Israel Comes Out Of Egypt
The sons of Jacob, the offspring of Abraham, were in bondage. They were slaves in a foreign land. Even though none of these people had ever lived anywhere else, Egypt wasn’t their home. There was a land that they had never even seen before, but yet that land, was their true home. They had no doubt heard stories, that had been handed down from generation to generation, telling them about the great promised land, that God had promised to Abraham, and to his offspring. They knew it as “the promised land”. And there was freedom there; And there was abundance there; There was happiness there, and comfort. But instead of being there, they were enslaved in Egypt, with no way of getting themselves out.
That’s similar to what the bible says in Ephesians 2, verse 12; “You were at that time, separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.” They were enslaved in Egypt, they were excluded from the commonwealth of God, (because they had left God)
Are there people like that in the world today? Unfortunately, that describes the vast majority, of the people in the world today. Without hope, without God, excluded from the “commonwealth” of God’s blessings. The “commonwealth of God’s blessings” is the spiritual fellowship that we have with God, as we share in His blessings. Sure, everyone is blessed by God with the sun and the rain, and so forth. But yet, the vast majority of people today, as it was in those days, are excluded from the commonwealth of God, and they’re in captivity, in a modern day Egypt.
What was Israel going to do about THEIR captivity? What were they going to do to free themselves, to be able to realize the blessings, that God had actually already prepared for them, but which that they had no access to? There was a promised land, just waiting, but they had no access to it. And there was spiritual life just waiting, but they had no access to it.
But they were powerless; They were hopeless! The only hope, lied in God. The bible says, in Daniel 4, verse 17, and again in verse 32; “..the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and He bestows it on whomever He wishes.” Man thinks he reigns over the world, but he doesn’t. God reigns!
Even in the land of Egypt, God was reigning. A lot of times the world thinks that God is nowhere around. Some even believe that He doesn’t exist. But He’s always there. And in Egypt, God was there in the hearts of many of the Hebrew people, despite their situation. And in due time, (according to God’s schedule, and according to God’s plan) He delivered them!
Pharaoh wanted to put to death, all the male babies that were born among the Hebrews, so they’d stop growing, in number and in strength. Pharoah said to the Hebrew midwives, in Exodus 1, verse 16; “When you are helping the Hebrew women give birth, and see upon the birth-stool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death, but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”
Now I just want to stop here and ask a question. How long did it take the Hebrew midwives to identify the gender of the newborn baby? The scripture says that they could see while the woman was on the birth-stool, if it a son! In other words, the very same minute that the baby was born, they could see it’s gender! What do you suppose has happened to people today? The bible tells us what happened. It says in 2 Corinthians 4:4; “..the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” Unbelievers can’t see the light of the gospel, and a lot of them can’t even tell one gender from the other.
The god of this world has already blinded the minds of half our country, about a lot of things, not only gender. And their minds are blinded, and their lives are hopeless, unless they turn to God!
The Fear of the Lord, is the Beginning of Wisdom !
But thank the Lord that there were still some God fearing people back there in Egypt 3,500 years ago. Exodus 1:17 says; “But the midwives feared God! And did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.” And verse 20 says; “So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and became very numerous.” God was still in charge, wasn’t He? And he had a plan.
Job said, in Job 42:2; “I know that Thou can do all things, and that no purpose of Thine can be thwarted!” The prophet Isaiah wrote, in Isaiah 14:27; “For the Lord of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate? And as for His outstretched hand, who can turn it back?”
God’s in charge right here in this country too. It might not seem like it sometimes, but He’s in charge. We don’t know why God let’s the things happen, that happen, but no matter what happens, God is in charge! I’m sure that the Israelites didn’t understand why the God of their fathers let the things go on, that went on in Egypt. But God still expected His people to remain faithful. And at least some of the Israelites did remain faithful. The scripture said; “The midwives feared God! And they did not DO as the king of Egypt commanded them.” They resisted the evil. And we better be resisting all the evil too.
And we better stand up, and let everyone know that we’re resisting the evil. And we better find a way to make our voices heard. And we better not be afraid of “offending someone”, because God says that if we don’t STAND UP Him, then we’re against Him. (Mathew 12, verse 30)
The LORD of Hosts has Purposed, and who can Thwart Him ?
So, God had a plan for the sons of Israel, and no one could stop it. The bible says in Exodus 2, verses 23 thru 25; “..And the sons of Israel sighed because of their bondage, and they cried out, and their cry for help, because of their bondage, rose up to God. So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. And God saw the sons of Israel, and God acknowledged them.” The literal translation would be; “..and God knew them.” God knew them as His own people, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
In 2 Timothy 2:19, it says; “The Lord knows those who are His.” The Lord knew His people then, and he knows His people now. And the Lord had a plan then, and he has a plan now. God’s plan back then was to raise up a prophet, who would bring God’s people out of Egypt.
God said through the prophet Hosea, in Hosea 11, verse 1; “When Israel was a youth, I loved him. And out of Egypt I called My son.” God referred to Israel as “My son”. As God gave instructions to Moses, He said to Moses, in Exodus 4:22; “Then you shall say to Pharaoh; Thus says the Lord, Israel is My son, My first-born.”
Israel was called God’s “first-born”. But there was another, who was called God’s “only begotten”, in John 1, verse 14. And He was also called, God’s “Beloved Son. In Mathew 3:17; “..a voice came out of the heavens saying; This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” God had a plan for Israel, His “first-born”, and God also had a plan for Jesus, His “only begotten”, His “beloved Son”.
Out of Egypt
The Lord said, in Exodus 6:6; “I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from the burden of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you, with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments.” God would bring His “first-born” son out of Egypt, and He would redeem him. And at the same time, He would bring judgments upon the Egyptians.
Therefore, God brought His people out of Egypt, through Moses. The Lord said to Moses, in Exodus 7, verse 1; “See, I will make you as god to Pharaoh..” And what was God’s plan for His people today? His plan was to send His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, so He could be God in the flesh, for us. And do you remember how Jesus Christ also came out of Egypt?
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, wise men came from the east to worship Him. And when they arrived in Jerusalem, they asked; “Where is He who has been born “King of the Jews”? (Mathew 2, verse 2) Well, this bothered king Herod. And it bothered the Jewish scribes and Pharisees, because they didn’t want a new king to be raised up. So king Herod had a plan to kill the newborn “King of the Jews”.
So here’s what God caused to happen, as recorded in Mathew 2:13 thru 15; “..And angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph (the husband of Mary) in a dream, saying: Arise and take the child and His mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you. For Herod is going to search for the child to destroy Him. And he arose (Joseph arose) and he took the child and His mother by night, and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod; So that what was spoken by the Lord, through the prophet, might be fulfilled saying; Out of Egypt did I call My Son.”
“Out of Egypt, I called My Son”. That prophecy was actually fulfilled twice! When the prophet Hosea first spoke those words, in about 740 BC, it referred to when God called “His son” Israel, out of Egypt. And then, 740 years later, it was fulfilled again, when God brought His Son Jesus the Christ, up out of Egypt. The word of God is an amazing thing, isn’t it? And some people think that it was just a bunch of different men, wrote the bible. But the more you read and study the bible, the more it becomes obvious, that no men could have ever conceived of the story told in the bible.
God called Israel, God called Jesus, God calls Us
So God called His son Israel, out of slavery in Egypt, so they could inherit the promised land of Canaan. And God called His Son Jesus out of Egypt, so that He could lead us, out of the slavery of sin, so that we also could inherit the promised land of heaven. We have a God who cares about His children don’t we?
God’s son Israel, was an example for us. But Israel was for the most part, and example of what NOT to do. 1 Corinthians 10:6 tells us; “Now these things happened as examples for us, that we should not crave evil things as they also did.” Verse 11 says; “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”
And Jesus is also an example for us. But Jesus is the example that we MUST do! Jesus said in John 13:15; “For I gave you an example, that you also should do as I did to you.” We’re told in 1 Peter 2:21 thru 25; “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps; (Now listen, because here are the examples we’re supposed to be following) Who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; And while being reviled, He did not revile in return, while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously.”
“And he Himself bore our sins, in His body, on the cross, that we might die to sin, and live to righteousness; (And how do we die to sin, and live to righteousness? We acknowledge our sins, (1 John 1:9) and we repent of them, (Acts 17:30) and we allow ourselves to be buried in baptism for the forgiveness of our sins, so that we can be raised to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). “For, by His wounds, we were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.”
We might sum it up by saying that we follow His example of obedience. “Although He were a Son, yet He learned obedience through the things that He suffered. And having been made complete, He became the author of salvation to all those who obey Him.” (Hebrews 5, verses 8 & 9)
The invitation is yours, to be led out of Egypt, (in other words, to come out of this world) and come into Christ Jesus, by hearing His word, and believing His word; By confessing His name, and repenting of your sins; And by being baptized for the forgiveness of your sins, and by remaining faithful unto death, so that He can bring you “out of Egypt”, and into the promised land.
