A Perfect Deliverance Series

- So, we could read a book, or color, or just sit there and look out the window.

- Obviously, for us kids, the drive could be quite long and boring, especially with six people in the vehicle, and us kids all getting annoyed with one another and fighting.

- Yet it was always worth the long drive because we always had a blast and made great memories together.

- Here in Exodus 12, the Children of Israel are also starting a long journey, and they’re excited because finally, they’re free and they’re headed to the Promised Land!

- I can picture the families all smiling and happy, walking out of Egypt with their belongings and all the riches the Egyptians gave them on the way out.

- Instead of only six people in an air-conditioned vehicle, there were over 600,000 men who could march that were leaving Egypt.

- That’s a huge number, but that’s only the men who were able to walk…

- Add to that the women, children, and elderly men who couldn’t walk, and now you’re talking about 2 million people total who are leaving Egypt!

- Think about that…

- When Joseph’s brothers settled in Egypt, there were a total of 70 people.

- Now, God has multiplied them over a span of about 400 years to over 2 million people!

- It was just as God promised Abraham…

- His descendants were multiplying very quickly.

- Vs 38 tells us that a mixed multitude went with them.

- Remember, back in vs 36, we’re told that God had given the Israelites favor in the sight of the Egyptians.

- Now, as the Israelites are leaving, many of those Egyptians looked at all the destruction God sent to their land and realized that Pharaoh was powerless to stop it from happening.

- They realized that the God of the Israelites was very powerful and was with His people.

- Since the land was almost completely destroyed, and it would take a long time for the nation to rebuild and recover, some of them left Egypt as part of this mixed multitude and followed Israel.

- Others included in this mixed multitude probably were slaves and prisoners of war from other nations that were also in bondage to Egypt, and other foreigners who lived in Egypt.

- Instead of staying, they took advantage of this situation to leave Egypt with the Israelites.

- Later, in the book of Numbers, we see that some of the people in this mixed multitude became troublemakers and caused the Israelites to complain against Moses.

- So, these people joined the Israelites, and also, a great deal of livestock were brought out.

- This was obviously a huge loss to Egypt, but they should never have enslaved the Israelites in the first place.

- Vs 39 is interesting because it tells us the bread “…was not leavened because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves.”

- When Sherri and I and the kiddos go on vacation, it takes a lot of preparation.

- You should see the packing lists that Sherri makes, and it takes hours to gather everything up and pack them in the bags…

- Each person is supposed to help because there’s a lot of work involved in packing.