Leaving Goshen, Leaving Slavery
Notes
Transcript
It was the dead of night. Most people were in their homes, asleep. Families all over Egypt had gone down for the night. But then the visitor came, with a deadly purpose. He was a destroyer, the angel of death.
The visitor was on a mission from God. He swept across Egypt, calling on every house in Pharaoh’s kingdom. It was obvious that he was looking for something, because as he came to each house he paused to inspect the doorway. In the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, he found what he was looking for. There was a mark of blood on the top and sides of every door.
The tenth plague affects all Egypt, 12:29-30.
The tenth plague affects all Egypt, 12:29-30.
When the visitor saw the blood, he passed over the house, holding back his deadly blow because a sacrifice had been made for sin. The family inside had heard that they could be saved by the blood of a lamb, and the sign on the door was a public testimony of their faith in God’s saving word.
The rest of the houses in Egypt were not marked with the sign of salvation. As the visitor traveled up and down the Nile, he came to entire towns and cities where not a single household had offered a lamb for their sins. The visitor did not pass by these houses but slipped inside to claim the life of the firstborn son. Thus a night that began in silence ended in suffering: the distinction God made that night is the one that he always makes. It is the distinction between those who have faith in the blood of the sacrifice he provides and those who do not, and on that distinction rests the eternal destiny of every human being.
This distinction runs through the Bible from beginning to end. It was the difference between Cain and Abel. Cain brought God fruits and vegetables, but Abel offered a perfect lamb. God accepted Abel because he had faith in the blood of the sacrifice (Gen. 4:3–5). This is how people were saved all through the Old Testament. They received atonement by trusting in the blood of a lamb sacrificed as a substitute for their sins.
Jesus was not speaking about people literally drinking his blood. Rather, he was looking forward to his crucifixion, when he shed his blood for our sins, and also to the Lord’s Supper, in which Christians drink the cup that symbolizes his blood. Jesus was saying that eternal life depends on faith in the blood of the sacrifice he made on the cross. The power of his blood is proven at the end of the Bible, for when the book of Revelation draws back the curtain to give us a glimpse of glory, we see the saints enter Heaven by “the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 7:14).
This indicates what things will be like at the final judgment. God has promised that one day he will judge the world. Revelation describes the coming judgment in great detail, including the return of the plagues. The angels of Heaven will pour out seven bowls of wrath, and people will be afflicted with rivers of blood, painful sores, darkness, disease, frogs, and hail (see Rev. 16)—the very plagues first suffered by the Egyptians. What Pharaoh suffered was only a premonition of the end of the world, when every human being who has ever lived will stand before God for judgment.
God is no respecter of persons, and he will judge everyone by the same standard. He does not care what color we are, how much money we have, where we go to school, what company we work for, or even how good we are. What matters to God is whether or not we have faith in the sacrifice of his Son. Those who trust in the blood of Christ will receive eternal life. Those who do not hold on to him and to his cross will be finally and fatally lost.
God saw the blood. God always sees everything, of course. The Scripture says that “he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (Ps. 121:4). God is always looking to care for us, protect us, and deliver us. But the Scripture explicitly states that he kept a careful eye on his people the night of the tenth plague: Exod. 12:42
It is a night to be observed for the Lord for having brought them out from the land of Egypt; this night is for the Lord, to be observed by all the sons of Israel throughout their generations.
God was up all night, standing guard. He was working the night-shift of salvation in order to deliver his people from death.
God was watching to make sure that salvation came just the way he promised. God had promised to rescue his people Israel.
“So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite.
He had promised that the Egyptians would not let them go until he struck them with all his wonders.
“So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My miracles which I shall do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go.
He had promised that they would not leave empty-handed, but that the Egyptians would send them away with clothing and jewelry.
“I will grant this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be that when you go, you will not go empty-handed.
“But every woman shall ask of her neighbor and the woman who lives in her house, articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and you will put them on your sons and daughters. Thus you will plunder the Egyptians.”
God had promised that when He saved His people, they would know that He was their God.
“Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.
‘Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
God also promised that the Egyptians would know this too.
“The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst.”
He had promised that they would leave in a big hurry.
‘Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste—it is the Lord’s Passover.
And on the night of the deadliest plague, when the Israelites took their first steps to freedom, all of these promises came true.
Here is the most powerful man in the world being rudely awakened to face things totally out of his control, including the death of his eldest son.
There is evidence from Egyptology that the man who succeeded Amenhotep II, the pharaoh of the plagues, was not his first-born son. His successor was Thutmose IV (1425-1417 B.C.), a son of Amenhotep II but evidently not his first-born. Thutmose IV went to some pains to legitimatize his right to the throne. This would not have been necessary if he had been the first-born. So far scholars have found no Egyptian records of the death of Amenhotep II’s first-born son.
“Thutmose IV claimed that when he was still a prince he had a dream in which the sun god promised him the throne; this implies that he was not the one who would be expected to succeed to the throne under normal circumstances.”
Pharaoh capitulates before the Lord, 12:31-32.
Pharaoh capitulates before the Lord, 12:31-32.
Pharaoh had told Moses that he never wanted to see his face again (Exod. 10:28). How ironic, then, for him to summon God’s prophet in the middle of the night, especially since Moses had told Pharaoh that one day his officials would come bow down at his feet and beg him to get out of Egypt.
“All these your servants will come down to me and bow themselves before me, saying, ‘Go out, you and all the people who follow you,’ and after that I will go out.” And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.
Pharaoh had treated the Israelites as his slaves, refusing to recognize their rights. But here he calls them “sons of Israel,” thus recognizing their status as a free nation. How ironic! Pharaoh had refused to let the Israelites worship their God. In fact, he claimed that he didn’t even know who their God was.
But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go.”
How ironic, therefore, for him to tell the Israelites to “worship the LORD” (Exod. 12:31). The word “worship” is really the word “serve,” which is another irony, because the problem all along was Pharaoh insisting that the Israelites had to serve him.
How ironic as well for Pharaoh to command the Israelites to leave Egypt. He was not just letting them go; he was ordering them to depart! Pharaoh barked three short commands: “Up.… Leave.… Go.”
What makes them all so deliciously ironic is that they show a man who swore that he would never give in doing exactly what God wanted him to do. By the tenth plague Pharaoh was begging Moses to do the very thing that he had been asking to do all along. It was a total capitulation. There would be no more negotiations. Pharaoh gave in to all of Moses’ demands, granting Israel’s unconditional release.
Pharaoh’s little concession speech stands as a warning to anyone who chooses to resist God’s will. For all his hardness of heart—all the times he told God no and all the times he said yes but never followed through—Pharaoh gained nothing. In the end he had to accept everything on God’s terms anyway. So why not give in to God in the first place? It is much better not to resist his claim on your life but simply to accept his plan and his purpose.
God will not bless a man who will not repent of his sin. But God’s blessing is for those who trust in the blood. In other words, it is for people who admit that they are sinners and who believe that God has paid for their sin with a perfect sacrifice. In the time of Moses, God only blessed people who were covered by the blood of the Passover lamb. Today God blesses those who trust in Jesus Christ, believing in the sacrifice he offered for sin on the cross. If you do not come to God through faith in Jesus Christ, God will not bless you.
The Egyptians cover Israel with plunder, 12:33-36.
The Egyptians cover Israel with plunder, 12:33-36.
What motivated the people of Egypt to give so willingly? The Lord gave the children of Israel favor and the common man of Egypt had came to respect Moses, because of the evidence of God’s power seen in the plagues. Another motivation was real fear; with all that had happened so far, they believed that if Israel didn’t leave quickly, “We will all be dead.” They urged the Israelites to leave quickly, so much so that there was no time to prepare provisions.
But the children of Israel would not leave empty-handed. They had obeyed Moses, trusting what he had said and had asked for (not borrowed, as some translations) articles of silver and gold and clothing. The wealth of many Egyptians was in the valuable jewelry and clothing they wore; God Himself had promised that not only would the Israelites come out of Egypt, but that they would do so with many possessions
Genesis 15:13-14
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 four hundred years.
“But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions.
Some commentators have suggested that the Israelites received some “back wages” for their years of servitude.
The Israelites first steps as a free people, 12:37-39.
The Israelites first steps as a free people, 12:37-39.
Verse 37 tells us that the people left from Rameses. Many identify this city as Raamses in 1:11 but known also as Avaris. It is located in the land of Goshen east of the Nile delta. Succoth has been identified as the border town whose remains are known by Egyptians today as Tell el-Maskhuta. It is about a 20 mile trip.
600,000 men on foot leads to an estimate of 2 million of the children of Israel leaving Egypt. The 600,000 men would coincide with those from the census Moses was commanded to take of every male 20 years of age and upward, who could do battle (Numbers 1:1-3). This didn’t include women, children nor men who could no longer do battle. The total of this census, according to Numbers 1:46 is 603,550, a more precise figure and a significant number.
Added to this was a mixed multitude. This could be Jews who have intermarried with Egyptians, Egyptian God-fearers and assorted others. Thus even at the start of the Israel nation, non-Jews were a part, however limited in their participation. Yet it was this very group that also created problems for Moses, and led to Israelite murmuring against Moses—and the LORD!
The rabble who were among them had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat?
Egyptian sojourn of the sons of Israel: “to the day,” 12:40-41.
Egyptian sojourn of the sons of Israel: “to the day,” 12:40-41.
Here the text is very clear that Israel was in Egypt 430 years “to the very day” in verse 41. How does this compare with the 400 years of Genesis 15:13, 16 and Acts 7:6 and “about 450 years” in Acts 13:19?
I believe this refers to the time between Jacob entered Egypt after assurances from the LORD at Beersheeba in Genesis 46:2-4. The dating by many conservative scholars (including Dr. Harold Hoehner, from whom the following comes) puts this event at 1875 B.C. 430 years in Egypt brings the date of the Exodus and the giving of the Mosaic Law at Sinai (Exodus 19) at 1446 B.C. The 400 years was the time when the sons of Israel were put to hard labor by the Pharaoh who did not know Joseph, (Genesis 15:13, 16 and Acts 7:6) or 1845-1446 B.C.) The “about 450 years” spoken of in Acts 13:19 includes the 400 years sojourn in Egypt, 40 years of wilderness wanderings, and the seven year conquest of the land, or 1845-about 1395 B.C.
This preference for the dating of the Exodus rests first on 1 Kings 6:1, stating that the Exodus took place 480 years before the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, quite certainly 967 B.C. This view also harmonizes with Judges 11:26 that says 300 years elapsed between Israel’s entrance into Canaan and the beginning of the rule of Jephthah’s rule as a judge.
This is a demonstration of the LORD orchestrating all these events. He is the One who kept vigil over both Egypt and Israel, He is the One who cursed Egypt and blessed Israel. He is the One who delivered those who trust in Him at the exactly right time in history. He is the One who fulfills all His good word.
He is worthy of our worship and our trust because He has already provided a substitute for our sin problem, even the Lord Jesus Christ, before we even knew we had a need. Will you trust Him and receive the gift of the Son for you to be delivered from sin’s penalty, eternal death? God’s deliverance from the slave market of sin is at hand. Be free of its bondage and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior. Then walk in freedom, continuing to rest and trust in Him for the long journey of life ahead.