Understanding Your Exodus: English Only

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.

‌

10- 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.”

‌

11- So they appointed taskmasters over them to oppress them with hard labor. And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pithom and Raamses.

‌

12- But the more they oppressed them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out, so that they dreaded the sons of Israel.

‌

13- The Egyptians used violence to compel the sons of Israel to labor;

‌

14- 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, it seemed appropriate to talk about leaving the old season, and entering the new season. *

‌

The biblical 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, and we know how it ends, we mentally push fast forward so we can get to the good part. *

‌

We want to talk about 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 time in “Egypt”; hence the reason for the topic, “Understanding Your Exodus”. *

‌

This will be partially teaching- so you may want to get your notebooks! *

‌

So to begin, Exodus (in Hebrew) literally means “Departure from Egypt”*

‌

However, the name of this book is not in Hebrew. “Exodos” is a Greek word which also means “departure”. *

‌

So how did a Hebrew book end up with Greek title? *

‌

To begin, Exodus is not its original name! To Hebrew readers, past and present day, this is called “the book of names” because of 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. *

‌

For example, the name Joseph means “may God add”. His life was used to preserve & add & multiply Israel, even Egypt. *

‌

The name Moses means “to draw 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’ name means salvation, in Hebrew (more closely associated with the name Joshua, who saved his people) also in Greek. He offers salvation to all mankind.*

‌

· I want you to know that the Lord knows your name.*

‌

I do not mean just what’s on your birth certificate…not just what people call you or what you prefer to call yourself. *

‌

And it is not based on your current state- the Lord refers to you according to your destiny!*

‌

I remind you of the man named Gideon; his name means “one who cuts down; a great warrior” Yet when the Lord called him, he was hiding from his enemies in a wine press!*

‌

So people can call you according to your condition, they can call you according to your circumstance, they can even call you the way you feel or the way you call yourself, but never allow yourself to forget: the Lord knows my name! *

‌

Now that we understand the title, let us discuss the scripture.

‌

Exodus 1:8

“Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.” *

‌

This verse may seem like a simple statement to the modern reader, but this is one of the top ten verses of the Torah according to 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 captures the human condition in 1 sentence; it shows how quickly we forget our past, and why it is necessary to remind us. It shows humanity’s collective lack of gratitude.*

‌

You can apply this to present day quite easily: *

‌

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

There arose a generation who didn’t know about the pandemic…*

There arose a generation who didn’t know the history of the church, the history of our nation, the history of our homeland…*

‌

There arose a generation who forgot what it was like before they got the job, or married their spouse and had children…who forgot what it took for us to get where we are today.*

‌

There arose a generation who forgot what it was like when they were trapped in sin and desperate 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 cannot have freedom from Pharaoh without freedom from you.*

‌

There are essentially 2 types of enemies that we fight against: the external enemies, and the internal ones.*

‌

Pharaoh represent the external oppressors- things like addiction and the worldly influences into which we were born. David described this in Psalms 51 verse 5 when he talked about being “born in sin and shaped in iniquity.” *

‌

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 locked into 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 program, nor rehabilitation, nor can therapy defeat this enemy- only slow him temporarily. *

‌

You see, leaving Egypt was the 1st freedom for Israel and for us. *

‌

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 scripture reading at verse 14, but allow me to read a little further.*

‌

Exodus 1:17 “But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.” *

‌

These women, which I believe were Egyptian women serving as midwives, refused to hurt the Hebrew children because their feared God more than they feared Pharaoh. *

‌

How would our decisions be affected if we were more afraid of displeasing God, than displeasing our coworkers, our friends, and our family? *

‌

In Egypt, we learned that we were created to build. If you are not building Christ’s Kingdom, you will be drafted into building someone else’s kingdom. *

‌

The enemy’s goal is NOT to stop you from using your abilities- he just wants to make sure you’re building anything else but God’s kingdom. *

‌

Build up treasures for Pharaoh; in other words, build up your bank account, but don’t build up your spiritual life- stay spiritually bankrupt; build up your career, but do not pursue God’s plan for you. *

‌

The enemy will not stop you from building your house, just as long as you are not focused on building the Lord’s House. *

In Egypt, we learned how to build under harsh conditions. *

‌

Exodus 1:12

“The more they oppressed them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out.”

‌

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 sharpened their building skills in Egypt- they did more with less; they learned how to push themselves.*

‌

After all, 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! *

‌

‌

In Egypt, we learned that persecution is an indication of God’s greatness in us. *

The Egyptians didn’t fear the Israel’s’ actions; their feared their potential. *

As a Christian, you need to be comfortable with conflict. It’s coming, not because of what you have done, but because of who 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?”*

The challenges are often proof of God’s purpose- and it means that the enemy sees that you have purpose too.*

‌

In Egypt, we learned that God has a purpose for “Joseph” and for “Moses”.*

Some of us were created to infiltrate the system, to be agents behind enemy lines like Joseph.

Others were created to directly confront the system and to bring change like Moses. *

We have different roles, but we are on the same team. *

‌

Egypt was our assignment; Canaan is our home. *

Remember why Joseph was in Egypt in the first place. The Lord used persecution to position him where he could save lives. *

He did not only save the lives of his family, but the Egyptians would benefit from his efforts as well.*

We are here to save lives. No matter how much the Lord blesses & promotes us, do not get too comfortable. We must never forget that this is a rescue mission! *

‌

Conclusion

‌

You know how this story ends. Israel did make it out of Egypt. They never went back again. There were other challenges, 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 that from which God has freed us?” *

‌Here is the answer: Build a memorial. *

‌

Many of Israel’s current traditions come from past experiences. They built memorials, they wrote songs and found ways to pass on their history. *

‌I said build a memorial- not a temple- because we are not planning to EVER go back! *

‌

This memorial we are building is not just for us. It is for anyone else who comes this way, so they know if God freed us, He can free them too! *

‌

And if we do go backwards towards Egypt, then we will have a something to help us to remember why we left and what God did to free us. *

‌

We must become memorials, to remind each other about what God has done, and what He continues to do! *

‌

God has been too good for us to forget where He brought us from…we cannot take the grace of God for granted.*

‌Today, as we celebrate His birth, let us also remember and celebrate the birth of hope, the birth of joy, and the birth of our peace with God through Jesus Christ! *