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JANUARY 26
DAY 25:Why was Peter’s confession of Christ so significant in Matthew 16:16?
To call Jesus the Son of “the living God”was an Old Testament name for God.Never before had
He explicitly taught Peter and the apostles the fullness of His identity. God the Father had opened
Peter’s eyes to the full significance of those claims (v.17), and revealed to him who Jesus really was.
Peter was not merely expressing an academic opinion about the identity of Christ; this was a con-
fession of Peter’s personal faith, made possible by a divinely regenerated heart.
Jesus said that “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church” (v. 18). The word for
“Peter,” Petros, means a small stone (John 1:42). Jesus used a play on words here with petra, which
means a foundation boulder (see 7:24,25).Since the New Testament makes it abundantly clear that
Christ is both the foundation (Acts 4:11,12; 1 Cor.3:11) and the head (Eph.5:23) of the church,it is a
mistake to think that here He is giving either of those roles to Peter.There is a sense in which the
apostles played a foundational role in the building of the church (Eph. 2:20), but the role of prima-
cy is reserved for Christ alone, not assigned to Peter. So Jesus’ words here are best interpreted as a
simple play on words in that a boulderlike truth came from the mouth of one who was called a
small stone. Peter himself explains the imagery in his first epistle: the church is built of “living
stones” (1 Pet. 2:5) who, like Peter, confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. And
Christ Himself is the “chief cornerstone”(1 Pet. 2:6,7).

January 26 they set taskmasters over them to afflict them

with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh
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supply cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the
Exodus 1:1–2:25
more they afflicted them, the more they mul-
Now these are the names of the children of tiplied and grew. And they were in dread of
1 Israel who came to Egypt; each man and his the children of Israel. So the Egyptians made
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household came with Jacob: Reuben, Simeon, the children of Israel serve with rigor. And
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Levi, and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun, and Ben- they made their lives bitter with hard
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jamin; Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. All bondage—in mortar, in brick, and in all man-
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those who were descendants of Jacob were ner of service in the field. All their service in
seventy persons (for Joseph was in Egypt which they made them serve was with rigor.
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already). And Joseph died, all his brothers, 15 Then the king of Egypt spoke to the He-
and all that generation. But the children of brew midwives, of whom the name of one was
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Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah;
multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and 16 and he said, “When you do the duties of a
the land was filled with them. midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them
Now there arose a new king over Egypt, on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall
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who did not know Joseph. And he said to his kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall
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people, “Look, the people of the children of live.” But the midwives feared God, and did
Israel are more and mightier than we; come, not do as the king of Egypt commanded them,
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let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they mul- but saved the male children alive. So the king
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tiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that of Egypt called for the midwives and said to
they also join our enemies and fight against them, “Why have you done this thing, and
us, and so go up out of the land.” Therefore saved the male children alive?”
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19 And the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Be-
cause the Hebrew women are not like the
Egyptian women; for they are lively and give
1:7 The growth of the nation (see 12:37) was birth before the midwives come to them.”
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phenomenal! It grew from 70 men to 603,000 Therefore God dealt well with the mid-
males,20 years of age and older,thus allowing wives, and the people multiplied and grew
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for a total population of about 2 million (Num. very mighty. And so it was, because the mid-
1:46) departing from Egypt. The seed of wives feared God, that He provided house-
Abraham was no longer an extended family, holds for them.
but a nation. The promise that his descen- 22 So Pharaoh commanded all his people,
dants would be fruitful and multiply (Gen. saying, “Every son who is born you shall cast
35:11,12) had indeed been fulfilled in Egypt. into the river, and every daughter you shall
save alive.”
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