1. From Genesis to Exodus

Posted on Posted in Sermon Notes Tagged with , ,

Exodus 1:1-14 (KJV)

1 Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob. 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 5 And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already. 6 And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. 7 And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.

8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. 9 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: 10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. 11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. 13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: 14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.

From Genesis to Exodus
OUTLINE
(1) From Prosperity (v1-7)
(2) To Privation (v8-14)

INTRODUCTION
King Solomon made a recount of the faithfulness of God in leading His people Israel at the dedication of the first temple in Jerusalem when he said in 1 Kings 8:56 Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.

1 Kings 6:1 And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD. [Solomon reigns in 967 – 966 B.C., the Exodus would be 1447 – 1446 B.C. and the Jews would have entered Egypt in 1875 B.C.

It was on the 480th year of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt that the first Temple began construction. It took 7 years to build as was recorded here and so on the 487th year was the first Temple completed and dedicated.

1 Kings 6:37-38 In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif: And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.

It provides us the chronological frame work of the faithfulness of God in fulfilling His promises that began with the first Hebrew – Abraham who was called to come to Canaan at the age of 75. Only at 100 years of age when his wife was past the age of woman that Isaac, the son promised by God, was miraculously given.

Genesis 12:1-3 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Genesis 15:3-6 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Abraham believed the promises of God. His son Isaac, likewise, had to trust God to fulfill His promise. It seemed impossible in the beginning because Rebekah was barren.

Genesis 25:21 And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

God gave Isaac two sons – Esau and Jacob. It was Jacob, the usurper or supplanter, that was to be the chosen seed by which God’s promise will be fulfilled. Isaac

Jacob was tricked to marry two wives and together with both handmaids of his wives Leah and Rachael that God gave 12 sons.

Of which, Joseph would be sent in advance to Egypt to prepare his way for his family to come to Egypt. We can see how God fulfill His promises to His people through time. His people are to patiently wait upon Him, doing His will, for all His good promises to be fulfilled.

Our text tells us that 70 including Joseph and his family already in Egypt would travel from Canaan. For the family of Jacob to become 70 is itself a miracle amidst the hard times that befell them in particular the grace 7-year famine during which Joseph would become the Prime Minister of Egypt to manage the famine.

And he would allot the land of Goshen for his father and brothers and their loved ones.

God has predicted to Abraham that his descendants would go to Egypt and come out of Egypt after 400 years.

Genesis 15:12-16 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

The people of Israel would be in Egypt for 430 years – Exodus 12:40 Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.

God’s plan was to make Israel a nation, a great nation. The fruitfulness of Israel’s descendants was promised to Jacob by God. His family will become a great nation!

Genesis 46:1-4 And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.

Joseph was aware of God’s promise that they will leave Egypt as a people although not during his lifetime. He instructed the heads of the tribes to bring his bones out of Egypt and be buried with his father and grandfather and great-grandfather in the Promised Land.

Genesis 50:25-26 And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence. So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

Out of the nation of Israel will come the Messiah, the Saviour of all mankind.

Galatians 3:17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

One important thought is that Israel will be a nation that will bless all the nations of the world. This is yet to be fulfilled.

Adam to Noah
Noah to 2nd Coming of Christ
Israel as the leading nation of the world in the millennium
God creates the New Heaven and the New Earth

We trace the story in the beginning of Exodus providing us the background for the birth of Moses, the man whom God called to deliver Israel out of Egypt.

We notice there is a spiritual battle going on aggressively to curb and curtail and destroy God’s people. Although Satan is not mentioned in the story, we see that battle manifesting itself in persecution and oppression of His people. A continuing feud that began in Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Two thoughts:

(1) From Prosperity (v1-7)
(2) To Privation (v8-14)

(1) From Prosperity (v1-7)
1 Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob. 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 5 And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already. 6 And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.

We see the promise of God made to Jacob fulfilled 430 years later. God has said to Abraham that it will be at the 4th generation. We observe that Abraham was 100 years old when Sarah gave birth to Isaac. One generation is 100-years, unlike the 30 years we see today the life-span of a modern generation.

Genesis 15:13-16 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

God predicted to Abraham that his descendants will spoil Egypt, coming out with great substance. And a further promise is given that Israel will be God’s instrument to destroy the Amorites, the people of Canaan because of their sins before God. They are a most immoral, perverted and idolatrous people on earth.

We notice the description of the 12 sons of Jacob highlighted – the sons of Leah mentioned first – Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun. Followed by the son of Rachel – Benjamin. And the sons from the two handmaids of Leah and Rachel – Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

We notice the corrupt nature of the sons of Jacob. Blood was in their hands for the plot to murder their brother Joseph. Many other evils did they. But we see also how there was reconciliation between the brothers. God healed their backslidings. God dealt with them through Joseph and God also gave Joseph the spiritual strength and maturity to forgive his brothers and to still take care of them and their descendants. It fulfils God’s purpose for Joseph’s life.

Joseph died and all his brothers in his generation.

7 And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.

It is indeed heartening to see the faithfulness of God in caring for His people. He will not leave them nor forsake them. He remains faithful!

A nation must consist of her people, a constitution and a land. God was fulfilling His plan step by step. It was in the land of Goshen that God allowed 70 of the family of Jacob to sojourn by the patronage of his son Joseph to grow into a large multitude of people so that by the time of the exodus, they were as many as 2 million.

(2) Privation (8-14)
8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. 9 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: 10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. 11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. 13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: 14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.

Persecution and affliction did not cause God’s people to be defeated and fizzled out of existence but caused them to draw closer to their God in prayer. This was the Israel’s testimony in Egyptian bondage.

From the time when we received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we become a child of God. This relationship with our Almighty and loving God often conjures the notion that our life will be smooth sailing from now onwards!

But often we are rudely shocked by the troubles in life that comes our way. Our troubles can come because we have sinned against God and we are chastised of Him to bear the fruit of holiness. Our troubles can also come as a trial of faith as Jesus explains, “every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. (John 15:2b)”

In the events prior to the Israel’s exodus out of Egypt, it is the latter. The affliction of Israel was a part of God’s plan to raise in Israel a national witness for Him.

Their sheer numbers cause them to become a threat in the eyes of their Egyptian rulers. And so they began to device means to curtail their growth and influence.
Egypt was a most amazing ancient civilisation. The pyramids were constructed many years before the Exodus.

“Almost every society has been likened in structure to the pyramid. No society better fits the analogy than that of ancient Egypt, the land to which the pyramid is indigenous. At the apex of the Egyptian society stood the pharaoh, who was god and king in one. Below him, in descending order and increasing numbers, were nobles, officials, scribes, artisans, unskilled labourers and peasants. The same group at the top of the structure was endowed with wealth and power; a somewhat larger group below it was involved in the administration of the wealth and power; and millions toiled in the workshops and fields.

The pharaoh was the embodiment of the gods and the soul of the state. He was responsible for the rise and fall of the Nile, yield of the soil, the health of the commerce, the fortunes of the army and the maintenance of the peace. He owned the land, directed the energies of the people and spoke the law.

As soon as a pharaoh of the Old Kingdom came to power, he began planning the pyramid that would be his tomb. The great bureaucracy of builders and architects was set in motion. Each village sent its quota of labourers to the quarries or the construction site, and royal storehouses issued tools and clothing. They faced a colossal task. The great Pyramid built for Khufu at Gizech was constructed with two million stone block, most weighing about two and a half tons. Despite the magnitude of the task, it was completed within Pharaoh’s 23-year reign in about 2600 B.C. – by men working with the simplest implements, without draught animals or even the wheel. They had to be inventive engineers…The Great Pyramid at Gizeh was built mostly of limestone. But some of the blocks of granite is so hard that the Egyptian copper chisels and saws could scarcely make a dent in it. Special dolorite hammers had to be used to chip rough gutters, or slots in quarry walls…The Greek historian Herodotus…reported that 100,000 slaves worked on the Great Pyramid…Finally, from the 481 foot apex, masons cut down the blocks to form the smooth, sloping sides of the pyramid. ”

God has predicted to Abraham that his descendants would go to Egypt and come out of Egypt after 400 years.

Genesis 15:12-16 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

The new king that arose in Egypt fit into the invasion of a minority group called the Hyksos at 1730 B.C. They were a very barbaric people that overcame the Pharaoh and took power over Egypt.
8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. 9 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: 10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.

Israel and the Egyptians (enemies) were a threat to the rule of the Hyksos rulers who invaded Egypt. The Exodus would during the reign of Amenhotep II (1447 -1421 B.C.) Jacob entered Egypt 1875 B.C. and the people left Egypt with Moses in 1445 B.C.

We see here a Satanic genocide going on. Satan hates the nature and character of God, especially His people and goes all out to destroy them.

Psalm 109:6 Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.

This provides us the background for the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt through Moses, God’s appointed deliverer.

CONCLUSION
God knows what His people is going through as He brings them to the Promised Land. Indeed, we are on that journey to the Promised Land, the heavenly city of God. May God give us the strength to walk with Him. Amen.