February 1: Exodus 1:1 – Exodus 4:17

Israel Increases Greatly in Egypt – Exodus 1

• Jacob's twelve sons and their families are living in Egypt, numbering seventy people.
• Joseph, his brothers, and all from their generation die, but the people of Israel multiply and increase greatly, "so that the land was filled with them." (Exodus 1:7)

Pharaoh Oppresses Israel

• A new king arises over Egypt—one who did not know Joseph (this is traditionally thought to be about three hundred years after Joseph's death). This Pharaoh determines that the people of Israel are too numerous and pose a threat if they were to join Egypt's enemies and fight against them.
• Egypt set taskmasters over the Hebrew people, and they are made to built the store cities of Pithom and Raamses for Pharaoh. Even so, the people of Israel continue to multiply, so they are made slaves. 
• Pharaoh instructs the midwives to the Hebrew women to kill any male children who are born, but to let the female children live. The midwives fear the Lord, however, and do not follow his instructions. When Pharaoh questions them about this, they claim that the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, as they are strong and often give birth before the midwife arrives.
• God deals well with the midwives, giving them families, but Pharaoh commands his people to drown every son born to the Hebrew people in the Nile River.

The Birth of Moses – Exodus 2

• A man from the house of Levi marries a Levite woman, and they have a son. She hides the boy for three months (until she could hide him no longer), then makes for him a basket of bulrushes, bitumen, and pitch. She places the boy in the basket and sets it among the reeds by the riverbank, then has the boy's older sister watch from a distance.
• The daughter of Pharaoh comes down to the river to bathe and sees the basket in the water. She has her attendants bring her the basket, and inside she finds the baby boy crying. She takes pity on him and realizes that he is a Hebrew child.
• The baby's older sister asks Pharaoh's daughter if she should find a Hebrew woman to nurse him, and Pharaoh's daughter agrees. The sister brings their mother to her, and Pharaoh's daughter instructs the woman to take the child and nurse him (she pays the woman wages for this).
• When the baby boy is older, the woman takes him to Pharaoh's daughter. Pharaoh's daughter names him Moses, meaning "I drew him out of the water." (Exodus 2:10)

Moses Flees to Midian

• One day, when Moses is much older, he goes out to the Hebrew people to "look on their burdens" and finds an Egyptian beating a Hebrew man. After ensuring that no one is around, he kills the Egyptian and hides his body in the sand.
• The next day, Moses goes out to the Hebrew people again, and this time he finds two of the Hebrews fighting. He asks one of them why he is striking the other one, and the Hebrew questions who made him a judge over the Hebrews and asks if Moses will kill him as he had killed the Egyptian. Moses fears he will be found out.
• When Pharaoh learns what has happened, he intends to kill Moses, and Moses flees to the land of Midian. 
• While Moses is by the well in Midian, the seven daughters of a Midianite priest come to draw water from the well to fill the troughs of their father's flock. Shepherds come and attempt to drive them away, but Moses stands up for them and then waters their flock.
• The daughters return to their father, and when he asks why they have returned so soon, they explain that an Egyptian man protected them and drew water for them. The father, Reuel (also known as Jethro), instructs them to bring the man to him so the man can eat with them.
• Moses lives with Jethro, and gives to Moses his daughter Zipporah as a wife. They have a son, whom she names Gershom (meaning "I have been a sojourner in a foreign land").

God Hears Israel's Groaning 

• The king of Egypt dies, and the people of Israel cry out to God because of their slavery. God hears their groanings, and He remembers his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The Burning Bush – Exodus 3

• While Moses is keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, in the wilderness of Horeb, the angel of the Lord appears to him as a flaming bush that isn't consumed by the fire. God calls to Moses out of the bush, tells him not to come near, and identifies himself as the God of his forefathers. Moses falls on his face in fear.
• God tells Moses that he has seen the affliction of his people in Egypt and that he will deliver them from Egypt to a "land flowing with milk and honey"—the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. He then tells Moses that He will send him to Pharaoh so that he can lead the Hebrew people out of Egypt, and that He will be with him, and that when they leave Egypt, they will worship God "on this mountain" (in Horeb).
• Moses asks what he should tell the Egyptians if they ask who this God of his fathers is. God tells Moses, "I Am Who I Am," and to tell the Egyptians that I Am has sent him, He also tells Moses to tell the people of Israel that the God of their fathers has appeared to him and that He will bring them out of Egypt.
• God continues to speak, saying that He knows Pharaoh will not release the Hebrew people from slavery, so He will strike them and give the Hebrew people favor so that they can plunder the Egyptians.

Moses Given Powerful Signs – Exodus 4

• Moses questions God, fearing that the Hebrew people will not believe him. God tells him to throw his staff to the ground, and it becomes a snake. Moses runs from it, but God tells him to pick it up. Moses picks it up by the tail and it becomes a staff again.
• God then tells Moses to put his hand inside his cloak and then remove it. When Moses does this, his hand is leprous like snow. God instructs him to put his hand back inside his cloak and remove it, and when Moses does so, his hand is restored. God tells him that if this doesn't convince people, Moses should take some water from the Nile and drop it on the ground, and it will become blood.
• Moses claims that he is not eloquent enough to speak, that he is slow of speech and tongue, but God insists that He has made man's mouth and will be with him when he speaks. Moses requests that God send someone else, and God reminds him of his brother Aaron the Levite, who speaks well. He states that Aaron is coming to see Moses and that he will speak for him.