John Calvin Commentary Exodus 1:22

"And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive." — Exodus 1:22 (ASV)

And Pharaoh charged. If he had not been carried away by wrath and struck with blindness, he would have seen that the hand of God was against him. But when the reprobate are driven to madness by God, they persevere obstinately in their crimes. Not only that, but, like the deranged²⁵ or frantic, they dash themselves with greater audacity against every obstacle.

It is indeed commonly the case that cruelty, having once tasted innocent blood, becomes more thirsty for it. In fact, in general, wicked men, as if spurred on by their course, grow hotter and hotter in crime, so that there is no end or measure to their iniquity. But here, in this very desperate rage, we must perceive the vengeance of God, who had given up the tyrant for the devil to destroy him. At the same time, we also remember God's design both to test the patience of His people and to display His own goodness and power.

The tyrant, finding that his snares and deceit achieved nothing, now shakes off fear and resorts to open violence, commanding the little ones to be torn from the breasts of their mothers and to be cast into the river.

So that there would be no lack of executioners, he issues this command to all the Egyptians, whom he knew to be more than ready for the work. He spares the daughters, so that, being enslaved and allotted to the Egyptians, they might produce slaves for their masters, while by them the races and names could not be preserved.

Here it may be worthwhile to meditate on a comparison with our own times.

Antichrist, with all his murderous agents, leaves in peace those who by their treacherous silence deny Christ, and are prepared to embrace as slaves every kind of impiety. Nor does he exercise his cruelty, insatiable though it is, where he sees no manliness to exist. And he exults and triumphs, as if his goal was gained, when he perceives any who had some courage in professing their faith fallen into effeminacy and cowardice.

But how much better is it for us to die a hundred times, retaining our manly firmness in death, than to redeem our life for the base service of the devil.

²⁵ “Vertiginosi, vel phrenetici.” — Lat. “Phrenetiques, ou demoniacles.” —. “Phrenetiques, ou demoniacles.” — Fr..