God saw our affliction: the disruption of family life: There are three ways in which the Egyptians tried to stop the Israelites from having children. This was Pharaoh‟s intention when he said, “Let us deal wisely with them.” (Exodus 1:10) First he did so by commissioning the midwives to kill the male children. Then he did so by decreeing that all the male children should be thrown in the Nile; and finally he did so by ruthlessly forcing the Israelites to work so that they were too tired to have children. He made them work day and night so that they never slept and were never with their wives. When the men learned of Pharaoh's decree, they separated themselves from their wives – this is what "God saw."