Through the Bible – Day 20

Bible text(s)

Exodus 1

The people of Israel become slaves

The people of Israel suffer

_1-5When Jacob went to Egypt, his son Joseph was already there. So Jacob took his eleven other sons and their families. They were: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. Altogether, Jacob had seventy children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who went with him.

₆After Joseph, his brothers, and everyone else in that generation had died, ₇the people of Israel became so numerous that the whole region of Goshen was full of them.

₈Many years later a new king came to power. He did not know what Joseph had done for Egypt, ₉and he told the Egyptians:

There are too many of those Israelites in our country, and they are becoming more powerful than we are. ₁₀If we don't outsmart them, their families will keep growing larger. And if our country goes to war, they could easily fight on the side of our enemies and escape from Egypt.

₁₁The Egyptians put slave bosses in charge of the people of Israel and tried to wear them down with hard work. Those bosses forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses, where the king could store his supplies. ₁₂But even though the Israelites were ill-treated, their families grew larger, and they took over more land. Because of this, the Egyptians hated them more than before ₁₃and made them work so hard ₁₄that their lives were miserable. The Egyptians were cruel to the people of Israel and forced them to make bricks and to mix mortar and to work in the fields.

₁₅Finally, the king called in Shiphrah and Puah, the two women who helped the Hebrew mothers when they gave birth. ₁₆He told them, “If a Hebrew woman gives birth to a girl, let the child live. If the baby is a boy, kill him!”

₁₇But the two women were faithful to God and did not kill the boys, even though the king had told them to. ₁₈The king called them in again and asked, “Why are you letting those baby boys live?”

₁₉They answered, “Hebrew women have their babies much quicker than Egyptian women. By the time we arrive, their babies are already born.” _20-21God was good to the two women because they truly respected him, and he blessed them with children of their own.

The Hebrews kept increasing ₂₂until finally, the king gave a command to everyone in the nation, “As soon as a Hebrew boy is born, throw him into the River Nile! But you can let the girls live.”

Exodus 2

Moses is born and grows up

₁A man from the Levi tribe married a woman from the same tribe, ₂and she later had a baby boy. He was a beautiful child, and she kept him inside for three months. ₃But when she could no longer keep him hidden, she made a basket out of reeds and covered it with tar. She put him in the basket and placed it in the tall grass along the edge of the River Nile. ₄The baby's elder sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

₅About that time one of the king's daughters came down to take a bath in the river, while her servant women walked along the river bank. She saw the basket in the tall grass and sent one of the young women to pull it out of the water. ₆When the king's daughter opened the basket, she saw the baby and felt sorry for him because he was crying. She said, “This must be one of the Hebrew babies.”

₇At once the baby's elder sister came up and asked, “Do you want me to get a Hebrew woman to take care of the baby for you?”

₈“Yes,” the king's daughter answered.

So the girl brought the baby's mother, ₉and the king's daughter told her, “Take care of this child, and I will pay you.”

The baby's mother carried him home and took care of him. ₁₀And when he was old enough, she took him to the king's daughter, who adopted him. She named him Moses because she said, “I pulled him out of the water.”

Moses escapes from Egypt

₁₁After Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were hard at work, and he saw an Egyptian beating one of them. ₁₂Moses looked around to see if anyone was watching, then he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.

₁₃When Moses went out the next day, he saw two Hebrews fighting. So he went to the man who had started the fight and asked, “Why are you beating up one of your own people?”

₁₄The man answered, “Who put you in charge of us and made you our judge? Are you planning to kill me, just as you killed that Egyptian?”

This frightened Moses because he was sure that people must have found out what had happened. ₁₅When the king heard what Moses had done, the king wanted to kill him. But Moses escaped and went to the land of Midian.

One day, Moses was sitting there by a well, ₁₆when the seven daughters of Jethro, the priest of Midian, came up to water their father's sheep and goats. ₁₇Some shepherds tried to chase them away, but Moses came to their rescue and watered their animals. ₁₈When Jethro's daughters returned home, their father asked, “Why have you come back so early today?”

₁₉They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds, and he even watered our sheep and goats.”

₂₀“Where is he?” Jethro asked. “Why did you leave him out there? Invite him to eat with us.”

₂₁Moses agreed to stay on with Jethro, who later let his daughter Zipporah marry Moses. ₂₂And when she had a son, Moses said, “I will name him Gershom, since I am a foreigner in this country.”

₂₃After the death of the king of Egypt, the Israelites still complained because they were forced to be slaves. They cried out for help, ₂₄and God heard their loud cries. He did not forget the promise he had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ₂₅and because he knew what was happening to his people, he felt sorry for them.

Exodus 3

God sends Moses to speak to the king of Egypt

God speaks to Moses

₁One day, Moses was taking care of the sheep and goats of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, and Moses decided to lead them across the desert to Sinai, the holy mountain. ₂There an angel of the LORD appeared to him from a burning bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire, but it was not burning up. ₃“This is strange!” he said to himself. “I'll go over and see why the bush isn't burning up.”

₄When the LORD saw Moses coming near the bush, he called him by name, and Moses answered, “Here I am.”

₅God replied, “Don't come any closer. Take off your sandals—the ground where you are standing is holy. ₆I am the God who was worshipped by your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Moses was afraid to look at God, and so he hid his face.

₇The LORD said:

I have seen how my people are suffering as slaves in Egypt, and I have heard them beg for my help because of the way they are being ill-treated. I feel sorry for them, ₈and I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians.

I will bring my people out of Egypt into a country where there is good land, rich with milk and honey. I will give them the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. ₉My people have begged for my help, and I have seen how cruel the Egyptians are to them. ₁₀Now go to the king! I am sending you to lead my people out of his country.

₁₁But Moses said, “Who am I to go to the king and lead your people out of Egypt?”

₁₂God replied, “I will be with you. And you will know that I am the one who sent you, when you worship me on this mountain after you have led my people out of Egypt.”

₁₃Moses answered, “I will tell the people of Israel that the God their ancestors worshipped has sent me to them. But what should I say, if they ask me your name?”

_14-15God said to Moses:

I am the eternal God. So tell them that the LORD, whose name is “I Am”, has sent you. This is my name for ever, and it is the name that people must use from now on.

₁₆Call together the leaders of Israel and tell them that the God who was worshipped by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has appeared to you. Tell them I have seen how terribly they are being treated in Egypt, ₁₇and I promise to lead them out of their troubles. I will give them a land rich with milk and honey, where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live.

₁₈The leaders of Israel will listen to you. Then you must take them to the king of Egypt and say, “The LORD God of the Hebrews has appeared to us. Let us walk three days into the desert, where we can offer a sacrifice to him.” ₁₉But I know that the king of Egypt won't let you go unless something forces him to. ₂₀So I will use my mighty power to perform all kinds of miracles and strike down the Egyptians. Then the king will send you away.

₂₁After I punish the Egyptians, they will be so afraid of you that they will give you anything you want. You are my people, and I will let you take many things with you when you leave the land of Egypt. ₂₂Every Israelite woman will go to her Egyptian neighbours or to any Egyptian woman living in her house. She will ask them for gold and silver jewellery and for their finest clothes. The Egyptians will give them to you, and you will put these fine things on your sons and daughters. You will carry all this away when you leave Egypt.

Exodus 1:1-3:22CEVOpen in Bible reader

Matthew 13

A story about a farmer

₁That same day Jesus left the house and went out beside Lake Galilee, where he sat down to teach. ₂Such large crowds gathered around him that he had to sit in a boat, while the people stood on the shore. ₃Then he taught them many things by using stories. He said:

A farmer went out to scatter seed in a field. ₄While the farmer was scattering the seed, some of it fell along the road and was eaten by birds. ₅Other seeds fell on thin, rocky ground and quickly started growing because the soil wasn't very deep. ₆But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and dried up, because they did not have enough roots. ₇Some other seeds fell where thorn bushes grew up and choked the plants. ₈But a few seeds did fall on good ground where the plants produced a hundred or sixty or thirty times as much as was scattered. ₉If you have ears, pay attention!

Why Jesus used stories

₁₀Jesus' disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you use nothing but stories when you speak to the people?”

₁₁Jesus answered:

I have explained the secrets about the kingdom of heaven to you, but not to others. ₁₂Everyone who has something will be given more. But people who don't have anything will lose even what little they have. ₁₃I use stories when I speak to them because when they look, they cannot see, and when they listen, they cannot hear or understand. ₁₄So God's promise came true, just as the prophet Isaiah had said,

“These people will listen

and listen,

but never understand.

They will look and look,

but never see.

₁₅All of them have

stubborn minds!

Their ears are stopped up,

and their eyes are covered.

They cannot see or hear

or understand.

If they could,

they would turn to me,

and I would heal them.”

₁₆But God has blessed you, because your eyes can see and your ears can hear! ₁₇Many prophets and good people were eager to see what you see and to hear what you hear. But I tell you that they did not see or hear.

Jesus explains the story about the farmer

₁₈Now listen to the meaning of the story about the farmer:

₁₉The seeds that fell along the road are the people who hear the message about the kingdom, but don't understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches the message from their hearts. ₂₀The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it straight away. ₂₁But they don't have deep roots, and they don't last very long. As soon as life gets hard or the message gets them in trouble, they give up.

₂₂The seeds that fell among the thorn bushes are also people who hear the message. But they start worrying about the needs of this life and are fooled by the desire to get rich. So the message gets choked out, and they never produce anything. ₂₃The seeds that fell on good ground are the people who hear and understand the message. They produce as much as a hundred or sixty or thirty times what was planted.

Matthew 13:1-23CEVOpen in Bible reader