The Book of Exodus, Part 1a: Afflicted But Not Forsaken
The Book of Exodus • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Intro
Intro
Series - The Book of Exodus, Part 1a
Title - Afflicted But Not Forsaken
Text - Exodus 1.8-12
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.
Background
Background
The Series
Part 1
Why study the Book of Exodus
Why study the Book of Exodus
To understand how Israel became a nation
her nationhood in biblical history
her nationhood today
To understand how Israel parallels the Church both in spiritual condition and in experience
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.
To understand how God takes care of His people
We are God’s spiritual people as much as they are God’s natural people
Why was Israel in Egypt
Why was Israel in Egypt
Israel was NOT in Egypt by accident, or some unexpected ciscumstance. They were in Egypt for 2 reasons -
God delivered them from a severe famine in the days of Joseph - Genesis 45.5
5 Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to save lives.
7 So God sent me ahead of you to ensure for you a remnant on the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.
God brought them to Egypt to be nurtured into a great nation
at that time, Egypt was the only powerful kingdom nearby
God blessed Egypt with a Joseph so that she will be obliged to take care of this growing family!
Israel’s story in Egypt was not about a people forsaken by God.
Rather theirs is the story of a people formed and nurtured by God in the land of their affliction.
However, the story begins with Israel being afflicted in Egypt.
So - why was Israel being afflicted in Egypt?
Israel was afflicted because Egypt was threatened by her growth!
Israel was afflicted because Egypt was threatened by her growth!
Israel was growing and multiplying
Israel was growing and multiplying
from 70 souls to millions! - Exodus 1.1-7
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 people who descended from Jacob were seventy people, but Joseph was already in Egypt.
6 And 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.
according to other accounts, 75 souls - Acts 7.14 “14 Then Joseph sent word and invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five people in all.”
note - the actual number of years of their stay in Egypt was 215 years.
see - illustration no 1
Israel was growing because it was promised by God
Israel was growing because it was promised by God
God promised Abraham a huge family!
4 Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.”
5 And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
God has also predicted what will happen to his descendants in their years of sojourning
13 Then God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.
14 But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions.
WHAT’S THE POINT?
GOD WAS USING EGYPT AS A ‘CARETAKER” OF HIS PEOPLE, A PLACE WHERE THEY WILL GROW WITHOUT DISTRUBANCE FROM OTHER NATIONS.
The new pharaoh was threatened
The new pharaoh was threatened
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.
WHAT’S THE POINT?
THE DEVELOPMENT OF GOD’S PEOPLE IS ALWAYS A THREAT TO THE ENEMY OF GOD!
EXAMPLE - JOB’S PROSPERITY
(but) Israel’s affliction could not hinder her continued growth!
(but) Israel’s affliction could not hinder her continued growth!
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.
WHAT’S THE POINT?
THE ENEMY CANNOT HINDER GOD’S PLAN FOR YOU
IF GOD HAS DESTINED YOU TO BE FRUITFUL AND TO BECOME A MIGHTY PEOPLE - NO ENEMY CAN CHANGE THAT!
YOUR AFFLICTION CAN ONLY MAKE YOU GROW EVEN MORE AND MAKE YOU EVEN MIGHTIER!
Israel had help in her time of affliction
Israel had help in her time of affliction
The king of Egypt hired midwives to kill the male babies
The king of Egypt hired midwives to kill the male babies
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.”
17 But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.
The enemy was determined to stop the multiplication of God’s people!
if the devil cannot destroy the church, he can at least make the Christian unfruitful and not produce new converts!
God can use the very people who were supposed to harm you!
Saul was turned to Paul!
God blesses those who help His people!
20 So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and became very mighty.
21 And because the midwives feared God, He established households for them.
WHAT’S THE POINT?
DIVINE PROVIDENCE - GOD WILL INTERVENE IF HUMAN ACTION THREATENS TO HINDER GOD’S PURPOSE!
2 Parallel events happening in the last days
2 Parallel events happening in the last days
First - in the last Israel nation!
First - in the last Israel nation!
Israel’s dispersion to the nations was by Divine Providence!
God gave them a spirit of stupor - Romans 11.8-10
8 just as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, Eyes to see not and ears to hear not, Down to this very day.”
9 And David says, “May their table become a snare and a trap, And a stumbling block and a retribution to them.
10 “May their eyes be darkened to see not, And bend their backs continually.”
Just like Joseph being sold by his brothers!
But Jesus - the rejected Son - became Lord over all the nations
Israel was dispersed - after the destruction of Jerusalem - so that they will be nurtured among the nations
14 But Zion said, “The Lord has abandoned me, And the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.
16 “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.
17 “Your builders hurry; Your destroyers and devastators Will leave you.
18 “Raise your eyes and look around; All of them gather together, they come to you. As I live,” declares the Lord, “You will certainly put them all on as jewelry and bind them on as a bride.
19 “For your ruins and deserted places and your destroyed land— Now you will certainly be too cramped for the inhabitants, And those who swallowed you will be far away.
20 “The children you lost will yet say in your ears, ‘The place is too cramped for me; Make room for me that I may live here.’
21 “Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has fathered these for me, Since I have been bereaved of my children And cannot conceive, and I am an exile, and a wanderer? And who has raised these? Behold, I was left alone; Where are these from?’ ”
22 This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations And set up My flag to the peoples; And they will bring your sons in their arms, And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.
23 “Kings will be your guardians, And their princesses your nurses. They will bow down to you with their faces to the ground And lick the dust from your feet; And you will know that I am the Lord; Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame.
Now Israel is growing stronger and mightier!
But nations all over the world are conspiring against her
Arab nations
other nations supporting the Palestinians
Iran - funding Hamas and Hezbollah to terrorize Israel
Turkey - threatened to get involved
Yemen - sending terorrist to help Hamas
1 The pronouncement of the word of the Lord concerning Israel: The Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of a person within him, declares:
2 “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes staggering to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah.
3 It will come about on that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will injure themselves severely. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.
the more she is afflicted, the more she grows and expands - in military strength, in economy, etc.
And Israel is receiving help!
America - all out support towards Israel
Great Britain
Saudi Arabia -
WHAT’S THE POINT?
GOD IS PROVING HIMSELF FAITHFUL AND TRUE ONCE AGAIN!
HE IS NOT LEAVING HIS PEOPLE BEHIND
HE IS BRINGING THEM OUT WITH A MIGHTY HAND!
Second - in the life of the end-time Church
Second - in the life of the end-time Church
God allowed for us to grow and multiply in the religious system!
most of us had real conversion experience in our denominational origins
back then, the devil is already on our tail and was trying to destroy us!
1 Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave, although he is owner of everything,
2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father.
3 So we too, when we were children, were held in bondage under the elementary principles of the world.
4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,
5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons and daughters.
Even then, God was already protecting us, keeping us safe
because we are His people
because he has prepared a better place for us!
God is calling out His people from “spiritual bondage” - It is time to possess the promised land!
today’s Egypt is the denominational systems
the endtime message is the call of God
the people of God today are the men and women that make up the Bride of Christ
WHAT’S THE POINT?
ISRAEL WAS NURTURED IN EGYPT, BUT EGYPT WAS NOT HER HOME
WE WERE NUTURED IN OUR DENOMINATIONS FOR SOME TIME, BUT THE DENOMINATIONS WERE NOT OUR HOME!
OUR HOME IS THE LAND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!
Conclusion
Conclusion
DON’T BE DISCOURAGED BY YOUR AFFLICTIONS!
19 The afflictions of the righteous are many, But the Lord rescues him from them all.
HE DELIVERED US BEFORE - HE CAN DELIVER US TODAY AND ALWAYS!
WHEN AFFLICTIONS THREATEN AND TROUBLE YOU - GET READY FOR YOUR MULTIPLICATION
1 “Shout for joy, infertile one, you who have not given birth to any child; Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor; For the sons of the desolate one will be more numerous Than the sons of the married woman,” says the Lord.
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent; Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not spare them; Lengthen your ropes And strengthen your pegs.
3 “For you will spread out to the right and to the left. And your descendants will possess nations And will resettle the desolate cities.
4 “Fear not, for you will not be put to shame; And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced; But you will forget the shame of your youth, And no longer remember the disgrace of your widowhood.
5 “For your husband is your Maker, Whose name is the Lord of armies; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, Who is called the God of all the earth.
SONG - I know I am the Bride…