Exodus Chapter 1 Summary
Israel in Egypt and their bondage.
Discussion Questions for Exodus, Chapter 1
- At the end of Genesis, Joseph dies. There is no mention of a great leader in Exodus 1 rising in Joseph's place. However, the Israelites prosper in Egypt ("they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong"). How did the children of Israel grow without any leadership?
- Only 70 people came with Jacob into Egypt (v. 5), and then the nation of Israel grew in number and strength in Egypt. Outside of the obvious, what role do you believe women played in the growth and development of the nation?
- Exodus 1:8 states that a new king arose in Egypt who did not know Joseph and became afraid of the children of Israel because of their number. It is obvious that there is a lack of history being taught between generations. Why is it important to teach the next generation the history of a family or country? If the information about how Joseph saved Egypt had been passed down, how would it have changed the treatment of the children of Israel?
- If the Egyptians had not treated Israelis poorly as slaves, how would it have changed the course of the Bible? How are we still influenced by these events in modern society?
- One of the hardest questions to answer as a Christian is why God allows bad things to happen to His people. How would you answer this question to a child of Israel during this time period if you do not know all the events that will take place in the future? How would you answer them knowing all of the events of the future?
- The harder the Egyptians made the children of Israel work in Exodus 1, the stronger the children of Israel grew. What are some of the reasons for this to take place?
- Exodus 1:15-19 demonstrates the value that each country placed on human life: the Egyptian Pharaoh ordered the midwives to kill all newborn males, while the Israeli midwives refused to do so out of fear of God. How do these two different views affect the growth of these two countries? How does God respond?
- The Hebrew midwives tell a lie when they say in Exodus 1:19 that the Hebrew women are more vigorous and have already delivered the babies before they arrived. The Ninth Commandment tells us not to lie. However, God blesses the midwives. How is this just in the eyes of God's perfection? How can we reconcile breaking a commandment with God's perfection? Is there a hierarchy of the Ten Commandments, with protecting human life being higher than telling a lie?
- Pharaoh then commands all of his people to drown all of the baby boys in the Nile. This is, in essence, commanding a genocide. We later see Israel being commanded to wipe out nations in Exodus. How does this view of genocide conflict with today's view? Why does the biblical time period's view of genocide seem to be so much more acceptable than the view of genocide today?
- How does a Christian align the teachings that every human being is a holder of the image of God and valuable to the biblical commands in Exodus, where God commands the erasure of groups of people?
Key Words/Phrase
Bondage, v. 14.
Characters
Joseph, Pharaoh, Shiprah, Puah.
Strong Verse(s)
17, 20, 21.
