Exodus Pt.1: Exodus from Egypt

Context

Israel is in Egypt because of Joseph’s actions at the end of Genesis (Gen.37-50).

Exodus takes place 400 years after the time of Joseph, and the people of Israel have increased greatly. (Ex.1:7 “But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.”)

This fulfills BLESSINGS that were pronounced by God in Genesis.

Gen.1:28 “And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.””

Gen.17:6 “I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.”

Pharaoh’s Attempt to Destroy Israel

Pharaoh does NOT like this (remember how Babylon has a tendency to call good evil and evil good). So, what’s his response?

Ex.1:11 “Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses.”

Ex.1:14 “and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.”

Ex.1:16 ““When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.””

It is indeed a full reversal of good. And still, remember that we should be hanging on to the promises of Gen.3:15, Gen.12:1-3, and Gen.17:1-6. If all of the male children are killed, eventually Israel will die out! How will the promise be fulfilled?

God’s Commission of Moses

Not all of the children are killed. Exodus 2 recounts both the birth, preservation, and flight of Moses. While in Midian, Moses has this phenomenal encounter: a burning bush (Ex.3:3 “And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.””) Fire is often symbolic of God’s presence in Scripture, and His presence is confirmed here because the ground is “holy ground.” Key to this interaction are seen in:

God hears the cries of His people and sees their affliction.

God’s name is revealed — YHWH. Ex.3:14 “God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”” With the revelation of His name comes a profound insight into His character: God is who HE will be, and He eternally exists as such.

God includes this strange bit about hardening Pharaoh’s heart:

Let’s settle in here for a moment.

Ex.4:21 “And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.”

Ex.7:3 “But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,”

Ex.14:4 “And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.”

Six times YHWH actually hardens Pharaoh’s heart (Ex.9:12; 10:1; 10:20; 10:27; 11:10; 14:8).

Seven times the hardening happens where “a divine passive with YHWH as the implied subject” occurs (i.e., the passage implies God’ hardened Pharaoh’s heart — Ex.7:13; 7:14; 7:22; 8:19; 9:7; 9:35; 14:5).

Three times Pharaoh hardens his own heart (Ex.8:15; 8:32; 9:34).

Our main study makes the following conclusions:

God knew Pharaoh would resist, but still gave him chances to change his course.

Pharaoh’s evil reaches a point of no return.

God bends the evil in Pharaoh’s heart to his own purposes, luring him into his own destruction (I would actually take more issue with saying God “lured” Pharaoh into his own destruction than I would saying it was God’s divine prerogative to harden Pharaoh’s heart for His own purposes.)

Some more thoughts on this idea:

Did God just know, or was He involved in the initial hardening? God announces His intention to harden Pharaoh’s heart before anything is revealed about Pharaoh first doing so.

Even though Pharaoh is given “chances,” would (or even could?) he have taken them?

I would say we could certainly affirm that Pharaoh’s own hardening confirms/justifies God’s actions. In this light, we could also say that Pharaoh’s chances are given in order to reveal that God is just in all that He does.

Alas, probably more questions that answers, but such is often the mysteries of God. One affirmation and one question as we are learning about this God who (Eph.1:11b) “... works all things according to the counsel of his will,”

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Are we okay with a God who operates outside of our complete understanding?

God judges Egypt and Pharaoh through the plagues, the culmination of which is the “Destroyer” who comes to kill all the firstborn in Egypt (Ex.11:5 “and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle.”) But, Moses declares how Israel can be spared, and it’s through this lengthy instruction/discourse on the Passover. Two things we can now say about Moses:

God preserves for Himself a redeemer (a type for Jesus/the answer to Gen.3:15).

Moses also serves as a prophet proclaiming that the Lamb saves!

As Israel is preserved, they sing (the commentary notes) the first song of praise recorded in the Bible! In the song which culminates in Ex.15:18 “The Lord will reign forever and ever.”, we see that God:

Confronts evil

Liberates His people

Leads His people to the Promised Land

Dwells among His people

It shows us what it looks like to live under God’s good rule.

Israel in the Wilderness

Chapters 16-18 happen. Israel is wandering in the wilderness, working toward Sinai, which we will cover next week, and during this journey we see Israel making claims like Egypt was better, there’s no food and water, and have they been led into the wilderness to die?

Understand, this is Israel’s response to God’s good rule.

The implication seems to be that even when man experiences the good gifts and blessings and abundant life of God’s good rule, their sinful hearts still rebel.

Points to Gen.3:1-6 where man doubts God’s goodness and misses God’s abundant grace and freedom.

It serves as a subtle reminder that Babel/Egypt/Babylon (man’s united effort to reject God’s rule and redefine what is good and evil) is always lurking.