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The Second Book of MOSES,

CALLED,

EXODUS.

INTRODUCTION.

WE are now entering on the second Book of Moses, called, ExODUS, that is, The going out, or, The departure. It contains the history of the Israelites for the period of one hundred and forty five years, from the death of Joseph to the buildnig of the Tabernacle ; including an account of the increase and oppression of Israel in Egypt; of Moses being sent to deliver them; of the ten plagues; of their deliverance with a strong hand; of their passing through the Red Sea, and the destruction of Pharaoh and his host there; of their safe conduct through the wilderness for forty years; of the covenant between God and them at Sinai; of his giving them laws and judgments; of his ordaining the priesthood ; and the erection of the Tabernacle.

CHAP. I.

Contains an account of the increase of the Israelites; the oppression they underwent; and of the destruction of their children.

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W these [are] the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; set down here to show the accomplishment of the promises in their great increase; every man and his household, that is, his children and nephews, 2 but not servants, who came with Jacob. Reuben, Simeon, 3 Levi, and Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, Dan, and 4 Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. And all the souls that came out 5 of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in 6 Egypt [already.] And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and 7 all that generation. And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, like the fish of the sea, and they multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty, had strong and healthful children; and the land was filled with them; so that in two hundred and fifteen years they amounted to six hundred thou sand men. Numb. xxvi. 51. VOL. I.

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Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, of a different race, or family,* which knew not Joseph, regarded not him, nor any of his kindred, though he had deserved so well of the 9 whole kingdom. And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel [are] more and mightier than we; their country is more populous, wealthy, and fruitful. Up10 on this he called his counsellors, and said with violence, 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, as it is natural for people in such circumstances to do, and [so] get them up out of 1 the land, to Canaan, which they are often talking about. Therefore they did set over them task masters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh, which was a common name for all the kings of Egypt, treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses, strong fortified cities to lay up their stores in.‡ 12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew, through the overruling providence and blessing of God. And they, that is, the Egyptians, were grieved, through 13 envy and fear, because of the children of Israel. And the

Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour : 14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field, building those cities, making brick, digging trenches for rivers to convey the water through the land: and all their service, wherein they made them serve, [was] with rigour, that they might reduce their numbers, and more easily keep them in slavery.}}

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And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, the midwives who attended the Hebrews, but were themselves Egyptians, of which the name of the one [was] Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: these were the chief, to whom, no doubt, great rewards were promised: 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, let him be strangled privately: but if it [be] a daughter, 17 then she shall live. But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, it would have been

Probably one of the shepherd kings who came from Arabia, according to Manetho, as quoted by Josephus, and who about this time invaded Egypt; or the Horites, whom the descendants of Esau drove out. Deut. ii. 12,22,

Or, craftily; so Stephen, Acts vii. 19. The same dealt subtilly with our children, &c. or formed crafty and treacherous designs against them.

The first was called Tanis, and the latter thought to be Pelusium, which in Ezek. xxx. 15. is called the strength of Egypt, and by historians, the key of Egypt. These were on the borders of Syria, which kept them from the encroachments of their enemies on that, side, and prevented the Israelites from returning back to Canaan.

Well might Egypt be called an iron furnace, an house of bondage! but God appointed all this as a punishment for their growing idolatry, to awaken their desires to return to Canaan, and to make their national deliverance the more remarkable,

tians.

They preserved the females, who were in general more beautiful than the Egyp

the highest treachery and cruelty to have done it; but saved the 18 men children alive. And the king of Egypt called for the

midwives and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, 19 and have saved the men children alive? 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. This was no doubt 20 often the case, but not always. Therefore God dealt well with the midwives and the people multiplied, and waxed very 21 mighty. And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses; God increased their families, and prospered their affairs.

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And Pharaoh, finding this design ineffectual, broke out into open rage and violence, and charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall take by force and cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.

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REFLECTIONS.

EARN hence how wisely God permits his churches to be afflicted. He did thus to Israel, as a punishment for their idolatry, and to excite their desires to depart from Egypt. Thus God afflicts his people still, to punish them for sin, to wean them from this world of distress; and makes it a house of bondage, that they may long to go free, and not desire to live here always. Be our afflictions ever so long, or ever so bitter, they are appointed to answer some very wise purpose.

2. See how powerfully he can preserve them amidst their affliction, and strengthen them by it. Their enemies thought by this means to weaken their strength, and lessen their numbers; but God increased them. Thus the enemies of the church, like the Egyptians, do but increase their own grief. Times of afflic tion and persecution, have been those times in which the church has flourished most; the ordinances of worship are more conscientiously attended upon, and watchfulness and prayer more seriously regarded. The faith and patience of God's servants bring in others, so that the saying is true, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Persecuting the church, is but like casting manure upon the ground; which for a while covers the plants, and seems to destroy them, but it makes the earth more fertile, and the plants more numerous and vigorous.

3. What an excellent principle is the fear of God, and what a noble remedy against the fear of man! The midwives feared God, and therefore feared not the wrath of the king. They thought it was their duty rather to obey God, to keep to the rules of justice, fidelity, and humanity, than to obey men; and dared to disobey a bloody and tyrannical prince, rather than displease God. The fear of man bringeth a snare, but the fear of God keepeth from

evil, even from doing evil privately; which the midwives were commanded to do, though hid from the eye and inspection of men. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all they that keep his commandments.

4. How safe and happy are they in whom such principles prevail! Pharaoh might be angry; but what did it signify, when God favoured them and made their way prosperous? Some have asserted that they were married to Israelites, and their families built up by them, and made eminent in Israel; but this is certain, God rewarded their kindness to his people, and repaid their compassion with prosperity. He that feareth the Lord, shall not only be safe from fear of evil, but shall be rewarded with all desirable good. O fear the Lord then, all ye his saints, for there is no want to them that fear him. The Egyptian midwives were an instance of this truth; In every nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness, is accepted of him. Of this we may be sure, that God's salvation is nigh unto them that fear him. In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence, and his children shall have a place of refuge.

CHAP. II.

We are now entering on the history of Moses, the man of God, the deliverer and lawgiver of Israel. In this chapter we have the occurrences of his infancy; his pious choice when grown up; his settling for a while in the land of Midian; and God's gracious regard to the afflictions of his people.

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ND there went a man of the house of Levi, Amram the son of Kohath, (ch. vi. 20.) and took [to wife] Jochebed 2 his kinswoman, a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bare a son; she had two children before this, Miriam and Aaron: And when she saw him that he [was a] goodly [child,] she hid him three months, in his father's house, Acts 3 vii. 20. And when she could not longer hide him, when notice was taken of it by the Egyptians, and search was made for him, she took for him an ark, or basket, of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid [it] in the flags by the river's brink. No doubt her design was, to hide it there till the search was over, and then fetch it back and fireserve it. This, the apostle tells us, was done in faith, trusting in Providence to preserve it. 4 And his sister, who was about twelve years old, stood afar off, to wit, or mark, what would be done to him.

5 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash [her

* Called Thermutis by Josephus, and Meris by others; she was married, but had ne children.

self] at the river, in a bathing place at the bottom of the king's gardens, which came down to the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark 6 among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened [it,] she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This [is one] of the Hebrew's children. She might imagine this by the king's edict, and be certain of it, from his circumcision. Her maidens gathered around to look at the babe, and his sister join7 ed them. Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she 8 may nurse the child for thee? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's moth9 er. And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give [thee] thy wages. 10 And the woman took the child, and pursed it.* And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses, that is, drawn out and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.†

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And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, being forty years old, (Acts vii. 23.) that he went out unto his brethren, with a full purpose to abandon the honours of the court, to join himself to the poor oppressed people of God, and lend them what help he could for their deliverance; and he looked on their burdens with grief and pity: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren; probably 12 a task master on the point of killing an Israelite. And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that [there was] no man, he slew the Egyptian, he defended the oppressed; and, knowing the Israelites could not have justice done them, he 13 prudently hid him in the sand. And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? and would have reconciled matters between 14 them. And he that did the wrong (Acts vii. 27.) said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to

It was a happy circumstance that he was nursed by his own mother, as he would be managed with tenderness; know his own parents; be brought up in the true religion; have his life secured through Pharaoh's daughter; and some wages and provision be made for the family.

Here is a great chasm in the history of Moses. His modesty forbade him relating par ticulars; but Stephen tells us, (Acts vii. 22.) that he was brought up at court, and skilled in all the learning of the Egyptians; such as arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and natural philosophy, and thus fitted for his future station. Stephen adds, that he was mighty in words and deeds; an eloquent man, (though not a good speaker) as his admirable compositions testify; a wise counsellor; and, some add, a mighty general; with many other partic. ulars of his early life, which cannot be depended upon.

Stephen savs (Acts vii. 25.) he supposed that the Israelites by this would have known that he would deliver them. Probably he exhorted them to return to Canaan, promised to lead them, and told them the time for their deliverance was near; but they understood not, therefore their captivity was prolonged.

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