Reminders About the People of God and the World

Introduction to Exodus

Read Exodus 1

This morning, I want to focus on reminders. Real patterns that are observed in this passage are also evident in our lives today. In verses 1 through 7, we are reminded that

God is Always Working to Complete His Promises

We should keep in mind here that the book of Exodus is not simply a book isolated by itself. Instead, it is apart of the pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament. This is a continuation of what takes place in Genesis and really an overview of the members of Israel or Jacob’s family that are in Egypt.

We are filled in on the fact that Joseph dies but the descendants of Israel continue to thrive. It is in verse 7 that we need to look back at the promises that were made to Abraham and to Jacob in Genesis. In Genesis we have a promise that includes four things: population increase, an important lineage, a world wide blessing, and citizenship in a foreign land. Listen for each of those in Genesis 12:1-9 .

Genesis 12:1–9 ESV

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.

Similar promises are made to Jacob in Genesis 35:11-12 .

Genesis 35:11–12 ESV

And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.”

A significant portion of the book of Exodus tells us of great suffering that the people of God endured. We often find ourselves in the midst of great trial and have a tendency to forget that God is still working. He is still building His kingdom despite difficulty. He is still working when we are discouraged.

It is fitting that a such a good thing like fruitfulness and increase happens before what happens next.

In verses 8 through 14 we are reminded that

The World Feels Threatened by the strength of God’s People

There arises a new king in Egypt who does not know Joseph. Beyond just not knowing Joseph, history tells us that this dynasty was particularly opposed to foreigners living in their land. So to see the descendants of Israel rise in great number was alarming for the Egyptian.

They are threatened by the strength in number and determine to try and discourage them by tasking them with building two cities. Yet, we are told in verse 12 that the more oppressed, the more growth.

We see this in today’s culture. As the church grows, the world will attempt to slow the growth down. It might be through government or it might be through general rhetoric. For instance, to stand for biblical marriage is to be a bigot.

I will also say that Satan hates when things are going well with God’s people, the church. Often he uses difficulty to distract a church or the church at large when God is moving and people are responding.

The irony here is that if Egypt had leaned into the truth of God and if our culture would embrace the God of the bible, they too would be able to experience the richness of his Blessings.

As we look to the last section of this text, we are reminded that

Those Who are Threatened Will Go to Great Lengths to Put an End to the Threat

The king of Egypt sees the growth as a threat when it is not in reality. When his first attempt to slow down or even put an end to the grown comes to an end, he moves on to much more extreme measures.

When we look at the world and their perceived threat of the followers of Christ, we should keep in mind the lengths that they will go to in order to squash Christianity. We should not be surprised when we witness these sorts of things going on in the world. Every day across the world we hear stories of followers of Jesus who face terrible situations just for the cause of Christ.

Jesus speaks of the persecution that the Christians will face in John 15:20 .

John 15:20 ESV

Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

But you will notice that the Israelites continue to thrive even in the midst of difficulty.

Finally, we are reminded of

There Are Great Blessings for Those Who Continue to Fear God in the Midst of Trial

The King of Egypt has already thrown hard labor at the Hebrews in an attempt to slow down their growth but it doesn’t work. He then enslaves them and forces them to work.

What is worse than that is the genocide that is put into place where any Hebrew boy that is born is to be killed. Thankfully, the Hebrew midwives feared God and did not do as they were told. They are blessed by God and given families. Because they were true to God and disobeyed the king’s command to them, they were blessed.