Exile (Part 5)

We Ended Last Time with Joseph and His Family Now Living in Egypt

Exodus 1:1–7 (NASB95)

1 Now these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; they came each one with his household: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; 3 Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; 4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5 All the persons who came from the loins of Jacob were seventy in number, but Joseph was already in Egypt. 6 Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. 7 But the sons of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly, and multiplied, and became exceedingly mighty, so that the land was filled with them.

Israel Experienced a Time of Prosperity and Peace in Egypt

They Still We’re at Home, But They Were at Peace

But that Wouldn’t Last Very Long

Exodus 1:8–16 (NASB95)

8 Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.9 He said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we.10 “Come, let us deal wisely with them, or else they will multiply and in the event of war, they will also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us and depart from the land.”

11 So they appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with hard labor. And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pithom and Raamses.12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out, so that they were in dread of the sons of Israel.

13 The Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously;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 rigorously imposed on them.

15 Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other was named Puah;16 and he said, “When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”

Their Exile Went From Pretty Great to Downright Horrible

They Were Turned into Slaves of Hard Labor

And Because of Pharaoh’s Fear of Them, He Tried to Kill Their Baby Boys

This Led to the Birth of Moses

He was Raised in a Place that was Not His True Home, Pharaoh’s Palace

Then, After Growing Up, He Defended a Hebrew By Killing an Egyptian

After Hearing about this, Pharaoh Tried to Kill Moses

So Moses Fled to Midian (Midian was Another One of Abraham’s Sons)

Now He was Living the Life of an Exile with the Priest of Midian

He Married One of the Priest’s Daughters

Exodus 2:22 (NASB95)

22 Then she gave birth to a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.”

He Lived in Exile in Midian for Many Years

Then We Read Something that Sounds Very Familiar

Exodus 2:23–25 (NASB95)

23 Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God.24 So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.25 God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them.

Their Cries for Help Rose Up to God

And God Saw Them

This Sounds Very Similar to the Messenger of the LORD…

Hearing the Cries of Hagar and Ishmael in Their Exile

And Hagar Called God “The God Who Sees”

We See the Same Concept Here

God Heard Their Cries and Saw Them in Their Exile and Slavery

It Also Says He “Remembered His Covenant with Their Forefathers”

Does this Mean God had Forgotten About His Covenant with Them?

If You Trace this Word “Remember” Throughout the OT…

You’ll Find that When God “Remembers”…

He’s About to Do Something Amazing for His People

In Our Context, God is About to Talk to Moses Through the Burning Bush

He Calls Moses to Lead Israel Out of Egyptian Slavery

God Causes to 10 Plagues to Fall on the Egyptians

Pharaoh Allows Israel to Leave

God Divides the Red Sea and Brings Israel Through it

Moses and Israel are Now Living as Exiles in the Wilderness

In Reality, They are Much Better Off

They are No Longer Slaves

God is Providing Them with Their Every Need

Providing Them with Laws and Systems that, if They Abide By,…

Will Allow God to Dwell with Them and Bless Them

But on Multiple Occasions, They Think Back to Their Exile and Slavery in Egypt…

As if it Were So Much Better Than What They are Currently Experiencing

Doesn’t the Devil Still Tempt Us with that Same Trick?

Sure, We are Still Exiles in this Age

We are Waiting on the Return of Jesus, the Resurrection, and New Jerusalem

But God has Rescued Us From Slavery

He Sent His Son to Die on Our Behalf to Remove Our Chains of Sin

He Dwells Within Us and Never Leaves Us

He Blesses Us Materially with All that We Need

He Blesses Us Spiritually with Justification and Sanctification

He’s Revealed to Us Through Jesus…

The Way of Life We are to Live in Order to Continue to have These Blessings

But We can Still Be So Easily Tempted to Look at the Ways of the World…

The Selfish Indulgence of Every Desire…

And Think, “You Know, I Kind of Miss That”

Everyone on Earth is an Exile

We Were Not Created to Live in a Fallen World But a Perfect World

Everyone is an Exile

The Only Difference is: Some are Enslaved and Others are Free

Paul Looked at Israel in the Wilderness and Gave Some Good Advice to Christians

1 Corinthians 10:1–12 (NASB95)

1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea;2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea;3 and all ate the same spiritual food;4 and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.

5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness.6 Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play.”8 Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day.9 Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents.10 Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.

11 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.12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.

Don’t Follow the Example of the Israel

As Exiles:

Don’t Crave Evil Things Like Them

Don’t Commit Idolatry Like Them

Don’t Commit Sexual Immorality Like Them

Don’t Test God By Being Ungrateful Complainers Like Them

We are Free From Our Slavery

These Practices Look Like Freedom, But They will Return Us to Slavery

Israel was Given the Law While They were in the Wilderness

Some of These Laws Concerned How to Treat the Poor and Needy:

Exodus 22:22–27 (NASB95)

22 “You shall not afflict any widow or orphan.23 “If you afflict him at all, and if he does cry out to Me, I will surely hear his cry;24 and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.

25 “If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, you are not to act as a creditor to him; you shall not charge him interest.26 “If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you are to return it to him before the sun sets,27 for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his body. What else shall he sleep in? And it shall come about that when he cries out to Me, I will hear him, for I am gracious.

In Jesus’ Kingdom, the Spirit of These Laws are Taken Even Further

James 1:27 (NASB95)

27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

The Letter of the Law Said to Not Afflict Them

But the Spirit of the Law is to Visit/Care for Them

Luke 6:34–36 (NASB95)

34 “If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.35 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.36 “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

The Letter of the Law Said to Not Expect Interest When You Lend to Others

And When You’ve Taken the Coat of a Poor Person as Collateral…

You have to Give it Back at Night so They Don’t Get Cold

But the Spirit of the Law Says to Lend and Expect Nothing Back

This Means You Wouldn’t Collect Collateral to Make Sure They Paid You Back

You Simply Show Generosity to Those in Need and Expect Nothing in Return

Right at the Top of this List of Laws Concerning How to Treat Those in Need is:

Exodus 22:21 (NASB95)

21 “You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Israel was Commanded to Not Wrong or Oppress Foreigners/Strangers/Exiles

Why?

Because They Know What it’s Like to Be Foreigners/Strangers/Exiles

As with the Other Laws in this List…

Jesus Gives Us the True Spirit of What this Law Should have Led the People to Do

We See it Through Peter in His First Letter to Christian Exiles

1 Peter 4:9 (NASB95)

9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint.

“Hospitable” = To Love Strangers

We as Exiles in this Present Age are Called to Be Dedicated to the Well-Fare of Exiles

We are Without Our True Home

While We are Sojourning and Living as Exiles…

We are to Love and Care for Those Who Also are in Need of a Home

All People are Exiles in this Fallen World

We Know What it’s Like, So We Should Act in Love Toward All People

After 40 Years Living as Exiles in the Wilderness, Israel Entered the Promised Land

They are Finally in Their Home

But it Never Feels Quite Like Home

They Still had Threats From Enemies Without and Within Their New Homeland

They Still Continued to Turn Away From God Which Always Leads to Disaster

We’ll Talk About Promised Land Exiles Like Samuel, David, and Elijah Next Time

David Lived as an Exile

Fleeing Saul Before He Took the Throne

Fleeing Absalom After He Took the Throne

He was More Faithful as an Exile Than as a King

Let that Be a Lesson to Us

Faithfulness Comes Easier When We are Detached From the Riches, Power, and Luxuries of the World

Jesus Made it Sound Extremely Difficult to Enter the Kingdom When We are Rich

As an Exile, What are You Willing to Sacrifice to Experience a True Home in the Age to Come?

Elijah Lived as an Exile

Judah was exiled east to Babylon

Talk about what it is like to live as an exile

(Jeremiah 29:4-20)

Live your life in this life

God will one day return us to our home

And He will punish those who didn’t live in exile with us

One of the difficult parts of living as an exile is having to live differently than those around us

“Being in the world but not of the world”

Talk about some of the beliefs/standards of our culture and how we must react to these things:

Relationships in a culture where 50% of marriages end in divorce

Fornication & Adultery

LGBTQ

Abortion

Pornography

Are there some things that we have turned into major issues that aren’t?

Dancing

We are Even Exiles in Our Own Body

2 Cor 5:1-10

We Currently Live in a Tent (Temporary Housing)

We Look Forward to Living in a Building (Permanent Home)