Jacob’s descendants. Exodus 1-7 Every family has a wide range of personalities, abilities, and character traits. Not all the sons of Jacob were good men, and they certainly had different motivations and beliefs. Still, their names are listed many times but not for what they did. They were important because of who they were, not for what they had done or failed to do.
This is a reminder of the value God places on every individual and how we should see everyone as a precious soul to whom God has given the gift of life. “Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” [Ecc.12:13]. Israel has a future and will experience what God intended when He made a covenant with Abraham and renewed it with Isaac and Jacob. Through their seed, all nations of the earth have been blessed.
Our Lord Jesus Christ came into the world and was miraculously born of the seed of David, Israel’s greatest king. He was from the tribe of Judah and was not the most eminent of the twelve brothers, but he was the one God chose as a leader. Through our Lord Jesus and the gift of eternal life that God offers to people—provided through Jesus' death on the cross—God has made a way to share His eternal life with those who love Him.
In the record of Israel as a nation, I am reminded that over 430 years, a family of seventy people who went into Egypt had grown to 600,000 men, not counting women and children. This means the children of Israel numbered between two and three million people. This transformed them from a family into a nation within a nation. The growth of Israel compared to other tribes was a work of God. Even though they were under harsh bondage, they became a strong, resilient people who were “fruitful… increased abundantly… multiplied and waxed exceeding mighty.”
The growth of the children of Israel was not due to immigration into Goshen by people from other tribes. The Lord blessed the Jewish families with many children, which formed the nation. These children came from a common heritage, helping to maintain the identity of "the children of Israel." Their allegiance was to the name of the Lord, a promise made to the patriarchs. Their position in Goshen made them the first group the Hyksos armies would target when threatening Egypt. The pharaoh of Egypt was concerned that the Israelis might join the invaders, so he enslaved them.
In times of trial, opposition, and persecution, God can bring great blessings to us and others. We develop mental and physical strength when we are pressured beyond normal limits. Spiritual strength, stability, and character grow stronger as temptations and testing times confront those who have experienced the tried and proven truths of God and His word, especially from those who love darkness rather than light.
Egypt, due to the fertile strip of land seven miles wide and 500 miles long that bordered the Nile, would have been quite vulnerable to attack by other nations if it weren't for the deserts beyond that green strip. Life in Egypt, with a large population of slaves working for them, would have been relatively easy. That kind of ease does not foster good character. Self-indulgent comfort tends to lead to boredom and discontent. It is the pressures of cold, storms, and struggles for survival that build strong character and faith.
When meaningful labor must be personally extended, a strength is developed that surpasses the physical to include the moral. The allure of prosperity leads to the deception of idolatry. Things become more important than people. Pleasure takes precedence over labor. My own opinions become more significant than my faith in God. Prosperity gradually erodes morality like cancer. The dangers in "Egypt" are much more serious and far-reaching than we can imagine. "The world" is an enemy to the children of God.
Believers in our Lord Jesus Christ are called to be salt and light in this ungodly, dark world of sin. Commitment to God's word and holy living make those who love the world feel uncomfortable, uneasy, and agitated to the point they want to discard both salt and light. Being a friend of this world is incompatible with enmity against God. Holiness and sin cannot coexist without intense tension.
God's people are "called out of Egypt." It may be necessary to remove the legitimate things that provide us with a life of ease and comfort, in order to free us from the magnetic pull of the world system that cannot please God. The "god of this world" will continue to blind the minds of those who do not believe, lest the light of the glorious Gospel ... shines in.
Opposition and oppression against God's people are permitted by God to awaken us to the nature of the "cosmos." It may seem unfair when the "wicked prosper." The bitterness of our circumstances can push us to the breaking point. Just as Israel had to be made discontent with the "leeks, melons and garlic" of Egypt, we who are children of God through faith in Jesus Christ can never find our true contentment in worldly success.
None of Egypt's Pharaohs are named in the biblical account of historical events because they were anti-God rulers who considered themselves gods. They controlled the lives of the people and the nation. The book of Exodus describes God’s plan to dwell with His people on earth and what His people should be like. Genesis provides a view of the beginnings of things and introduces us to how God deals with people. Exodus shows us what it would be like if His people obeyed and trusted Him, and how human sin disrupts that divine purpose.
Egypt exemplifies the sinful condition of the world. However, throughout history, those who have faith in God are known for standing up for righteousness, truth, and the sanctity of life. When people exclude God, evil enters and takes control, leading to very negative outcomes. One danger of worldly success is pride in achievements. Another result of worldliness is dissatisfaction with what we have personally and what we have in Christ. Comparing ourselves to others in the world, including the rich and famous respected for their efforts, can cause a believer to look beyond what we have in Christ to empty illusions that are unseen.
Christians must be aware of and committed to what is right, and they should be able to recognize evil and understand its effects. Not all evil openly opposes righteousness, as there can be subtle deceptions that lead even Christians to believe that something inherently wrong has some good in it. It is essential for those who love the Lord to stay alert for anything that seems nice and kind but is actually deceitful.
To live by faith in Christ means the way up is down; the way to get is to give; the way to happiness is weeping; the way to live is to die. Under the faithful pressures of our heavenly Father, there comes a garden out of the wilderness, bounty out of the watered desert. There is a city that has foundations whose builder and maker is God. The greatness of the redeemed soul is that it bears the characteristics of our God, not the world around us.
The explanation of the midwives as to why they did not destroy the boy babies seems to be true, and God rewarded them for standing up for what was right. God rewarded them for their faithfulness by giving them children of their own. Israel was fulfilling God’s purpose while Pharaoh was opposing it. Egypt-living will make a slave out of one who pursues their way. It will seek to claim our children and grandchildren and the generations following them and entice them to follow its covetous, immoral, ungodly way of living.
If one resists, such antagonism will arise that our children and future generations will be cast into the river and become dead to God and His grace forever. The world and its leader will never permit peaceful coexistence between those who follow its ways and those who "take up his cross daily" and follow Christ. The true Christian desires much more than the flesh pots of Egypt. God offers deliverance from the slavery of the world and grants us the freedom of "abundant life" through genuine commitment to Christ.
Christians have died because they refused to bow to those demanding they do what believers know is wrong and would not deny the Lord who bought them with His blood. Doing what is right when the majority willfully do wrong, often comes at a high cost. When we do what is right “as unto the Lord,” we can trust Him to carry out His sovereign will, whatever it may be. Exodus teaches us God’s purpose to have fellowship and peace that we can share with Him when we obey and follow Him.
EXODUS 2