11 And these are the names of the sons of Israel who had come into Egypt; with Jacob had they come, each with his household: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; 4 Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. 5 And all the souls that had come out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls; and Joseph was in Egypt. 6 And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. 7 And the children of Israel were fruitful, and swarmed and multiplied, and became exceeding strong; and the land was full of them.
8 And there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more numerous and stronger than we. 10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it come to pass that, if war occur, they take side with our enemies and fight against us, and go up out of the land. 11 And they set over them service-masters to oppress them with their burdens. And they built store-cities for Pharaoh, Pithom and Rameses. 12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and spread; and they were distressed because of the children of Israel. 13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with harshness; 14 and they embittered their life with hard labour in clay and bricks, and in all manner of labour in the field: all their labour with which they made them serve was with harshness.
15 And the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives—of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other was Puah— 16 and he said, When ye help the Hebrew women in bearing, and see [them] on the stool, if it be a son, then ye shall kill him, but if a daughter, then she shall live. 17 But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt had said to them, but saved the male children alive. 18 And the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, Why have ye done this, and saved the male children alive? 19 And the midwives said to Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian; for they are strong, and they have borne before the midwife comes to them. 20 And God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong. 21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses. 22 Then Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, but every daughter ye shall save alive.
21 And a man of the house of Levi went and took a daughter of Levi. 2 And the woman conceived, and bore a son. And she saw him that he was fair, and hid him three months. 3 And when she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark of reeds, and plastered it with resin and with pitch, and put the child in it, and laid [it] in the sedge on the bank of the river. 4 And his sister stood afar off to see what would happen to him.
5 And the daughter of Pharaoh went down to bathe in the river; and her maids went along by the river's side. And she saw the ark in the midst of the sedge, and sent her handmaid and fetched it. 6 And she opened [it], and saw the child, and behold, the boy wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is [one] of the Hebrews' children. 7 And his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call thee a wet-nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? 8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the damsel went and called the child's mother. 9 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will give [thee] thy wages. And the woman took the child and nursed it. 10 And when the child was grown, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses, and said, Because I drew him out of the water.
11 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked on their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12 And he turned this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he smote the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. 13 And he went out on the second day, and behold, two Hebrew men were quarrelling; and he said to him that was in the wrong, Why art thou smiting thy neighbour? 14 And he said, Who made thee ruler and judge over us? dost thou intend to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? Then Moses feared, and said, Surely the matter is known. 15 And Pharaoh heard of this matter, and sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from before Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian. And he sat by the well.
16 And the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came and drew [water], and filled the troughs, to water their father's flock. 17 And the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses rose and helped them, and watered their flock. 18 And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, Why are ye come so soon to-day? 19 And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew [water] abundantly for us, and watered the flock. 20 And he said to his daughters, And where is he? why then have ye left the man behind? Call him, that he may eat bread. 21 And Moses consented to remain with the man; and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. 22 And she bore a son, and he called his name Gershom; for he said, I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.
23 And it came to pass during those many days, that the king of Egypt died. And the children of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and cried; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage; 24 and God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob; 25 and God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged [them].
31 And Moses tended the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock behind the wilderness, and came to the mountain of God—to Horeb. 2 And the Angel of Jehovah appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a thorn-bush: and he looked, and behold, the thorn-bush burned with fire, and the thorn-bush was not being consumed. 3 And Moses said, Let me now turn aside and see this great sight, why the thorn-bush is not burnt. 4 And Jehovah saw that he turned aside to see, and God called to him out of the midst of the thorn-bush and said, Moses, Moses! And he said, Here am I. 5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: loose thy sandals from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 6 And he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look at God.
7 And Jehovah said, I have seen assuredly the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and their cry have I heard on account of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows. 8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good and spacious land, unto a land flowing with milk and honey, unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me; and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 And now come, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
11 And Moses said to God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? 12 And he said, For I will be with thee; and this shall be the sign to thee that I have sent thee: when thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. 13 And Moses said to God, Behold, [when] I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 14 And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM. And he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: I AM hath sent me unto you. 15 And God said moreover to Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you. This is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, Jehovah the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, hath appeared to me, saying, I have indeed visited you, and [seen] that which is done unto you in Egypt; 17 and I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt, unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey. 18 And they shall hearken to thy voice. And thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, hath met with us; and now, let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Jehovah our God. 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a powerful hand. 20 And I will stretch out my hand and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof; and after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people favour in the eyes of the Egyptians, and it shall come to pass, when ye go out, that ye shall not go out empty; 22 but every woman shall ask of her neighbour, and of her that is the inmate of her house, utensils of silver, and utensils of gold, and clothing; and ye shall put [them] on your sons and on your daughters, and shall spoil the Egyptians.
141 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus, 2 and said to his servants, This is John the baptist: he is risen from the dead, and because of this these works of power display their force in him. 3 For Herod had seized John, and had bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias the wife of Philip his brother. 4 For John said to him, It is not lawful for thee to have her. 5 And [while] desiring to kill him, he feared the crowd, because they held him for a prophet. 6 But when Herod's birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod; 7 whereupon he promised with oath to give her whatsoever she should ask. 8 But she, being set on by her mother, says, Give me here upon a dish the head of John the baptist. 9 And the king was grieved; but on account of the oaths, and those lying at table with [him], he commanded [it] to be given. 10 And he sent and beheaded John in the prison; 11 and his head was brought upon a dish, and was given to the damsel, and she carried [it] to her mother. 12 And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and came and brought word to Jesus.
13 And Jesus, having heard it, went away thence by ship to a desert place apart. And the crowds having heard [of it] followed him on foot from the cities. 14 And going out he saw a great crowd, and was moved with compassion about them, and healed their infirm. 15 But when even was come, his disciples came to him saying, The place is desert, and [much of] the [day] time already gone by; dismiss the crowds, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves. 16 But Jesus said to them, They have no need to go: give ye them to eat. 17 But they say to him, We have not here save five loaves and two fishes. 18 And he said, Bring them here to me. 19 And having commanded the crowds to recline upon the grass, having taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed: and having broken the loaves, he gave [them] to the disciples, and the disciples [gave them] to the crowds. 20 And all ate and were filled, and they took up what was over and above of fragments twelve hand-baskets full. 21 But those that had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
(Read Matthew 14:1-12)
The terror and reproach of conscience, which Herod, like other daring offenders, could not shake off, are proofs and warnings of a future judgment, and of future misery to them. But there may be the terror of convictions, where there is not the truth of conversion. When men pretend to favour the gospel, yet live in evil, we must not favour their self-delusion, but must deliver our consciences as John did. The world may call this rudeness and blind zeal. False professors, or timid Christians, may censure it as want of civility; but the most powerful enemies can go no further than the Lord sees good to permit. Herod feared that the putting of John to death might raise a rebellion among the people, which it did not; but he never feared it might stir up his own conscience against him, which it did. Men fear being hanged for what they do not fear being damned for. And times of carnal mirth and jollity are convenient times for carrying on bad designs against God's people. Herod would profusely reward a worthless dance, while imprisonment and death were the recompence of the man of God who sought the salvation of his soul. But there was real malice to John beneath his consent, or else Herod would have found ways to get clear of his promise. When the under shepherds are smitten, the sheep need not be scattered while they have the Great Shepherd to go to. And it is better to be drawn to Christ by want and loss, than not to come to him at all.
(Read Matthew 14:13-21)
When Christ and his word withdraw, it is best for us to follow, seeking the means of grace for our souls before any worldly advantages. The presence of Christ and his gospel, makes a desert not only tolerable, but desirable. This little supply of bread was increased by Christ's creating power, till the whole multitude were satisfied. In seeking the welfare of men's souls, we should have compassion on their bodies likewise. Let us also remember always to crave a blessing on our meals, and learn to avoid all waste, as frugality is the proper source of liberality. See in this miracle an emblem of the Bread of life, which came down from heaven to sustain our perishing souls. The provisions of Christ's gospel appear mean and scanty to the world, yet they satisfy all that feed on him in their hearts by faith with thanksgiving.
