Introduction
Two births - Moses and Jesus, separated by centuries but overlapping in the purposes of
God in the deliverance and salvation of his people.
This month we are going to follow the early chapters of Exodus up to the crossing of the Red
Sea using 'selected' passages to trace this journey of deliverance and I will seek to fill in
some of the details as we go. As often I would encourage you to read, not only along, but
the first 15 chapters. I am still working on the passages I shall use.
I also intend to include some contrasting and complementary passages from the life of Jesus
as I am doing today.
One big thing we will see, at least, is that as the children of Israel leave Egypt God institutes
and tells them to celebrate the Passover. Part of that was that they are to save from death
by the blood of lambs on their doorposts as the angel of death goes over killing firstborn
males, human and animal, across the whole land of Egypt. On the night before the cross,
Jesus the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and delivering all who repent
and believe in him from death, celebrated the Passover meal and gave it a transformed
1. Changing Circumstances - a 400 year synopsis! Ex 1:1-14
[1:1] These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with
his family: [2] Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; [3] Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; [4]
Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. [5] The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all;
Joseph was already in Egypt.
[6] Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, [7] but the Israelites were
exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so
numerous that the land was filled with them.
[8] Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. [9] “Look,”
he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. [10] Come, we
must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war
breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”
[11] So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labour, and they
built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. [12] But the more they were
oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the
Israelites [13] and worked them ruthlessly. [14] They made their lives bitter with harsh
labour in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labour
the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.
Four hundred - round figures at this stage, as in total, when they leave, the children of Israel
had been in Egypt for 430 years (Ex 12:40) and at that stage Moses is 80 years old according
to Stephen's speech in Acts 7: 23 & 30 and that he was 40 when he fled Egypt and 80 when
he returns to 'confront' Pharaoh.
When Joseph brought his family to Egypt at the time of severe famine he was, as you may
recall, 2nd in command to Pharaoh so an extremely high-ranking person. Times radically
changed and from privilege the people of Israel have been reduced to extreme servitude
and indeed growing cruelty. They were also rapidly growing in numbers and the Egyptians
were getting fearful of the ethnic minority!
Sounds to familiar in the history of the world through the ages and indeed today - we need
to pray for, and act as we can, those in similar circumstances who are subjected to abuse,
misunderstanding and cruelty.
Fear, we see, leads to worse.
2. Extreme measures and disobedience borne out of fear! Ex 1:15-21
[15] The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and
Puah, [16] “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery
stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” [17] The 1. Changing Circumstances - a 400 year synopsis! Ex 1:1-14
[1:1] These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with
his family: [2] Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; [3] Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; [4]
Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. [5] The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all;
Joseph was already in Egypt.
[6] Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, [7] but the Israelites were
exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so
numerous that the land was filled with them.
[8] Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. [9] “Look,”
he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. [10] Come, we
must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war
breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”
[11] So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labour, and they
built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. [12] But the more they were
oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the
Israelites [13] and worked them ruthlessly. [14] They made their lives bitter with harsh
labour in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labour
the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.
Four hundred - round figures at this stage, as in total, when they leave, the children of Israel
had been in Egypt for 430 years (Ex 12:40) and at that stage Moses is 80 years old according
to Stephen's speech in Acts 7: 23 & 30 and that he was 40 when he fled Egypt and 80 when
he returns to 'confront' Pharaoh.
When Joseph brought his family to Egypt at the time of severe famine he was, as you may
recall, 2nd in command to Pharaoh so an extremely high-ranking person. Times radically
changed and from privilege the people of Israel have been reduced to extreme servitude
and indeed growing cruelty. They were also rapidly growing in numbers and the Egyptians
were getting fearful of the ethnic minority!
Sounds to familiar in the history of the world through the ages and indeed today - we need
to pray for, and act as we can, those in similar circumstances who are subjected to abuse,
misunderstanding and cruelty.
Fear, we see, leads to worse.
2. Extreme measures and disobedience borne out of fear! Ex 1:15-21
[15] The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and
Puah, [16] “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery
stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” [17] The
1. Changing Circumstances - a 400 year synopsis! Ex 1:1-14
[1:1] These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with
his family: [2] Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; [3] Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; [4]
Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. [5] The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all;
Joseph was already in Egypt.
[6] Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, [7] but the Israelites were
exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so
numerous that the land was filled with them.
[8] Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. [9] “Look,”
he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. [10] Come, we
must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war
breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”
[11] So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labour, and they
built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. [12] But the more they were
oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the
Israelites [13] and worked them ruthlessly. [14] They made their lives bitter with harsh
labour in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labour
the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.
Four hundred - round figures at this stage, as in total, when they leave, the children of Israel
had been in Egypt for 430 years (Ex 12:40) and at that stage Moses is 80 years old according
to Stephen's speech in Acts 7: 23 & 30 and that he was 40 when he fled Egypt and 80 when
he returns to 'confront' Pharaoh.
When Joseph brought his family to Egypt at the time of severe famine he was, as you may
recall, 2nd in command to Pharaoh so an extremely high-ranking person. Times radically
changed and from privilege the people of Israel have been reduced to extreme servitude
and indeed growing cruelty. They were also rapidly growing in numbers and the Egyptians
were getting fearful of the ethnic minority!
Sounds to familiar in the history of the world through the ages and indeed today - we need
to pray for, and act as we can, those in similar circumstances who are subjected to abuse,
misunderstanding and cruelty.
Fear, we see, leads to worse.
2. Extreme measures and disobedience borne out of fear! Ex 1:15-21
[15] The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and
Puah, [16] “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery
stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” [17] The
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