This morning we begin a new series on the book of Exodus. And I have to say, I'm excited about this. Just spending one week in Exodus was enough to make me incredibly happy. I think this will be interesting, and helpful spiritually.
Now, I'm going to be up front about something. I have one main question I'm bringing to the text, and it's this:
What will God do through people, if they are brave, and obedient, and bold? What's possible?
If we want to answer this question, Exodus is a nice place to start.
But, Exodus is not the first book in God's story, or our story. Genesis is. So what I want to do this morning, first, is prepare you for Exodus by giving you a bird's eye view of Genesis. [What follows is indebted to D.J.A. Clines, The Theme of the Pentateuch.] Think of this, as the book of Genesis explained, in half a sermon.
When God made the world, He made it for you. Almost every aspect of creation was designed specifically for you. And God's plan for you had two parts. The first, if we read Genesis 1, was that you be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it. You were made to be kings on earth. And the second part of God's plan, if we read Genesis 2, was that you live righteously, and faithfully, in relationship to each other, and to God.
Now, this didn't work. Adam and Eve sinned. They got kicked out of the garden before they could eat from the tree of life. And what we see, in Genesis 1-11, is a downward spiral from there. People commit worse and worse sins against God, and against each other. Cain kills his brother Abel (Gen. 4:8). Lamech kills someone for injuring him (Gen. 4:23). The sons of God take human wives, and create a different type of creature-- the Nephilim-- who start to spread across the earth (Gen. 6). And people, in Genesis 11, decide they are going to stop spreading out across the earth like God wanted (Genesis 9:7). Instead, they will come together, and build up.
So that's what we humans do in Genesis 1-11. We sin. We disobey God's command. We murder each other. And instead of spreading out, we congregate together into big cities, and build up.
What does God do, in these chapters?
God does two things: (1) He punishes, and (2) He mitigates the punishment. There is judgment, but this judgment is never as bad as it could be. And God in some way always softens it.
So God kicks Adam and Eve out of the garden to keep them from eating the tree of life. But He also gives them clothing to wear.
God condemns Cain to a life of exile for murdering his brother. But He also places a mark on his forehead, to keep him safe from other murderous humans.
God wipes out the world with a flood. But He also keeps Noah and his family safe.
In chapter 11, this pattern seemingly changes.
Let's read Genesis 11:1-9 (NIV no reason):
11 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward,[a] they found a plain in Shinar[b] and settled there.
3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel[c]—because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
We see God's punishment. We see the consequences. But where is God's mercy? At this point in Genesis, we've come to expect God's grace, and mercy. And it's not here.
Or is it? Let's read Genesis 12:1-3.
12 The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.[a]
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”[b]
Nothing that God had done in Genesis 1-11 worked. And so what God does, in chapter 12, is change his approach. Instead of directly working with the world as a whole, God picks two people-- Abram and Sarai. God's plan, at this point, is to bless the world, and work in the world, through these two people. They are like a new Adam and Eve (H/T Michael Heiser), sent out for a new commission. God's plan still involves the entire world. But what God will do for the world, from this point forward, He will do through Abraham and his descendants.
Abraham and Sarah are God's grace, and mercy.
Now, how exactly will God do this?
If we read the book of Genesis as a whole, God gives Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob three promises (for what follows, see Clines, Theme of the Pentateuch, 33ff).
(1) The promise of descendants (Gen. 12:2, 7; 13:15; 15:4, 13, 16, 18; 16:10; 17:2, 4-7; 17:16, 19ff; 21:12ff; 21:18; 22:16; 26:3, 24; 28:13; 35:11-12; 46:3.)
-specifically, the promise that they will become a great nation.
(2) The promise of relationship (Gen. 12:2; 17:11, 16, 17ff; 26:2ff, 24; 28:13, 15; 35:9; 46:3; 48:21.
-of blessing, of "being with" (Gen. 26:3, 24; 28:15), of guidance (Gen. 46:4; 28:15). Continuance of relationship with their ancestors (Gen. 46:3; Ex. 3:15).
(3) The promise of land (Gen. 12:1, 7; 13:14-15, 17; 15:7, 13, 16, 18; 17:8; 22:17; 26:2; 28:13, 15; 35:12; 46:3).
These three promises are what drive the book of Genesis. There are lots of threats to these promises: (1) Abraham seemingly can't have children; (2) Abraham is asked to kill Isaac, the child of the promise; (3) Esau is possibly going to kill Jacob; (4) every wife is barren; (5) Joseph and Benjamin are threatened with the possibility of death as well. Finally (6), there is a famine that forces this family to move to Egypt.
What you should do, is go outside on a nice day with a pitcher of iced tea, and just read through the book of Genesis, focusing on these three promises. You'll see these promises over and over. You'll see the threats to the promises. And you'll see God, faithfully keeping his promises.
[You could list these promises on the first page of Genesis, and then put a #1, 2, 3 by each occurrence.]
With one exception.
At the end of the book of Genesis, God has kept his promise to be with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He's started to multiply them, to the point where there's 70 direct descendants (plus their spouses). So even if Israel is not yet a people, and a nation, we've got a very large family, even by ND standards.
But what's missing, is land. God hasn't kept his promise of land. Abraham's family is living in Egypt, which is not the land God promised. It's a good land. It was a place where the family could prosper and multiply, for a time. But it's not the land God promised (Gen. 48:21; 50:24-25).
In Exodus, what God is going to try to do, is bring his people home.
Now, we will see very quickly, that this will be a fight. God's people don't necessarily want to go home. God's people don't necessarily want anything to do with God. And God, and his people, have a number of enemies who are determined to stop all of this.
So there's going to be plenty of obstacles. As we read, we will find ourselves wondering: Will God be able to keep his promises? Can God back up his words, with action?
So. The descendants of Jacob/Israel have gone to Egypt. That's where Exodus 1 begins. Let's read through verse 7, pause, and then push ahead:
(1) And these are the names of the sons of Israel-- the ones going to Egypt:
With Jacob, each with his house went:
(2) Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,
(3) Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,
(4) Dan and Naphtali,
Gad and Asher,
(5) and all the people coming from the loins of Jacob were seventy people.
Now, Joseph was in Egypt,
(6) and Joseph died, with all his brothers and all that generation.
(7) Now, the sons of Israel were fruitful,
and they increased/multiplied,
and they swarmed,
and they became very, exceedingly powerful,
and the earth/land was filled with them,
Let's focus here on verse 7. There's two ways to look at this verse. They're both right. But we should see them both. First, we see this multiplication as proof that God is keeping his promises. God promised Abraham that He would make Abraham into a nation. And we are approaching that point. So we read this, first of all, as a reason to trust God, and a reason to praise God. God is a promise-keeper.
For the second way to read this, let's turn to Genesis 9:7. This verse, is part of what God commands Noah after the flood:
(7) And you, be fruitful,
and increase/multiply.
Swarm on the earth/land,
and multiply on it.
When we read Exodus, what we are seeing is the Israelites obeying God's command to Noah after the flood. They are spreading out over the land, swarming it, filling it. They are doing what the world as a whole refused to do in Genesis 11.
Now, let's turn to Genesis 1:26-28:
(26) And God said,
"We shall make man in our image in accordance with our likeness,
and they shall rule over the fish of the sea and over the flying things of the heavens and over the domestic animals moving on the earth."
(27) and God created (singular) the human in his image.
In the image of elohim He created it.
Male and female He created them,
(28) and God blessed them,
and he said to them,
"Be fruitful,
and multiply,
and fill the earth,
and subdue it,
and rule over the fish of the sea and over the flying things of the heavens and over all the animals moving on the earth."
What we see here in Genesis 1:26-28 is a lot like in chapter 9. But there's also a key difference: the idea of "subduing" and "ruling."
When people swarm across the earth, and fill it, and become powerful, what happens next? When people fill their land, until it's bursting at the seams, what do they do?
Normally, they start to look at their neighbor's land. I could use another 10 acres, and my neighbor happens to have 10. I need a gravel pit to fill in the bad spots on my road, and my neighbor has a perfect little pit. I'd like some apple trees to make jelly, and my neighbor has carefully grown his for 20 years.
In Genesis 1, God is very clear-- humans are to rule over, and have dominion over, creation. Not over each other. Not over other human beings. But we humans usually can't seem to help ourselves.
So let me ask you a question. In Exodus 1, if the Israelites are multiplying, and filling the land, and swarming it, what comes next? Are they going to rule over it? Are they going to have dominion?
What happens next to Israel? And what happens next to Egypt?
We don't know. Right? But how should it work? That, we do know. God has promised to bless Abraham, and his descendants. But when God did this, He was very clear how his blessings were to work toward the nations. Let's reread Genesis 12:1-3:
12 The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.[a]
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”[b]
The idea with God's blessing, is that He will make Israel into a nation that will serve as a blessing to every people on the earth. And if we'd read the story of Joseph, we'd have known that this includes Egypt. God has already blessed Egypt through Joseph. Egypt didn't just survive a terrible seven year famine; it thrived. Egypt prospered because of Joseph. And this is all part of God's ideal. If you bless God's people, you will prosper. And if you curse them? If you rise up against them? It's going to be really bad for you. God will mess you up. God will curse you.
But we are supposed to understand that Israel, thriving in the midst of the Egyptians, should be a good thing for Egypt.
This brings us to verses 8-14:
(8) and a new king rose over Egypt
who hadn't known Joseph,
The earlier Egyptian kings remembered who Joseph was. They knew that they were blessed through him. They knew that Joseph sought their good. And they were good to Joseph, and his family. This was a healthy, symbiotic relationship (science!).
Now, a new king arises. And he's ignorant of all of this [probably because he's not a direct descendant, many scholars say]. What will happen next? Verses 9-14:
(9) and he said to his people,
"LOOK! The sons of Israel are greater/more numerous, and more powerful than us.
(10) May you come. May we act wisely toward him,
lest he multiply,
and then, when/if war breaks out, they will be added-- also they-- to our enemies,
and they will fight against us,
and they will go up ("escape") from the land,"
(11) and they set over them taskmaskers in order to afflict/humble them with their heavy burdens,
and they (=Israel) built storehouse cities for Pharaoh-- Pitom and Raamses,
(12) and in the measure to which he afflicted them, to the same degree they became numerous,
and to the same degree they spread out,
and they dreaded before the sons of Israel,
(13) and Egypt made to labor (=enslaved) the sons of Israel with ruthlessness,
(14) and they made bitter their days with hard labor--
with mortar and with stones/brick, and in all the labor in the fields;
with all their labor that they worked them with ruthlessness.
This new king, looking at these foreigners living within his borders, sees them as a threat. During WW II, the U.S. government looked at all of the Japanese immigrants living within our borders-- mostly in CA and Hawaii-- and it made them nervous. They wondered, which country did these immigrants really support? What was home? If given the opportunity, would they rise up and fight? Would they work as spies and saboteurs, to undermine the country?
As a nation, we weren't sure. And so what we did, was put them all in "internment camps" during the war. Japanese immigrants, who had done nothing wrong, were treated like convicts. Put behind barbed war, treated as the enemy.
What we see in Exodus, is another example of this type of fear. But this king approaches the problem a little differently. His goal is to make the Israelites as miserable, and beaten down, as possible. If you can take away people's energy, and any reason to hope, then you can easily control them. They won't realize that they outnumber you, and could overpower you.
Now, does oppression work? I think what we are seeing around the world right now, with covid, shows that oppressing people is a dangerous game. You can take away people's freedom to travel, to have jobs, to play outside, to go to restaurants, to walk around without a diaper on your face, to do anything. And what happens? Are people too beaten down to fight back? Did you break their spirits?
Maybe some. Maybe there are people who are too brainwashed, and too tired, to push back. But viewed as a whole, the more ruthlessly you oppress people, the bigger the problem you create. Ordinary people, who just want to be left alone, and live their own life, find themselves going off at school boards, or protesting on the streets, or shutting down freeways in Australia. When you oppress people, you are creating what you fear most-- a people who have nothing to lose. A people who will rise up against you, if they are given a spark.
So we all understand that fear is a powerful emotion. And you can look at the Egyptian king, and understand why he's scared. He doesn't understand that God's desire was to bless him. He doesn't understand that this is not a road he needs to take. But he's scared.
And we also see, as God's people, especially starting in verse 12, is that this Egyptian king has made a terrible mistake. He's not just taking on Israel-- which has now become a true nation, more numerous and powerful than Egypt. We know he's taking on God.
And so we read about this stupid king, who doesn't know who Joseph was, and doesn't understan how God has blessed Egypt through them. Instead, in ignorance and fear, he oppresses them. And we wonder, what will God do to Egypt? How will He take vengeance on them? How will God fight for his people?
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So that's our toehold into the book of Exodus. But for an application today, I want to focus on Genesis 12:1-3. These are verses you should just memorize-- they give you a framework for understanding most of the OT.
12 The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.[a]
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”[b]
God's plan, starting in Genesis 12, is to bless the world through Abraham's descendants. He will make Abraham into a great nation, that will bless all the peoples on earth.
First, in the OT, God tries to do this through the nation of Israel. Every once in a while, we see this working in the OT. But Israel, as a whole, is not faithful to God. And so God can't really use Israel, the way He'd like, for most of the OT. Nowhere in the OT, do we see all the peoples on earth blessed through Abraham. Not even close.
How, then, does God fulfill his plan? Maybe the most complete answer to this question is found in Galatians 3 (NRSV). Paul is writing to people who were not Jews by birth; they were Gentiles. And these Gentiles, looking at the Mosaic covenant, and thinking about what they have in Jesus, wonder if Jesus is enough. Does God want you to commit to Jesus, and to Moses? Do you have to do the "works of the [Mosaic] law-- get circumcised, and follow the Jewish laws, and Sabbath-- to be part of God's people? The short answer, is NO! But let's read Galatians 3:
3 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly exhibited as crucified! 2 The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh? 4 Did you experience so much for nothing?—if it really was for nothing. 5 Well then, does God[a] supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?
6 Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” 7 so, you see, those who believe are the descendants of Abraham. 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, declared the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the Gentiles shall be blessed in you.” 9 For this reason, those who believe are blessed with Abraham who believed.
10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the things written in the book of the law.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law; for “The one who is righteous will live by faith.”[b] 12 But the law does not rest on faith; on the contrary, “Whoever does the works of the law[c] will live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”— 14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
The Promise to Abraham
15 Brothers and sisters,[d] I give an example from daily life: once a person’s will[e] has been ratified, no one adds to it or annuls it. 16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring;[f] it does not say, “And to offsprings,”[g] as of many; but it says, “And to your offspring,”[h] that is, to one person, who is Christ. 17 My point is this: the law, which came four hundred thirty years later, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. 18 For if the inheritance comes from the law, it no longer comes from the promise; but God granted it to Abraham through the promise.
The Purpose of the Law
19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring[i] would come to whom the promise had been made; and it was ordained through angels by a mediator. 20 Now a mediator involves more than one party; but God is one.
21 Is the law then opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could make alive, then righteousness would indeed come through the law. 22 But the scripture has imprisoned all things under the power of sin, so that what was promised through faith in Jesus Christ[j] might be given to those who believe.
23 Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 27 As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring,[k] heirs according to the promise.
If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring. You have received the Holy Spirit through your allegiance to Jesus. You have seen God do miracles (Gal. 3:5) because you believe what you've heard about Jesus. Every promise that God gave Abraham, is your promise. "Father Abraham had many sons, and I am one of them."
And God's goal for you, is the same goal He had for Abraham. God wants to bless the entire world, every people, every nation, through you. God is with you. God is for you. And God promises that you will become a great nation.
We maybe trip on this, so let's reframe it. You will become part of a great kingdom. This kingdom grows, and spreads, in part through our children, as we pass on the good news about Jesus to them, and raise them up in the way they should go. But this kingdom should also be spreading, as we share the good news about Jesus with others. This kingdom, is not the U.S. It's not Israel. This kingdom, is God's kingdom. The kingdom of heaven.
So consider Genesis 12, and Galatians 3, as a challenge to bless the world.
Be a blessing to everyone around you. Live faithfully, as Abraham's children. And understand that if people mess with you, and try to curse you, that God's curse will one day fall on them (if they don't repent). God's got you.
Translation:
(1) And these are the names of the sons of Israel-- the ones going to Egypt:
With Jacob, each with his house went:
(2) Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,
(3) Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,
(4) Dan and Naphtali,
Gad and Asher,
(5) and all the people coming from the loins of Jacob were seventy people.
Now, Joseph was in Egypt,
(6) and Joseph died, with all his brothers and all that generation.
(7) Now, the sons of Israel were fruitful,
and they increased,
and they swarmed,
and they became very, exceedingly powerful,
and the earth/land was filled with them,
(8) and a new king rise over Egypt
who hadn't known Joseph,
(9) and he said to his people,
"LOOK! The sons of Israel are greater/more numerous, and more powerful than us.
(10) May you come. May we act wisely toward him,
lest he multiply,
and then, when/if war breaks out, they will be added-- also they-- to our enemies,
and they will fight against us,
and they will go up ("escape") from the land,"
(11) and they set over them taskmaskers in order to afflict/humble them with their heavy burdens,
and they (=Israel) built storehouse cities for Pharaoh-- Pitom and Raamses,
(12) and in the measure to which he afflicted them, to the same degree they became numerous,
and to the same degree they spread out,
and they were dreaded before the sons of Israel,
(13) and Egypt made to labor (=enslaved) the sons of Israel with ruthlessness,
(14) and they made bitter their days with hard labor--
with mortar and with stones/brick, and in all the labor in the fields;
with all their labor that they worked them with ruthlessness.
