Exodus 1 -- Harsh Treatment of Israel

Well, it has taken 3 months, but we have finally made it to the second book of the Bible, Exodus.  

Exodus 1:1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; each came with his family:
2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;
3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;
4 Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher.
5 The total number of Jacob’s descendants was 70; Joseph was already in Egypt.

Here, Exodus is just repeating what we already know from Genesis.  We know the sons of Jacob went to Egypt and the total number of people who entered Egypt was 70.

6 Then Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died. 7 But the Israelites were fruitful, increased rapidly, multiplied, and became extremely numerous so that the land was filled with them.

This verse is demonstrating that God still kept his promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  All of there descendants would be as numerous as the sands of the sea.

8 A new king, who had not known Joseph, came to power in Egypt. 9 He said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and powerful than we are. 10 Let us deal shrewdly with them; otherwise they will multiply further, and if war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.” 11 So the Egyptians assigned taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. They built Pithom and Rameses as supply cities for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. 13 They worked the Israelites ruthlessly 14 and made their lives bitter with difficult labor in brick and mortar and in all kinds of fieldwork. They ruthlessly imposed all this work on them.

The new king did not know Joseph.  He saw how large and powerful the Israelite people were.  He wanted to oppress and work them to death to keep them from rising up and leaving.  I don't think that this help him much, since they did eventually leave Egypt.

15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them as they deliver. If the child is a son, kill him, but if it’s a daughter, she may live.” 17 The Hebrew midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live. 18 So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this and let the boys live?”

The Pharaoh, in order to keep Egypt secure for himself, ordered the death of all Hebrew boys.  He ordered the midwives to kill them as they are born.  Now a days that could be called partial birth abortion... as long as part of the baby is still in the womb.  The Bible says this is wrong because the midwives feared God and did not kill any of the babies.  If the Bible condoned such actions, then the midwives would not have been blessed afterwards by God for defying the king.

19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before a midwife can get to them.”
20 So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied and became very numerous.21 Since the midwives feared God, He gave them families. 22 Pharaoh then commanded all his people: “You must throw every son born to the Hebrews into the Nile, but let every daughter live.”

Here, to get around the midwives, Pharaoh then ordered the deaths of the infants by drowning.  "throw every son ... into the Nile."  In some ways, you could say Moses's mother did just that, but she "threw" him in the Nile with the protection of a basket and faith that God would bring him to safety.