." Once the debt was paid, that was supposed to be the end of it. But this promise was not kept. Over time, because of the tax, it took "more work" to make the same amount of money. This was a similar situation, to the one here. Pharoah's plan to break the physical strength, and thereby to rob the people of God; was not successful. What was the of the Egyptians afflicting the people of God with hard labor? Did this work load cause the Israelites not to fulfill God's Genesis principle found in Genesis 1:28 commandment to proliferate, and to replentish the earth with the godly race?
According to Genesis 1:11, each species will bring forth "after it's kind." ____________________________________________________
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Some believe that these "storage" places may have been the great pyramids of Egypt, where the pharoahs also stored their treasures. From their structure they appear that they could have been used for storage of this kind.
The name Pharoah signified a king or a monarch. It also signified a "crocodile," the sacred animal of the Egyptians. This name may have been added to the kings name to provide additional reverence or respect.
This "increase" given by God's grace to the Israelites. This should have been an indication of God's providence and therefore a sign to the Egyptians, so as to acknowledge the God of God's, yet they did not bow to Him. Instead, what did the Egyptians do next?
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The Hebrew word "rigour" speaks of cruelty, and oppression. Read Leviticus 25:43, 46. What does God say here?
Israelites, had a certain effect on the part of the Egyptians. What was this?
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This was renewed and increased oppression, was obviously because of jealousy and envy toward God's people. Read Proverbs 27:4. Write what this says about the sin of envy.
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According to Exodus 14, the Egyptians literally made the children of Israel "weary of life."The bible teaches us two of the types of ways the services of the Israelites were employed. What were these?
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The use of brick was common in Egypt. Hardened mud or clay molded into oblong bricks was the basic building material of Egypt. Mud was used as mortar. Numerous tomb paintings portray the brick-making of Egypt. Egyptian records reveal the difficulties of this task. In one case, 600 men made produced only 39,118 bricks in a day or 65 bricks per man.
In Exodus 5:18, Israelite workmen become frustrated when ordered to "gather straw" also, yet their quote for making bricks was the same. The entire brick-making process has been recorded in Thebes in a temple erected by Tothmosis III. Immense masses of brick have been excavated in Sharkiya, which was Goshen. This place is located a days journey from Cairo.
This brick-work done by the children of Israel, under the Egyptian taskmasters, consisted in digging the clay out of the ground under the broiling sun, mixing it with water, sometimes straw was added; kneading it to make it pliable.
Forming it into bricks by pressing the clay into wooden frames, then frames were lifted off, allowing bricks to dry in the sun, carrying the heavy stone-like objects on pallets of some sort, perhaps loading them on barges to ford the river, then building whatever storage buildings were necessary or required by the Egyptians. Later in Israelite history, God condemns Israel's "altars of brick." In Exodus 20:24-26, altars to Yahweh were to be made only of what?
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With Exodus 1:14-15, comes another strategic move on the part of the Egyptians, in an effort to control God's people, and the original plan of the Lord that "godly people" should be fruitful, multiply and replentish the earth." (Genesis) The king of Egypt called the Hebrew midwives to give them them instructions as to how to carry out "infanticide," against God's people. Since God's command at creation, was "Be fruitful, multiply and replentish the earth, this device of the Egyptian king, was a clever stradegy against the prophetic plan of God, for His people. Read Psalm 127:3. Write the thought of the Lord from this verse, and it's promise to you.
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If you want "family planning or spacing, and feel overwhelmed, pray for God's grace to keep you. Ask God to space your children. He promises not to allow more to come on you than you are ablke to bear. He is the same God who promised that "your children shall speak with your enemies in the gate." (Psalm 127:5) The day may come when you need this.
We had five children, But before we were married, God promised Tom 4-5 more, in a prophetic vision. One day we realized that we were letting this "prophetic promise lay." Prophetic words can "fall to the ground" when not "mixed with faith." Now "baby-boomer age," we're adopted from Romania, and are in process of adopting from Russia, where baby boomers can adopt "infants" till they are age 55.
In verse 15, what were the names of these women? Look in a concordance for the Hebrew meanings of their names.
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These 2 women, who bore Egyptian names, were probably supervisory midwives; under whom others performed service for the families of Israel. There were 3 million Israelites at this time. Hebrew scholars estimate there were not fewer than 500 midwives in the camp at this time.
Seeing "them" upon the stools is believed by some to be a reference to the stone trough that the baby was received on, washed and swaddled.
Before all you midwives say: "Oh yes, I always tuck my stone trough under my arm, when I'm on my way to a delivery," I did some research among the Jewish scholars, and found an article on cornerstones . The Jewish word son or children (BEN) means "the builder of a house."
Rabbai Jonah Ibn Jannakh states that OVNAYIM is the "place the baby lands i.e. "the stone" after he is born." The Hebrew people not only did prophetic things, but they also believed imprinting could occur. Such as Jacob's flocks being speckled from looking at the green poplar hazel and chesnut sticks he carved stripes in and set before the gutters in the watering troughs, to imprint the flocks which would conceive there. (Genesis 30:35-31) The Hebrew word for "stools" is AL HAOBNAYIM, and elsewhere is translated as "potters wheel." In verse 16, what did the Egyptian king command the midwives to do, with the babies that were born to Israelite families?
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*Note: This type of thing is happening all over the world today, in various ways. God is raising up people with God's heart, to "save the children." In the film "The Hiding Place," on the life of the Nazi occupation of Holland and the holocaust, this family helped to save Jewish babies. On one occasion, they put a baby in a basket tied to a bicycle; and took him to a waiting boat that would take him to safety.
Others are adopting all of the babies, children and young people that they can possibly take into their homes, and parent. The baby-boomer generation can adopt infants from some countries till they are age 55.
International adoption is at great cost to them personally, and domestic adoption fees as less expensive, but each must do as God leads. God is providing, so that these infants, and childrens lives can be saved. According to verse 17, what are the various types of personal characteristics that you see in these Hebrew midwives?
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What did the midwives risk in disobeying and defying the king's orders and what actions, if any did they take with regard to the king's command?
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The Pharoah, who has had the Israelites being watched, again calls the midwives to him. His more stealthy stradegy for "infanticide" having failed, the Pharoah now turns to "open violence." What does he ask of the midwives, that indicates that he is not comfortable with the midwives ability to carry out his instructions as ordered?
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*Had this been carried out, this would have resulted in the extermination of Israel as a holy nation, amidst a crooked and perverse one. For with no sons (BEN) as "builders" or progenitors of the holy race, it would have died out.
To disobey a king could cost you your life, but God anointed the midwives with special wisdom to answer the king. How do the midwives answer him?
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God was watching over the midwives and all the camp of Israel. How did the Lord deal with the midwives, for their courageous actions?
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What happened to the Israelites as a congregation?
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Lastly, the Pharoah's plan to have Hebrew midwives secretly kill Israeli infants, having failed, we learn that in verse 22, the Pharoah charges the entire population of Egyptian people living in his land to keep watch over pregnant women, or families expecting babies and to assist him, in keeping the Israelite population down. Each Egyptian citizen was now to be individually responsible for murdering Israelite babies.
The children of Israel did not sit forever in a land decimated by plagues. It took great faith to step off the shore and into the path of the roaring, wind swept sea, with waves mounting up on either side.
God's word is not contradictory when it says: "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works lest any man should boast." We cannot do enough good deeds to merit heaven. All our righteousness is as filthy rags. (Isaiah 64:6)
God sent Jesus to ransom us through His death on calvary, from our imprisonment to sin. (Ephesians 2:5,8) But God imparts to us "the God kind of faith," and from now till heaven, there will certainly be a testimony to our faith in Christ seen in our works!
It is our prayer for you that this study will stir your faith and trust in God, to do the "seemingly impossible."
