EXODUS - The Exodus (Part 1)

EXODUS: “The Way Forward” - The Exodus (Part 1)

Intro to Series

“Teach Through”

We value all sorts of ministry here. I enjoy hearing from all of the five-fold ministry. I like preaching AND teaching. And there are different kinds of both.

Often, our Sunday morning teaching will bounce around the bible. Four in a series. And it helps to not miss the whole of Scripture. It teaches it all.

But sometimes you need to linger somewhere and soak it up. A more long-form type of thing. And that’s what we’re embarking on today!

I am going to teach through the book of Exodus, slowly, one chapter at a time, until we come to the end. I don’t know when that will be, but I anticipate a few months, at least.

I have never done anything like this at all. So it is a first for me! But I have faith in God and I know that His Word is living and powerful. And I believe that God is going to help us and teach us all. I’m excited!

REFER TO HANDOUT

Intro to Exodus

Origins

Genesis means “origin” or “beginning.” In Genesis, the world was created. Man fell into sin. God gave judgment. And He also gave redemption:

Genesis 3:21 KJV 1900

21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

Man was sent out of the garden.

Generations go forth. Man becomes very wicked. “The thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). God prepares to destroy it all.

Genesis 6:8 KJV 1900

8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

And God instructed Noah in salvation, he built the Ark, and his family were saved.

Man builds a tower in his pride. God deals swiftly with that. Spreads man out, confounds his language.

A man by the name of Abraham is introduced. He loves God. And God makes an astounding call to adventure for him - and a promise:

Genesis 12:1–3 KJV 1900

1 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

The promise is handed down… from Abraham to Isaac… Isaac to Jacob… Jacob to Joseph.

Joseph is a dreamer (that gets you into trouble, when you have dreams).

He goes through a series of persecutions and troubles, though he’d done nothing wrong. Ups and downs. It culminates in, after being sold into slavery in Egypt, somehow RULING in Egypt. And redemption for his brothers who had wronged him.

All was put to peace, it seems. His family moved to the land of Goshen. High living! That is where we leave off at the end of Genesis.

Now, where Genesis means “origin” or “beginning,” Exodus means “departure” or “leaving.” So if we leave off in Genesis with things going so well, what could have taken place for their to need to be an Exodus?

That’s what we’re going to find out!

Keys to Understanding the Book

Writer: Moses

Exodus 17:14 KJV 1900

And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.

Exodus 24:4 KJV 1900

And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

Exodus 34:27 KJV 1900

And the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.

Numbers 33:1–2 KJV 1900

These are the journeys of the children of Israel, which went forth out of the land of Egypt with their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron. And Moses wrote their goings out according to their journeys by the commandment of the Lord: and these are their journeys according to their goings out.

Mark 12:26 KJV 1900

And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?

Key characters:

Moses

Pharaoh

Aaron

Israel

Key theme:

The book of Exodus narrates the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, their journey through the wilderness, and becoming a covenant people with God through Moses.

Foreshadow:

All the while that this story is being told, there is another story that is being painted in the background. The word foreshadow means “to represent, indicate, or typify beforehand.” And there is a grand foreshadowing that is taking place, if you’ll keep your eyes open! We’ll get to that later...

You know, there are people throughout the world that have been captivated by things (the idea of conspiracies), thinking that there is something much wilder going on behind the scenes than what is seen on the surface (QANON).

But… in the book of Exodus, it’s true. The story we are about to dive into is remarkable. But what is just behind the curtain is even more amazing!

Let’s dive into it…

Basic Outline

THE EXODUS (CH. 1-18) - “REDEMPTION” - PLAN FOR DELIVERANCE

THE LAW (CH. 19-24) - “RESPONSIBILITY” - GUIDANCE FOR MORALITY

THE TABERNACLE (CH. 25-40) - “RECONCILIATION” - ORDER FOR WORSHIP

Chapter 1

Israel’s Descendants in Egypt

Exodus 1:1–5 KJV 1900

1 Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob. 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 5 And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.

So this is a rejoining and a redemption for this family. And it is listing all of the individual patriarchs of each family (the sons of Jacob/Israel).

Exodus 1:6–7 KJV 1900

6 And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. 7 And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.

What we’re observing in these scriptures is that there has been an extraordinary growth in this family. And let’s put it in the right context:

Firstly, they are growing as the family of promise.

Secondly, that family of promise is growing in Egypt - a place foreign to them, and friendly up to now.

So, think of this: God takes a family who

Had a patriarch (Jacob/Israel) that was quite the swindler and fought others to get what he wanted

A family who… also fights themselves (Joseph and brothers).

A family who… was stranded and without provision (food).

A family who… had a history of family issues and imperfections.

And He takes this family of 12 sons and 1 daughter, reunites them, uses Joseph to bring healing, places them in the land of Goshen, multiplies them dramatically, and makes them into a nation that will conquer the land of Canaan.

THAT is a miracle. THAT is evidence of the blessing of the Lord.

But I want to point out that it did not begin that way, and it was a rocky process arriving. Families are simply not perfect. And when they sat in Goshen with all they had been blessed with, they probably looked back at what they used to be, and said, “Look what God has done! Who would’a thunk it!”

And when you look at your family and your household, you might night be looking at a family of conquerors right this minute… but just GIVE GOD SOME TIME!

YOU are living in Goshen, my brothers and sisters!

You stand where Joseph stood! And if you’ve got family that’s lost, it’s time to lead them to a place blessed of the Lord! Eventually, they’ll be a CONQUEROR - A WARRIOR - A PRAYER WARRIOR!!!

Now look at these words describing the family, and claim them for your family:

“Fruitful”

“Abundant”

“Multiplied”

“Exceeding mighty”

A New King for Egypt

So everything seems to be going well.

And then we come upon one of the most consequential scriptures in all of our Bible:

Exodus 1:8 KJV 1900

8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.

You want to know “Why the Exodus?” Here you go. It’s this simple. A 13-word scripture shifts all that.

And… there’s a lot wrapped up in this single scripture.

It doesn’t simply mean that the new king “had no personal acquaintance” with Joseph. It means that this new king was completely ignorant of Joseph’s contributions to Egypt, how he ruled, and what was the driving force and God he served that upheld all of that.

And, if you would allow me, I can just summarize what has happened in this scripture: SOMEBODY QUIT TELLING THE STORY.

If a legacy is not intentionally passed down (not just “here’s what we do” but “here’s WHY we do what we do), that legacy will die out. The story must be told. People need to know what the Lord has done for us and those who went before us.

If they don’t hear THE truth, they’ll call some other thing the truth.

We’re intentional about things that matter: oil changes, keeping our lawn mowed, paying bills, meeting goals… but if there was ever something to be intentional about… WE CAN’T AFFORD FOR SOMEBODY TO QUIT TELLING THE STORY!

I love to hear an elder speak with authority on what they’ve seen God do. But we can’t only leave it to them! We ALL have to speak what is true!

Acts 4:20 KJV 1900

20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

So… we then see that the next few verses are as a result of verse 8:

Exodus 1:9–11 KJV 1900

9 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: 10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. 11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.

So, as a result of a lack of passing on the truth, we have a rebellion. In this case, a tyranny.

That word tyranny is interesting because, the American Revolution got much of its fuel and flame from this freedom story in Exodus. Think about it: They escape tyranny in Egypt, sojourn through the desert, and emerge to the promised land. Sounds a lot like escaping the tyranny of the king, sojourning across an ocean, and emerging in a new land of promise of freedom.

In America, we even take the 10 Commandments and mold them into the Supreme Court building. And many other places. They are the foundation of our own laws. And that’s interesting too, isn’t it? Because we didn’t just create the laws… the 10 commandments were given from God. So this also shows that morality is not constructed on our own - it’s GIVEN!

This story is embedded in who we are as a nation!

We have this tyrannical leader now, who doesn’t know Joseph or his God, is insecure because of how blessed these children of Israel are, and he’s becoming very worried and nervous about this situation. So, “Let’s get rough with them. We don’t want them overtaking us.”

By God’s mercy, the Israelites were left to themselves for most of the 400 years that they were in Egypt. But now we’re seeing this quality of living change.

And it begins to describe their transition into back-breaking slavery.

Exodus 1:12 KJV 1900

12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.

It’s as if every effort to suppress and contain ends up backfiring. Something is different about this people! Things that work elsewhere do not work with them! The challenge for Pharaoh here was pretty lopsided (God was growing them).

Exodus 1:13 KJV 1900

13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:

Rigour - “harshness”

We are now upping the ante. Let’s break their spirit!

Exodus 1:14 KJV 1900

14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.

Notice the word “bondage.” This is their status.

So, now whatever they do at all - if it’s any kind of work, they are going to work until they drop. And we’re going to make it hard work. We’re going to build endlessly. Brick and morter. Build, build, build!

And it calls to remembrance that tower of Babel: building civilization against God. They’re still trying to do it today and it will always fail. He’s building His own Kingdom. And of the increase of its government there shall be no end!

And so this “bondage” is important, because Egypt is symbolic of sin and the world. And when you are in sin and the world, you are bound. It is bondage. You are in pain. It is grueling and while some days aren’t as bad as others, it’s miserable. And you need an EXODUS OUT OF THAT. Out of chaos and into God’s order.

Midwives to Kill Male Children

Exodus 1:15–16 KJV 1900

15 And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: 16 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.

Now, understand that this chapter is summarizing nearly four centuries of history. The king of Egypt mentioned here is probably not the same king of verses 8-14.

Now… as for this group of people we read: “Hebrew midwives,” there has been much debate over their identity. Most likely, they were Hebrew women who were midwives for Hebrew women. But some have wondered if “Hebrew midwives” meant Egyptian midwives for Hebrew women.

What we DO know about them:

These two most likely led a guild of midwives.

They had Hebrew names: Shiphrah (“Beautiful One”) and Puah (“Splendid One”). Their names are entered into the record due to their courageous acts. I would note that at the same exact time, the names of Pharaohs - the “important” people of the day - are omitted from the Book!

They knew the living God. Scripture says multiple times that they “feared God” (Ex. 1:17, 21).

So, with all of these details, I am led to believe that these midwives are Hebrew women. It’s the Occam’s Razor theory: “the simplest explanation is most likely the right one.”

Now, about what’s being instructed here… Pharaoh is requiring of them that when they see that the child born is a boy, kill him immediately. Because he sees the increasing number of male Hebrews as a military threat. So what do you do? Emasculate the people. Remove the manpower and strength.

And the hatred and killing of the people of Israel has been going on for a long, long, long time. There is a common distaste that others have for them, because of how God keeps and blesses.

Killing babies has been going on for a long time, also. Except now there appears to be a glorification of it. I have to think God is fierce about people destroying the part of His creation He loves most.

Exodus 1:17 KJV 1900

17 But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.

Now this is a shocking scripture. They disobeyed a direct order from the highest leader of the land. The very first civil disobedience we’re aware of. Why? Because they “feared God.”

You will make a choice. You either fear humans or you fear God! And the choice is not all that hard.

As a matter of fact, Scripture shows us clearly to make the decision. Check this out:

Psalm 111:10 KJV 1900

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: A good understanding have all they that do his commandments: His praise endureth for ever.

Proverbs 1:7 KJV 1900

7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 9:10 KJV 1900

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: And the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

Job 28:28 KJV 1900

28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.

Isaiah 33:6 KJV 1900

6 And wisdom and knowledge shall be The stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: The fear of the Lord is his treasure.

Proverbs 15:33 KJV 1900

33 The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; And before honour is humility.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 KJV 1900

13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

And the Hebrew term for “fear” is the word regularly used for piety, obedience, and the true worship of God. It’s used in scriptures like this one:

Genesis 22:12 KJV 1900

12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

For them, this would be disobedience. And for them, their actions were their worship!

And so, they did not obey, even when their lives were at risk.

Exodus 1:18–19 KJV 1900

18 And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive? 19 And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.

Now, they are being a bit misleading here. Because we know that they were blatantly disobeying Pharaoh as well. It was as if they were telling “a” truth, but not all of it.

But there is a phrase that I find important in here. One translation says it like this: “the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women.”

We need to notice that there is a line being drawn and a separation being shown:

We’re not going to do what’s wrong just because everyone else would!

And we’re not like everyone else!

What I find interesting, is that when someone is coming out of the bondage of sin, all of a sudden there are things and characteristics that begin to change, and lines begin to be drawn to separate them from who they once were!

Separation is not a bad thing! Separation is a good thing!

Exodus 1:20–21 KJV 1900

20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty. 21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.

Now look! Early on in the story, it is shown: be obedient, and be who God called you to be, fear Him and not men… and blessing comes down no matter what. The road may be bumpy, but as we’ll see… the end outcome is always blessing.

Pharaoh’s Order to His People

Exodus 1:22 KJV 1900

22 And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.

Here we have a single concluding and transitional verse that summarizes chapter 1.

So, everything else had backfired. Now, Pharaoh needed to openly command by decree what had proved to be a failure in conversations. And this time ALL of his people were made agents of this crime in order to try and shut off the spicket of the divine work of multiplying Israel.

You might see here a parallel to what Herod did during the birth of Christ.

Nonetheless, things have spiraled out of control here.

Chapter 2

Moses Hidden

Moses’ Early Life

Moses Flees from Pharaoh

God Hears His People’s Cry

Chapter 3

Moses and the Burning Bush

Moses’ Call

God Will Do Wonders

Chapter 4

Moses’ Rod

Moses’ Leprous Hand

Moses Feels Inadequate

Aaron Appointed Spokesman

Moses Returns to Egypt

God’s Message to Pharaoh

The Children of Israel Believe