Enslaved in Egypt

If you have your Bible, I would invite you to turn with me to the book of Exodus. The book of Exodus, second book of the Old Testament.

Maybe you're going to have to Take your book and open it up a little bit there and break the binding in the book of Exodus because maybe you haven't been in that book in a while. But we're going to be here for a long time looking at the life of Moses. And we'll begin with Exodus chapter 1, verse number 1. We'll cover the first chapter today, and we will look at some great and mighty things that God has to teach us.

About how he works in the lives of people. Exodus chapter 1, verse number 1, reads as follows: And these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob. They came each one with his household, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issach, Zebulun, and Benjamin, Dan and Napht, Gad and Asher, and all the persons who came from the loins of Jacob. were seventy in number, but Joseph was already in Egypt. And Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. But the sons of Israel were fruitful, and increased greatly, and multiplied, and became exceedingly mighty, so that the land was filled with them.

Now a new king arose over Egypt. Who did not know Joseph? And he said to his people, Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we. Come, let us deal wisely with them. Lest they multiply. And in the event of war, they also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us, and depart for the land. So they appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with hard labor. And they built for Pharaoh storage cities. Pyth and Ramses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied, and the more they spread out, so that they were in dread of the sons of Israel.

And the Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously, and they made their lives bitter with hard labor and mortar and bricks, and in all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors. which they rigorously imposed on them. Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shif, and the other was named Pu. And he said, When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birth stool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death. But if it is a daughter, then she shall live.

But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live. So the king of Egypt called for the mid and said to them, Why have you done this thing and let the boys live? And the mid said to Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women Are not as the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and they give birth before the midwife can get to them. So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied and became very mighty. And it came about, because the midwives feared God, that he established households for them.

Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, Every son who is born You are to cast into the Nile, and every daughter you are to keep al. Three things we're going to look at this morning.

Number one is the setting of Exodus. Number two is the slavery in Egypt. And then, thirdly, a summary for every one of us who are here today to help us understand the practical principles that this first chapter gives us that will govern how we live our lives.

All right? Four things I want you to see as you look at the setting of this great book of Exodus. Number one is the history.

And the history is given very briefly in the first six verses. And if you weren't with us in the study of Genesis, you might not understand the history. So let me give it to you rather briefly.

And it's important for you to know that 400 years before the birth of Moses, Joseph was born to Jacob. And through a series of events, the whole family of Jacob would mo to Egypt. And they would live in the land of Goshen. And in that land, they would multiply greatly. And they would grow economically. And their family would grow. There were 70 in number when they went from the land of Canaan when they went down to the land of Egypt. And God brought them there. This was the plan of God. So in the first six verses of Exodus chapter 1, as we have the names and realize that Joseph was already in Egypt, we know why he was there.

And how he brought the family there, and how God used him in a mighty way to bring about his sovereign purposes, to get the nation of Israel to go to Egypt. This was God's plan. Remember, Abraham went down to Egypt way back earlier in Genesis, and he defied the plan of God. He wasn't supposed to go there. And the effects of that sin have lasted to this very day. And yet, Jacob. In Genesis 4, would seek the mind of God at Beers to make sure: is this exactly what you want? For me, for my sons, for my family.

And in Genesis 46, listen to what God says to Jacob. He says, I am the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again, and Joseph will close your eyes. Those verses are so important to understanding the book of Exodus because God would bring them to this point. This was God's plan for the nation. Israel. That's the history. The second thing I want you to see is the prosperity.

It says in verse number seven. The sons of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly and multiplied and became exceedingly mighty so that the land was filled with them. They became richer. They grew bigger. God was blessing them. Their prosperity was because of God's sovereign plan. He told Jacob, You go down. I will be with you there. You see, God blessed Israel. God blessed this nation. God caused them to be fruitful. God caused them to grow and multiply greatly and become a mighty nation. All this is important for you to understand.

God did it. God was involved because God had a pl for the nation of Israel. And this is how it was going to be accomplished. God was a covenant-keeping God. He promised. He promised. Abraham, way back in Genesis 12, the Lord said to Abram, Go forth from your country. And from your relatives, and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you. And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great. And so you shall be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you, I will curse.

And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. God gave that promise to Abraham. He would reiterate that promise in Genesis 15. Genesis 17 and Genesis 22 to Abraham. He would reiterate that promise so that Isaac would understand it, so Jacob would get it. That God was going to do a great and mighty work. That the descendants of Abraham would be like the stars in the sky, like the sands in the sea. They would become a great people. And in Nexus chapter 1, God is making that plan real to them.

They're able to see it. They're growing. They are being fruitful. They are multiplying. It's all because of God. Not because of anything else. Only God. When you come to Exodus chapter 12, it tells us in verse number 37: there are 600,000 men over the age of 20. That's not counting the women. That's not counting the children under 20. So by the time they leave Egypt There were somewhere between two and three million Jewish people. God had kept his word. He did exactly what he said he would do. And you know what the amazing thing is?

Abraham never saw it. But he believed it. He believed it. That's why he's the father of our faith. He believed God, the Bible tells us, and it was counted unto him as righteous. He was a righteous man because he believed in what God said was going to happen. We need to believe in what God says.

We need to trust God, even though we might not see it in our lifetime. We need to be able to believe it and we need to be able to pass it on to our children. Help our children to understand the plan of God. Help our children to understand the word of God. That although they might not see it in this life, it is true because God said it. And the Bible says that blessed are those who believe even though they do not see.

Abraham was that kind of man. We move from the history to the prosperity to the monarchy. Because the Bible tells us in verse number 8 that there was a new king. On the bl. If you read Acts chapter 7, you realize that in Stephen's sermon, he says that there was another king that came to power. Heteros, another of a different kind. This Pharaoh was from a different dynasty. And the text tells us that this Pharaoh didn't know Joseph. Now that's very important. Why? Because you see, Joseph was the perfect type of Christ in the Old Testament.

And it goes to tell you that when the leaders of the country don't know Christ, there's going to be a problem in that country. And that's what happens in Egypt. Another king arose who did not know Joseph. Therefore, he did not know Joseph's God. He didn't know the history around Joseph and how God used him in a mighty way, and how all the People in the earth would come to Joseph because he really was the leader, not Pharaoh, because he was the man that God wanted in leadership. And he was used in a mighty way, but this king didn't know Joseph and didn't know the God of Joseph.

That's a good thing. You know why? Because it tells us that many people are not going to know you and know what you have done. But Hebrews 6:10 tells us that God knows everything that you do, He doesn't forget your labor of love. He doesn't forget it at all. That you're demonstrating on a regular basis. And you know what? That's encouraging because, you know, we want people to recognize us and to see our accomplishments. But for the most part, people miss them. They forget about them. But God never does.

And although this king. Didn't know about Joseph and didn't care about Joseph's God, and therefore wouldn't care about God's people. God cares about his people, and God will take care of his people. Which leads us to number four: the anxiety. This king had him. He was scared. Supposing there is an enemy that comes against us, he says, and these Jewish people who are mighty in number who keep on growing. Decide to join them and fight against us. The risk is too great. And so the anxiety in this Pharaoh would rise to a very high level.

He had to come up with a plan. To sub the Jewish people. That'll be disappointing number two. The slavery in Egypt. Four things I want you to see. And hold on to your hats because you need to get it. First of all, is the brutality.

The brutality of the slavery in Egypt. You pick up the narrative in verse number 11. It says he appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with hard labor, and they built for Pharaoh storage cities. Python and Ramses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out. Verse 13, and the Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously, and they made their lives bit. It 's a word that means to crush and to break. Pharaoh wanted to subdue them. He wanted to crush their spirits.

Any enthusiasm they had, he wanted to break them down. He wanted them to understand that they would report only to him and they would do everything he told them to do. So he appointed taskmasters over them to crush and to break their spirits. He caused them to labor, or to he made their lives bitter. It's a phrase that means to grieve with resentment. And they became very, very bitter because they were forced to build cities. They were forced to build storage homes. They were forced to work for this Egyptian.

Ruler. But note, no people in the history of the world who have come against God's people. Have ever defeated God's people. God promised, Genesis 12, verse number 3: that those who curse you, I will curse. And Egypt was destroyed. Babylon was destroyed. Stalin, Hitler, all of them. And the Jews have been trying, the people have come against the Jews for centuries. But they cannot ever defeat the people of God. And I'll show you why in a moment. But they cannot be defeated. Cannot be. Because God has a plan for the nation of Israel.

Point number two, the prophecy. Everything that happens to this nation was prophesied. Go back in your Bible to Genesis chapter 15. Verse number 12. Now, when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. And 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. How long? Four hundred years. But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions.

And as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace. You shall be buried at a good old age. Then, in the fourth generation, they shall return here. For the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete. God made a promise to Abram before he was called Abraham. He said, Abraham, this is how it's going to work. Your descendants are going to go to a country that's not their own, and they will be enslaved 4 years. But I 'm going to bring them back. And they're going to come back with many possessions.

You see, this is important for us to understand. Abraham knew what God was going to do. It was Abraham's responsibility to convey that to his children, so children could convey that to their children, so their children could convey that to their children, and on so down the l It's so important for us as parents to know what God says, to know what God's going to do, to know how God's going to work, so we can convey it to our children so they are not caught unaware.

You see, it's important that we teach our children that everything in the Christian life is not all rosy. But there will be much affliction and much difficulty in your walk with God. And that's what God was doing. Back in Genesis, Exodus chapter 1, with the 400 years of slavery, he says, Listen, the iniquity of the Amorites Has to come to the place that I've appointed it to come. Until that time, you're going to be in affliction. And when the Amorites have filled up their measure of iniquity, then and only then will you be released from bondage.

Why? Because then and only then will you be prepared as a nation to destroy the Amalekites and to be used by me in a mighty way to enter the land of promise. You see that? That's what God's doing. You see, when you find yourself amidst a hardship, in a difficulty, in a trial, think of it this way: God is using that to prepare you to do something magnanimous for Him when it's all said and done. That's what he did with the nation of Israel. He wants to make you into something so fit, so clean, so true, so holy, when it's all said and done, you're like a Powerful locomotive being used in the hand of God for the purposes of God that the nation of Israel were designed to be used for.

That's good news. That's great news. From the brutality to the prophecy to number three, the strategy.

Pharaoh had a strategy. And that was to tell the midwives to kill the boys that were born. Isn't it interesting to note that God would use two midwives to overturn the plan of an evil king? Now people like to think that the midwives lied to Pharaoh. I don't think they lied at all. I think they told the truth. I think they told all the midwives to show up late for the births. Show up late. So if it was a boy, oh, sorry, he's gone. Can't find him. Sorry, we showed up too late. The Hebrew women, you how vigorous they are, and the Hebrew women are vigorous women.

And therefore, we showed up and was gone and visit the girl. Oh, we got there in time as a girl. She was born. And Pharaoh began to question. You know, his strategy was to destroy all these men. Why? Because he had a plan. Destroy them all. And he would come in, he would question these two midwives: say, hey, you know, what's the problem here? How come this isn't working? I got a great plan. All you got to do is, when these Hebrew women are about to deliver, go in there. If it's a boy, kill it. Snuff out its life.

If it's a girl, let her live. I said, Well, sorry, we got there, but the child was already born and was already out and was already gone. I don't think they lied. I think that was the truth. And you know what God did? God blessed those two midwives with their own families, their own household. Because why? They feared God. If I've said it once, I've said it ten billion times. The Bible says, he who honors me, I will honor.

And they honored God, and God honored them. So we move from the strategy to the enmity, to the hostility, to the cruelty of this Pharaoh. See, that's it. That's it. I'm not waiting any longer. Every male ch will be thrown in the Nile and drowned. Kill them all. Kill them all. And I read that and I think, you know what? God's plan cannot be thwarted. And Satan has always tried to thwart the plan of God, hasn't he? Why did God destroy all the people on the earth to begin with? Because of the sons of God cohabitating with With the daughters of men.

And Satan trying to produce some kind of demon human race so the Messiah can never be born a man. So what did God do? Destroy them all. Every one of them. Here in Egypt, using Pharaoh to kill every male ch. But God's plan would continue on course. What's a summary for us today? Two things. Two things. Number one is this.

Dark times never erase God's promises. Dark times never erase God's promises. God made a promise. He made a promise to Abraham. He made a promise to Isaac. Made a promise to Jacob. That this nation would multiply and grow. And it did. It did. And even though the time was dark, the Bible says they continued to multiply.

I love what it says. It says that when they appointed taskmasters over them in verse number 11 to afflict them with hard labor. The more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied, and the more they spread out. The more they grew. He wanted to squelch them. He wanted to stop their growth. And what happened? The more he punished them, the greater they grew. It shows you the more affliction that the believer has, the deeper and greater he grows in his walk with God. J keeps growing. The next time you find yourself in the midst of darkness, in the midst of hardship.

Understand the promise that God's made to you and believe him for it. Number two, diff t does not escape God's notice.

Difficult treatment never escapes God's notice. Oh, the brutality these people faced, the hardship they faced, the difficulties that were thrown upon them. The Bible says in Exodus chapter 3, verse number 7, And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt.

and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters. For I am aware of their sufferings. Your difficult treatment, while you may be right in the midst of it today, never go unnoticed by God. No matter how severe, no matter how dark, how difficult, God knows. And it won't be until his time you are released from that difficulty. Until then. Know this: God is preparing you for something great.