Understanding Exodus: Chinese & English

Exodus 1:8-14

8- “Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.

9- And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, otherwise they will multiply, and in the event of war, they will also join those who hate us, and fight against us and depart from the land.” So they appointed taskmasters over them to oppress them with hard labor. And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the more they oppressed them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out, so that they dreaded the sons of Israel. The Egyptians used violence to compel the sons of Israel to labor; and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they violently had them perform as slaves.”

Introduction

As we are quickly approaching the end of this year, I felt led- and it seemed appropos- to talk about leaving the old, and entering the new. The bibical account of Israel’s departure from Egypt is a rather vivid depiction of this, but I feel as though because we are familiar with the story, because we know the symbolism- that Egypt represents the world of sin- and because we know how it ends, we mentally push fast forward so we can get to the good part- God’s deliverance, the ending of a painful season, and the beginning of a new season, full of hope and promise. And, in doing so, we may miss the very reason for our “stay” in Egypt; hence the reason for the topic, “Understanding Your Exodus”. This will be an expository message, part teaching- part preaching. So you may want to get your note books, and dancing shoes!

So to begin, Exodus (in Hebrew): יציאת מצרים, Yeẓi'at Miẓ-rayim: literally means “Departure from Egypt”

However, the name of this book is not in Hebrew. ἔξοδος (exodos) means, “departure” in Greek. (Lexham Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament Logos, 2011). It only appears twice in the NT (Hebrews 11:22 & Luke 9:31).

So how did a Hebrew book end up with Greek title? To begin, Exodus is not its original name! To Hebrew readers- then & now- this is the book of Sh’mot, which means “names”, as in the many names found in the first 6 verses of chapter 1.

But there is a deeper reason behind the Hebrews calling this the book of Names. To the ancient Hebrew mind, a name was not just a unique or identifying title of a person, but spoke of someone’s character or destiny.

Joseph means “may God add or “He shall add”- His life was used to preserve & add & multiply Israel, even Egypt.

Moses means “drawn out” — His life was used to draw Israel out of Egypt.

I could list many other examples but I will end with the most important of them all – Jesus means salvation, in Hebrew (more closely associated with the name Joshua, who saved his people) and in Greek for Jesus, who offers salvation to all mankind.

I want you to know that the Lord knows your name. Not just what’s on your birth certificate…not just what people call you or what you prefer to call yourself. And its not based on your current state- the Lord calls you according to your destiny! I remind you of Gideon; his name means “feller/one who cuts down; he that bruises; a great warrior” Yet when the Lord called him, he was hiding from his enemies in a wine press!

You can call me by my condition, call me by my circumstance, even call me how I feel or the way I call myself, but somebody say this like you mean it: the Lord knows my name!

Now that we understand the title, let me deal with the text.

Ex 1:8 “Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.”

This verse seems like a simple & direct statment to the modern reader, but this single verse is 1 of the top 10 verses of the Torah according to Orthodox Jewish tradition. Why? Think about this for a moment. For Joseph’s legacy to be all but forgotten means that not only did the Egyptians forget what Joseph did, but his children failed to remind everyone of the miracles that God performed for their forefather. It encapsulates the human condition in 1 sentence; it shows how quickly we forget our past, and why the cycles are necessary to remind us. It shows humanity’s collective lack of gratitude.

You can apply it to present day quite easily:

There arose a generation who didn’t know about 9/11;

who didn’t know about the pandemic;

there arose a generation who didn’t know what it took for us to get where we are today-

who forgot what it was like before they got the job…the wife…the kids

who forgot what it was like when they were bound and begging for someone to rescue them.

I want to recall God’s blessings…and remember the lessons I learned from my time in Egypt. Let me recount a few of them for you:

You can’t have freedom from Pharaoh without freedom from you. There are essentially 2 types enemies- “2 tyrannies” that we fight against: the external enemy, and the internal ones. Pharoah is chief of the external oppressors- addiction, the worldly influences that we are literally born into. David described this when he talked about being “born in sin and shaped in iniquity” (Ps 51:5). And this is why we must be born again. we cannot even understand our condition without the Holy Spirit showing us just how bad we are. Until then, we are beholden to outside influences; we cannot choose what is right & save ourselves. But there is another enemy- an internal oppressor. The one you take with you to work, on vacation…even to church. External solutions won’t defeat this enemy; no 10 step program, no rehab, no therapy can defeat this enemy- only slow him temporarily. departing from Egypt was the 1st freedom; the 2nd freedom- the true exodus from the old ways- took place at Mt. Sinai. God gave them the 10 commandments to speak new order to their inner chaos. And this is why we must be born again- so the Holy Spirit can speak order to the chaos.

In Egypt, we learned that true freedom comes when you fear God more than you love sin. We stopped our reading at verse 14, but allow me to read a little further:Ex 1:17 “But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.” A quick point of interest: some commentators read the term “Hebrew midwives” literaly, as in the “midwives were Hebrews”, but I agree with the minority that say they were Egyptian. first, because the Hebrew here is not definitive; it can also read “the midwives of the Hebrews”; secondly, it would be strange for th Egyptians to be angry at Hebrews for not killing Hebrew children; thirdly,

In Egypt, we learned how to build under harsh conditions. “I know it’s not easy to look back over what God have brought us from and see the good, but the truth is although it didn’t feel good to us, it was good for us. Israel honed their building skills there- they did more with less; they learned how to stretch themselves. If they could build treasure cities for Pharaoh, they could build the temple; they could build businesses, homes, and be a blessing with their gifts- even in hard times, and be blessed for it! “the more they oppressed them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out” Ex 1:12.

In Egypt, we learned that we were created to build. If you’re not building Christ’s Kingdom, you will be conscripted into building someone else’s. The enemy’s goal is NOT to stop you from using your gift- he just wants to make sure you’re building anything else but God’s kingdom. Build up store houses for Pharaoh; build up your bank account, but just don’t build up your spirit man- stay spiritually bankrupt; build up your career, not the call of God on your life (which by the way, likely involves the career); build up your house, your family, your gift, your ministry, but don’t build up the Lord’s House <exp., e.g. rebuilding the wall>. Don’t give God your first fruits- give Him what’s left. Leave the Egyptian mentality in Egypt- don’t bring the same mindset into your promise!

In Egypt, we learned that percecution is an indication of God’s greatness in us. The Egyptians didn’t fear the Isrealites’ actions; their feared their potential. I’ve said this before, you need to be comfortable with conflict. It’s coming, not becuase of what you’ve done, but because of who- and WHOSE- you are. When you remember this, it will change how you respond to conflicts. Instead of complaining you’ll say, “Lord thank you for using me- what else can i do for you to make the enemy mad?” The attack is proof of God’s purpose- and it means that the enemy sees it too.

In Egypt, we learned that God has a purpose for a “Joseph” and a “Moses”. Some of us were created to infultrate the system; agents behind enemy lines; others were created to unapologetically snatch people of the flames, to directly confron the system. Different positions…same team.

Egypt was our assignment; Canaan is our home. Remember why Joseph was in Egypt in the first place; the Lord used percecution to position him where he could save not only the lives of his family, but the Egyptians would benefit as well. We are here to save lives. No matter how much the Lord blesses & promotes us, never forget that this is a rescue mission.

Conclusion

You know how the story ends. Israel did make it out of Egypt. They never went back again. There were other captivities, but that was the last time they had to experience that one. So how can we learn from them…how do we break the cycle? How do we make sure that when people come across the church they don’t say, “There arose a new generation who forgot how God brought us into our promise”?

Build a memorial. Many of Israel’s present traditions come from past experiences. The build memorials, thry write songs and otherwise find ways to pass on their testimony. I said build a memorial- not a temple- we’re not planning to EVER go back! This memorial- this deliberate testimony of my past- is for anyone else who passes this way, so they know if God did it for them, He can do it for me! And if perchance we do go backwards towards Egypt, them we have a reminder that should hopefully see it and remember why we left & what God did to free us. We may need to BE memorials, to remind each other. Tell somebody, “Let me know if I start looking Egyptian again.”

God has been too good for us to forget where He brought us from…we can’t trivialize the grace of God. Tell somebody, “You’re looking at a living memorial- and the reason that I have to tell you about it is beicase I don’t look like what I’ve been through! He’s too good for me to hold back my praise! <Expound>