Exodus 1

11–14 So the new king¹ began to oppress the Israelites; he made them into slave laborers. But the more he oppressed them the more God multiplied them! This result has occurred over and over again in history: when evil rulers try to persecute God’s people, God’s people usually become stronger. No ruler, no government, no army can destroy what God has chosen to preserve.

15–21 When the king of Egypt saw that the Israelites kept on increasing in number, he tried a more extreme tactic: he instructed the Hebrew (Israelite) midwives to kill all the Hebrew male babies. But the midwives feared God² (verse 17); they chose to obey God rather than the king (Acts 5:29). When the king asked the midwives why they were ignoring his command, they quickly gave an explanation³ (verse 19). Even if their explanation stretched the truth a bit, God apparently was not displeased, because He rewarded them with children of their own (verse 21).

22 When the plan to have the midwives kill the male babies didn’t work out and the Hebrews kept on increasing, the king gave orders to all his people to throw every male Hebrew infant into the Nile River (Matthew 2:16). “Surely that will work,” thought Pharaoh.

We are not told how well it worked; it certainly didn’t work for one Hebrew infant who was about to be born: Moses. But over-all, nothing could stop the growth of the Hebrew nation in Egypt. The Hebrews started with seventy; they lived in Egypt a total of 430 years (Exodus 12:40); and when they left Egypt they numbered 600,000 men, besides women and children (Exodus 12:37). God’s purpose could not be thwarted—even by Pharaoh’s repeated efforts.