God Knows our Situation
Exodus 1:1-14
- This year, our church is focusing on honoring God with our lives.
- I believe strongly that God will bless our church if we focus on honoring Him in all that we do, as individuals and as a church.
- Today, we’re starting a study of the book of Exodus, and we’re going to parallel the lives of the Israelites in the Old Testament with our lives as New Testament Christians.
- All throughout the book of Exodus, we can observe the ways the Children of Israel honored and dishonored God.
- And that’s going to be the focus of our study as we journey through the book of Exodus verse by verse…what does this passage tell me about honoring God?
- One of the ways we can honor Him is by remembering that God always knows our situation, no matter how bad or how good it is…
- He knows our situation.
- Here, in the beginning of Exodus, we find the Israelites going through some difficult times as the slaves of Egypt.
- To any person walking by, it might seem like God didn’t know or didn’t care about their situation.
- But God was with them the entire time, and He never forgot about them.
- So, let’s look this morning at 3 things about Israel’s situation the God was fully aware of and was going to use for His glory.
I.) There were a lot of Israelites- Vs 1-7
- I’ve always preferred to live in a small town rather than a city.
- When we lived in New York and then Colorado, the places we lived were bigger than Bangor, but they were still small, and I was comfortable.
- When my family moved to Maine, I loved it because small town Maine is peaceful and comfortable.
- Then, I enlisted in the Army.
- My first duty station was in San Antonio, Texas.
- Texas is a huge state, and everything they do, they do big!
- Well, San Antonio wasn’t the largest city in Texas, but their population was approximately 2.5 million people!
- Put that number next to the total population of Maine, which is about 1.3 million, and you’ve got a whole city that is bigger than the population of our state!
- Well, needless to say, I wasn’t too excited about living in the big city, but that’s where Uncle Sam sent me, so I didn’t have a choice.
- It actually wasn’t too bad…
- There were a lot of stores, restaurants, churches, and many more places of interest.
- One of the things that I remember is that there was construction everywhere!
- It seemed like on every corner, something was being built, or a building was being made bigger…
- Their highways always had construction because they were constantly building more roads, and adjusting to the increase in traffic as more people moved to the city.
- Now, compare their population today with their population in 1846, and the results are amazing…
- There were only about 800 people living there.
- Then in 1850, that increased to about 3500, and then in 1860, it increased to about 8200.
- Today, the population is well above those numbers, and it keeps increasing every year.
- Those number comparisons are fascinating, but they’re nothing compared to how fast the Israelites multiplied.
- At the end of Genesis, when Joseph’s father and brothers moved to Egypt with their families, there were only 75 of them total…
- It says 70 here in vs 5, which is different from the number given in Acts 7:14 by Stephen, which is 75, but the reason is because in Acts, the number includes Joseph’s family.
- When they moved to Egypt, it was approximately 215 years after God made His Covenant with Abraham.
- So in that first 215 years, the number of Abraham’s descendants grew, but they didn’t rapidly increase…75 isn’t a large number.
- Then, when they moved to Egypt to join Joseph, that began their sojourn of another 215 years in Egypt, which included their captivity, until God delivered them and led them out of Egypt…that was 430 years after God made His Covenant with Abraham.
- During their 215 years in Egypt, they grew from a mere 75 people, to over 603,000 males 20 years of age and older, and when we add in women and children, that makes over 2 million Jews leaving Egypt, which is the number given in the book of Numbers 1:46.
- That’s a huge increase in population in a very short period of time!
- Why?
- The answer is because God knew their situation, and increased their number.
- Notice the words Moses uses to describe their increase in number…
- Vs 7… The Children of Israel were “…fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty, and the land was filled with them!”
- That’s a lot of words to describe a lot of growth!
- Now, the question is, why did they grow so fast?
- The answer is because God was keeping His promise to Abraham.
- Back in Genesis 12:1-3, God said to Abraham, “…Get out of your country, From your family, And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you, And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
- Then, in Genesis 22:17, God said to Abraham, “…blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.”
- God never lies and He always keeps His Word!
- In Deuteronomy 7:9, we read, “Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;”
- That’s so important to remember!
- Now, during the first 215 years, from the time God made His Covenant with Abraham to the time Joseph’s family joined him in Egypt, Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob could have very quickly lost their faith.
- They could have thought things like, “Wait a minute, God isn’t increasing our number! I thought He said we would be more than the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore! What’s going on here? God isn’t keeping His Word! We might as well just stop following Him and do our own thing. He doesn’t care about us!”
- But they didn’t.
- The Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, each had faith in God and trusted that He would keep His promise.
- As a matter of fact, in Hebrews 11, the Hall of Faith, we read about their faith.
- Hebrews 11:13-22.
- They knew that God was aware of their situation, and everything that happened was a part of His plan.
- And because they knew God was in control of their situation, they gave Him the honor he deserved.
- Now, I’d like to ask you, do you believe that God knows your situation?
- Whether the circumstances in your life right now are great, or very difficult, you can rest assured that God knows your situation, and He won’t abandon you.
- And just like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants honored God, even when they were few in number, we can too.
- He knows your situation, brothers and sisters.
- I hope you can take comfort in that this morning, and keep honoring Him.
II.) There was a time of difficulty- Vs 8-11
- When I was a kid and lived in Colorado, my father took my brother and I to the music store for guitar lessons.
- Dad had played the guitar since he was a kid, and loved it, and thought Steven and I might enjoy it as well.
- I remember him taking us to the music store, showing us all the beautiful guitars…
- He showed us the difference between an acoustic 6 string, a 12 string, and a classical guitar.
- My brother and I were super excited.
- I’ll never forget the day he bought a guitar for me.
- So Steven and I started our guitar lessons at the store with a teacher, and my father practiced with us at home.
- Well one of the things about playing the guitar is that the tips of your fingers need time to get calloused, and that takes a while, as you practice, and it can be quite painful.
- I remember getting blisters and thinking, “I don’t want to do this anymore!”
- But my father encouraged me to keep going.
- Then, there were the lessons.
- I’m a slow learner, so I remember it was extremely difficult for me to learn, and I had a tough time with it.
- I had to learn the basics, and some chords, and then some basic songs, before I could move on to more advanced stuff.
- But the more I practiced, the better I got, and my father was there with me the entire time, helping me and encouraging me.
- Our great God is like that…
- He knows our situation when we’re struggling through a trial or tribulation…
- And He’s there with us the entire time, helping us and encouraging us.
- Of course, learning to play the guitar is small in comparison to what happened to the Children of Israel.
- Vs 11 tells us that the Egyptians assigned taskmasters over the Jews, making them slaves, and afflicting them.
- The fact is that the Children of Israel were blessed by God, and their growth and prosperity proved it.
- Of course, they were growing so fast that it alarmed the Egyptians.
- Instead of making a treaty with them, or something like that, they instead decided to deal with them harshly.
- The idea was to dishearten them through forced financial and physical tribute.
- If they could break their spirits, and overwork them, then they could stop the rapid population growth, or so they thought.
- To the outside person, this would probably look like God turning His back on His people.
- It’s likely that many of the Israelites felt that way, since God was not defending them against the cruel, wicked Egyptians.
- Yet God knew their situation the entire time, never taking His eye off of them.
- And He continued to bless them, as they continued to grow in number.
- And of course, the more they grew and worked, the more skilled they became at their work, and the stronger they became.
- Remember, they didn’t have all this big Construction equipment that we have today…
- A lot of what they did was by hand, with their own physical strength.
- So I’m sure if you were walking down the street and saw one of them, you wouldn’t want to get into a fight with them, because they’d probably pummel you!
- Of course, they weren’t going to need to use their physical strength to fight their way out of Egypt…
- God was in complete control of their situation, and He was going to take care of it for them.
- Some people might ask the question, “But why would God allow the Israelites to go through this time of bondage if they were His people?”
- That’s a great question!
- I see a few reasons here.
- First, God allowed it to happen in order to give the people of Canaan plenty of time to repent.
- Turn with me please to Gen 15:13-16…
- As you can see, God told Abraham His people would be oppressed, and part of the reason was because the iniquity of the Amorites wasn’t yet complete.
- During that 400 year period, the people of Canaan went from being bad to worse to being completely degenerate.
- They sacrificed their own children in fire, and worshipped many gods, and practiced witchcraft and sorcery.
- According to one commentator, the people of Canaan “…were so nefarious that God said they defiled the land and the land could stomach them no longer—in Lev 18:25, it says that “…the land vomited out its inhabitants…”
- So God gave them time to repent, but they instead got worse.
- Second, God allowed the Israelites to be in bondage in order to display His glory to all the nations.
- He knew that Pharaoh wasn’t going to let His people go.
- He knew that He was going to have to send the plagues to judge Egypt for their cruelty to His people.
- He knew that He was going to call Moses to lead His people out of Egypt.
- God knew and was in control of the entire situation.
- And word spread quickly of what God had done for His people.
- In the book of Joshua, Rahab tells the Jewish spies that all of the land was afraid of the Israelites and their courage failed them.
- At the end of the Captivity, and when Israel was in full possession of the Promised Land, nobody could turn around and say, “Israel did that” or “Moses or Joshua did that…”
- No, they would look back and say, “Look what God did for His people!”
- Third, I believe God allowed the Israelites to be in bondage because He wanted them to know, without a shadow of a doubt, that they were His people, He was their God, and through their deliverance, their faith in Him would be strengthened.
- Fourth, I believe God allowed the Israelites to be in bondage because it was the best place for them to grow in number and become a nation.
- If God had sent them straight into the Promised Land, it’s likely that they would have intermarried with the pagan nations and probably turn to idolatry.
- The Egyptians would never marry the Jews because they were very racially biased, and remember in Genesis, we read about how the Egyptians wouldn’t even eat in the same room as shepherds because they considered it an abomination.
- So in Egypt, even though they were in captivity, they were very close as a people, separated from the Egyptians in all forms of social life.
- Just like God knew about Israel’s time of difficulty in captivity, He also knows when we are going through times of difficulty.
- Maybe you’re struggling with a health problem, or a financial problem, or an emotional problem…
- Maybe you’re being persecuted for your belief in Christ…
- Maybe your friends have turned against you or maybe people are lying about you…
- No matter what’s going on, God knows your situation.
- And just like the Israelites could look at their captivity and give God the honor and glory for bringing them through it, we also can give Him the honor and glory that He deserves for making our faith stronger through whatever we face.
- Over the years, Baring Baptist Church has faced some difficult times.
- Yet each and every time, God works in the situation, and He keeps the doors open.
- That’s because He always knows our situation, He’s always with us, and He’s always faithful.
- May we each individually and as a church, never stop honoring Him, even when we’re going through a difficult time.
III.) There was fear & anxiety amongst the Egyptians- Vs 12-14
- When I joined the Army and left for Basic Training, I’ll never forget the fear and anxiety that I was feeling.
- It was overwhelming.
- I was leaving home, and I had a long and hard few months ahead of me.
- We flew down to South Carolina and took a cab to Ft. Jackson.
- I’ll never forget stepping out of that cab, and for the first time, seeing that brown drill sergeant hat making its way toward me.
- This tall, mean looking Drill Sergeant glared at me and began to yell instructions.
- I was so nervous, and he was yelling so fast, that I didn’t even know what he was saying.
- And as he gave instructions that I couldn’t understand, he’d get angry at me for not following those instructions.
- I had a lot of fear and anxiety that first day, and even the first week, until I started to get used to the swing of things.
- That fear and anxiety that I was feeling is nothing compared with the fear and anxiety that Pharaoh and his people were feeling as they watched the Children of Israel continue to increase in number, even as they afflicted them harshly.
- Why were they afraid?
- I believe that it’s because they were realizing they couldn’t stop God’s blessing upon His people.
- They sure were trying.
- They made them labor even harder, adding to their tasks brick-making, which included the preparing of the clay and the drying of the brick, and they also added hard field labor.
- In the book “Egypt and the books of Moses”, Mr. Hengstenberg is quoted saying, “A vivid representation of the labourers engaged in this department is depicted on the tomb of Roschere. In this picture some of the labourers are seen transporting the clay in vessels, some intermingling it with straw; others are taking the bricks out of the form and placing them in rows; still others, with a piece of wood upon their backs and ropes on each side, carry away the bricks already burned or dired; while ‘taskmasters’ are beside them, some standing, others in a sitting posture, with their uplifted sticks in their hands.”
- That definitely wasn’t meant to be an easy job!
- It was extremely difficult!
- The idea was to work them to death, and to make them so exhausted and tired that there was no time for them to be intimate with their spouse.
- Yet the more they tried to stop them, the more God blessed them.
- The Egyptians were at a loss what to do, and next week, we’ll see that Pharaoh decided to take some drastic, sickening measures against the Jews in an attempt to stop their growth.
- The reason the Egyptians were at a loss what to do is because they were not in control of the situation…
- God knew the situation, and He was the One in control.
- Over the years, many people have tried to stop the spread of Christianity.
- Satan has used cruel dictators and madmen to persecute the church aggressively.
- Yet, Christianity remains strong, and continues to spread.
- I keep seeing articles about the horrible things happening to Christians in the Middle East…inhumane things…
- Yet the Gospel continues to spread over there, and no matter how hard Satan tries to stop it, He can’t.
- Those Christians are honoring God through their stand for Christ, even if it means being killed for Him.
- God knows the situation, and He’s in control.
- Here in America, there might come a day when the Government decides to completely silence us from saying the name of Jesus and spreading the Good News.
- If that day comes, and Christians are being thrown in jail, or even executed for our faith, what will you do?
- Will you honor Christ by taking a stand for Him?
- God knows our situation, no matter how bad or how good it is.
- Remember that, and take comfort in that.
- Give God the honor and glory He deserves.
- Let’s take a moment to reflect on God’s Word.
