Daily Lectionary | Exodus 1 & Matthew 8:18-end
Exodus 1
I’m indebted to audio lectures from James B. Jordan on Exodus for my notes on Exodus.
Exodus opens names the “Sons of Israel who came to Egypt,” who were only 70 in number. But we’re told that they “multiplied and increased greatly.” Here we have an echo of the creation mandate (Gen. 1:26-30).
Israel, in Goshen, was fruitful and multiplied. The number 70 is the number of the nations of the world (Gen. 10). Israel represents the world within Egypt. Israel is a microcosm of the world in Egypt. Jesus is the true Israel who represents the world. Israel was meant to be a people for the world, as we’ll see later in Exodus 19:5-6, a kingdom of priests amidst and for the world.
A new Pharaoh comes to power who does not acknowledge Joseph. In Joshuah 24:14, Joshua says that Israel served false gods in Egypt. It’s possible that the sons of Israel started worshipping Egyptian gods. On this understanding, the Lord gives Israel over to an oppressive government and becomes enslaved. Or perhaps, Egypt is simply a furnace of inexplicable suffering and trial.
Whatever the case, the new Pharaoh fears the multiplication of Israel. He’s threatened by the Hebrew influence in the land. In Exodus 1:11, Pharaoh makes them build storage cities. This is what Joseph did, so Pharaoh makes them keep doing what the Hebrew people are know for. They are put to work for Pharaoh. Cain builds the first city, built on his brother’s blood. Now Pharaoh will construct cities built on tyranny. Yet Pharaoh’s oppression only leads to more success for Israel. They kept spreading out and multiplying.
Now, in verse 13, the Egyptians force Israel into slavery. Their work becomes full of toil. We might see Pharaoh as a serpent figure who brings a curse to man that results in hard work, as in Genesis 3. In Genesis 3:15, a war is predicted between the seed of the woman and the serpent. One of the serpent’s tactics, in an attempt to frustrate the Lord’s plans, is to kill the seed, kill babies. If you kill the boys, the daughters will be left to those outside of the covenant people.
The Hebrew Midwives were instructed to kill the boys and let the girls live. The midwives disobeyed through deception. The midwives lie to Pharaoh. They feared God and practiced a righteous form of civil disobedience in their deception. Remember: the woman in Genesis 3 was deceived by the serpent. The righteous will practice deception on serpent figures like Pharaoh as theses midwives do.
“God dealt well with the midwives.” And once again, “the people multiplied and grew very strong” (Ex. 1:20).
Pharaoh intensifies his war on Hebrew babies by decreeing the sons should be thrown into the Nile.
Reflection
What themes of Genesis do you see replayed in Exodus 1?
The Hebrew midwives practice a righteous form of deception. Under what circumstances might it be ethical to practice deception?
Matthew 8:19-end
Summary
In this section, we see the urgency of discipleship and the authority of Jesus over the natural and spiritual realms.
A scribe is convinced that following Jesus is worth it, wherever Jesus might take him. Jesus retorts, however, that “Foxes have holes and birds of air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Matt. 8:20).
Jesus will live a life, especially from this point on, that is rootless. He has a temporary home in Capernaum, but he will not “rest” until his work is complete on the cross. The life of discipleship is a life of upheaval, Jesus teaches us. It’s a good thing to be rooted and seek stability, but Jesus had neither.
A disciple tells Jesus he needs to bury his father and then he will follow Jesus. Now, it’s not clear whether his father has actually died or he’s just waiting until his father dies. Perhaps he’d have an inheritance and then it would “make sense” to follow Jesus. But Jesus says, what might strike us as harsh at first: “Let the dead bury their own.” Jesus, at the very least, is warning against excuses, noble-sounding excuses, about following him.
Jesus then gets into a boat and falls asleep as a storm comes up and scares the disciples to death. In a boat, asleep, with a storm causing fear--this should evoke the story of Jonah. Jesus, however, commands the wind and it obeys him.
Jesus, on the other side of the sea, casts out demons from two demon-possessed mean, sending the demons into pigs who kill themselves. Like Jesus authority over the sea caused marveling, Jesus authority over the demons causes fear (Matt. 8:34). They want Jesus to leave!
Following Jesus is following Jesus into storms and into spiritual warfare. But Jesus is Lord of the storm and the conqueror of all evil.
Reflection Questions
What connections do you see between the story of Jonah and Jesus in the boat? How is Jesus the anti-Jonah?
How does Jesus describe the urgency and reality of following him in verse 18-22?