YouTube video sermon
Exodus 1:1-22
Everyone is on a journey, and we’re going to start our own journey through the book of Exodus. So, if you have your copy of God’s Word (and I hope you do), then I want to invite you to turn with me to Exodus 1. Now, some of you might be wondering why we’re going back to the Old Testament, rather than continuing in the New Testament and, in particular, following the life and teaching of Jesus. Well, the simple answer is because I like to make sure that we get a good balance of both the Old and New Testaments.
In fact, with the exception of last Sunday, we’ve been in the New Testament since Lent of 2022. After last Easter we began a 6-month study of 1 Peter, and then we had a brief 3-week series titled Faith, Hope & Love (all from the letters of Paul), and then we entered into Advent and the question Why the Nativity. So, it’s been about 9 months since we’ve spent any considerable time in the Old Testament. Furthermore, I did a little more research, and started with April 2020 (the beginning of COVID). That’s when we started video recording our services. It’s been almost 3 years/36 months of sermons, and in that time, we’ve spent 72-73% of our time together in the New Testament and only 27-28% of our time in the Old Testament. And I just feel like it’s time that we engage with God’s Word in the Old Testament.
“Okay, okay, fair enough, but why Exodus?” Well, I’m glad you asked. If we consider Genesis to be the front door of the Bible, and who doesn’t see Genesis as the book of beginnings, right? I mean, that’s where it all starts. So, if Genesis is the front door to the mansion of God’s Word (with 66 books/rooms), then Exodus is the red-carpeted hallway that connects all of the rooms.
We’ll discover, as we make our way through the rest of Exodus that Exodus goes through the rest of Scripture. It’s hard for me to overemphasize this. To utilize another analogy, it’s as if Exodus is the glasses of redemption through which we see the salvation of God in Jesus Christ. If you want to truly appreciate the New Testament, and the Gospels, and the evangelization of the disciples in Acts, and Paul’s missionary journeys, and the fulfillment of prophecy in Revelation – in order to understand any of that – then we have to know the theology and history contained in the book of Exodus.
Well, enough of an introduction. Let’s read Exodus 1:
1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5 All the descendants of Jacob were seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt. 6 Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. 7 But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. 13 So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves 14 and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.
15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” 17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. 18 So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” 20 So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”
“Our Father and our God, we are Your people. We present ourselves before You this morning as living sacrifices. We understand, Lord, that Your Word is ‘living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart’ (Hebrews 4:12). And we submit ourselves to the truths that we discover in it. This time is not about the technology, it’s not about the music, it’s not about the sights, rather it’s about hearts and souls that meet with the living God and commune with You over the truth of Your word.
Thank You that You have spoken, that You’re a God who communicates from heaven to earth. And as we continue the story of redemption in the Book of Exodus, I pray that our hearts would be excited week-by-week as we develop that knowledge and an increased hunger for You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
If you still have your Bibles open, do you see the space between the end of Genesis and the beginning of Exodus? That page? That space? That represents 400 years, which is an amazing thing to me, because when you get to the end of the Old Testament book of Malachi, before you get to the gospel of Matthew, you have another 400 years. And in both situations, the people of God (the Jews) find themselves in dire circumstances and in need of a savior.
When you come to the end of Genesis, they’re in Egyptian slavery – in bondage. When you come to the end of Malachi and the beginning of Matthew, they’re under Roman oppression – in bondage. So, in both cases, the people of God are being dominated by sinful pagan rulers and God comes to deliver them. In Exodus 2, He sends a deliverer, and in Matthew 2 He sends THE Deliverer, and He does it the exact same way. In Exodus 2 a baby cries and in Matthew 2 a baby cries.
There’s also one more connection between Genesis and Exodus – this one is a personal spiritual connection. Every one of us has had a Genesis, a beginning, right? We’ve been born. Here we are. We’re breathing. We’ve been born. But not every one of us has had an Exodus, a deliverance from the bondage of sin. The opportunity for your personal exodus, your personal deliverance, your personal redemption from the wages of sin is available – but it’s not through the waters of the Red Sea like it was for the Jews, rather it’s through the blood of Jesus Christ.
If you’re here this morning, then you’ve had your Genesis. If you haven’t experienced your Exodus, then I pray that God might use our time in this remarkable book to bring you to a place of accepting the free gift of His grace – by faith – in Jesus Christ. Well, there’s so much more that I’d really like to share with you concerning this amazing book, but our time is quickly fading. Perhaps I’ll shoehorn some of these other nuggets into future sermons. For the remainder of our time this morning, I want us to see the people, the prosperity, and the problem. That’s how chapter 1 is divided.
There are people – lots and lots of people. And they’re very prosperous. God blesses them and they multiply. And because of that, there’s a problem. Unfortunately, those three elements have been repeated in many cultures throughout history wherever Jews live: people, prosperity, and problem.
The People
The book of Exodus opens up with a list of names – not “once upon a time,” not “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” and not “in a hole in the ground lived a hobbit,” but a list of names. And that list takes us back to the story of Jacob and Leah, Jacob and Rachel (Genesis 29). Jacob had fallen in love with Rachel and made a deal with his uncle Laban to work for him 7 years in exchange for Rachel’s hand in marriage. That deal got twisted at the wedding (due to Laban’s trickery) and Jacob ended up marrying Rachel’s sister, Leah. Ultimately, Jacob worked another 7 years in order to marry Rachel, and these are the names of their children, which end up being the heads of the 12 tribes of Israel.
Leah’s 6 sons are mentioned first, in order of their birth, from Ruben to Zebulun: “Ruben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.” And notice, then it says, “and Benjamin.” Benjamin wasn’t a son of Leah. Benjamin was the second son of Rachel. Joseph was the first son of Rachel, but he’s not mentioned because he’s already in Egypt. He’s the reason they’re there. So, Benjamin is mentioned. Then “Dan, Napthali, Gad, and Asher. All those who were descendants of Jacob were 70 persons for Joseph was in Egypt already.”
Now, to us, when we read names in the Bible, it’s like, “Oh, these are so hard. Why do we have to read the names?” But if your name was in that list, you’d care. It’s like going to a 9/11 memorial service, or the Vietnam Memorial. Those names may not mean anything to you, but they do to the families that are left behind. Or think about your grandchildren’s graduation or school performances. It just doesn’t work to say, “Yeah, it’s Senior Night here at Blue Ridge High School. We’d like to recognize all of our senior basketball players. There are about 10-12 seniors on the team. Good job, seniors.” No, you want to call them out by name.
Do you remember what Jesus said? He said the “[Good Shepherd] calls His sheep by name and He leads them out” (John 10:3). So, these groups of distressed people are being called out by God from Egypt into the Promised Land. And that raises this question: is your name among the list of names in the Lamb’s book of Life (Revelation 20:12, 15, 21:27)? Have you responded to the call of God to leave your Egypt for the Promised Land, to leave that place of sin and enter into a living relationship with Jesus Christ? When the time comes for our ultimate Exodus, the consummation of the Kingdom of God at the end of the Age, will your name be called by Christ Jesus to enter into the Promised Land of heaven?
So, right from the very beginning, we’re told, we’re shown that this is a story about God and His people. It’s a personal story. In the case of Exodus, it’s a story about God and these 12 sons of Jacob, grandsons of Isaac, and great-grandsons of Abraham. This is a story of redemption, and that which is being redeemed is people. For us, it’s a story that’s been fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Now, verses 6-7 bring us to our second category and that’s prosperity.
The Prosperity
Watch what happens, “Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.” When I read this, my first response is to say, “Man, can God keep a promise.”
You have to go all the way back to Genesis 12, but do you remember what God said to Abraham? Actually, he was known as Abram at this time. God said, “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3). A few chapters later, in Genesis 15, God says, “Hey, Abram, come outside. Look up. See all those stars? See if you can count them. So shall your descendants be. I’m going to bless you so much that your descendants are going to multiply into a huge group, a mega group.” (Genesis 15:5, paraphrased).
You can’t count all the stars in the heavens. It’s like trying to number the grains of sand on the earth. And so, they multiplied just like God promised. Now, 400 years later, they’ve grown into a sizeable nation. Look at verse 5. How many Hebrews were there? How many Jews were in Egypt when this journey began? (70) You know how many there are by the time we get to chapter 12, and later on in Exodus? Over 600,000 men, 20 years old and above, not including women and children. It’s estimated that the Jewish people grew to as many as 2-3 million people. Talk about a “Boomer generation.” This is the “Explosion generation.” It’s huge, huge, huge numbers.
I debated on whether calling this point “the prosperity” or calling it “the promise.” Either works, but the normal, common reading of the text seems to fit prosperity. But their prosperity isn’t due to anything about them. Their growth, their success, their flourishing has nothing to do with what they brought to the table. It’s all because of God’s promise. Their prosperity is all about God’s faithfulness to Himself and to keeping His promise.
The prosperity gospel that we hear preached in America isn’t a true reflection of the biblical gospel. I don’t have the time to go into all of the nuances of the prosperity gospel. But suffice it to say that having your best life now doesn’t come anywhere close to having eternal life later, which is only possible because of Jesus’ shed blood on the cross of Calvary. The glories of heaven – eternal life, righteousness, joy, peace, perfection, God’s presence, Christ’s glorious companionship, rewards, and all else God has planned are the result of His mighty work through Christ Jesus and our faith and trust in Him.
God was faithful to His promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and indeed the Jewish people prospered. But something happened. Not only does Joseph die, but verses 8-22 show us the problem – particularly verse 8.
The Problem
“Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.” First, notice that this political figure is referred to as a “king” and not as “Pharoah.” Verse 11 refers to him as “Pharaoh,” but that term is really a title for the kings of Egypt. In fact, the term “pharaoh” literally means “great house” or the “Palace of the King.” In any case, there arose a king who didn’t know Joseph. Let me restate that. Let me paraphrase that for you; “There arose a new king who didn’t know his own history.” That’s what’s implied there. That’s what’s happened. How else can you explain it?
Listen, when you go back to Genesis 38-39, you read about how Joseph was called up – out of prison – to interpret a dream that the previous Pharaoh had. Remember that? As a result of Joseph’s successful interpretation listen to what happened. This is recorded for us in Genesis 41:
“And Pharaoh said to his servants, ‘Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?’ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.’ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.’ Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck. And he made him ride in his second chariot. And they called out before him, ‘Bow the knee!’ Thus, he set him over all the land of Egypt. Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.’ And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphenath-paneah. And he gave him in marriage Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On. So, Joseph went out over the land of Egypt. Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt” (Genesis 41:38-46).
Let me ask you a question: how do you grow up in Egypt and not know Joseph? Listen, what happened in Egypt has happened in America. And while we laugh at the clips of late-night talk show hosts walking the streets showing random people pictures of historical figures and getting blank stares and wrong answers. The fact of the matter is that some of those same folks are now in positions of governmental authority – like this king.
There was a king that did not know Joseph, that didn’t know Joseph’s history, that didn’t know Joseph’s God and how He had moved and worked in Joseph’s life. That’s our problem too. Let me change the language to make my point: “Now there arose a new set of parents in the Norris family, who did not know Jesus.” There arose a new CEO… There arose a new High School principal… There arose a new Church who did not know the Lord God Almighty. Folks, the problem that the Jews faced is the same problem that our world faces – they don’t know Jesus.
And as we’ll see moving forward, because the new king didn’t know Joseph, Joseph’s descendants – the Hebrews – were enslaved. We might have family members that don’t know Jesus. We definitely have friends and neighbors that don’t know Jesus. And, in many cases, it’s due to the fact that we haven’t shared Him with them. May we be challenged to do our part in sharing the Good News of Christ Jesus, so that our history won’t read like Exodus 1:8. We’ve all experienced a Genesis. Have we experienced an Exodus? Do you know Jesus? Do you know the One who loved you so much that He gave His one and only Son to die for your sin? Do you know the only One that can set you free from that sin? Let’s pray:
“Father in heaven, we thank You for this time and we thank You for this book – a book written some 3,500+ years ago, but a book that’s just a relevant for us today. We thank you Lord, that we’ve all had a Genesis. And those of us who know Jesus have also had an Exodus, a deliverance from the bondage of sin to become your people.
Lord, I pray, right now, for anyone who might be here this morning who doesn’t know Jesus in a personal way. They’ve had a Genesis; they’ve had a physical birth, but they’ve never been born again, they’ve never been born from above, they’ve never received the free gift of grace, the gift of redemption, the gift of complete and total forgiveness by turning from themselves and their sin and placing their faith and trust in Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. Father, would You just move in their hearts and lives, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in such a mighty way that today would not only be the beginning of a sermon series on Exodus, but that they might experience a spiritual Exodus to walk in the fullness of life that only You offer.
O God, for the rest of us, would we be encouraged and challenged to obey Your command to take the gospel of Jesus to our families, our friends, our associates, our neighbors, and around the world. Lord, we offer this prayer, we make these petitions and requests in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.”