Episode 348 - "The LORD God calls Moses" - Exodus 3:1-6

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Our last episode concluded with God (Elohim) hearing the Israelites' groaning, remembering his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and seeing the people of Israel. Finally, Moses wrote, “and God knew.” God was never unaware of their troubles. In fact, God had foretold to Abraham that this would happen. When Moses wrote that God remembered his covenant, it does not mean that he had forgotten it and then suddenly recalled it. It means that, in God’s sovereign time, he brought his attention to it. Christians “remember” Jesus’ death on the cross through the bread and the cup in communion. It’s the same kind of thing. We haven’t forgotten about Jesus and his death. But we need to especially bring it to the forefront of our minds.

The story transitions to Moses keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro. Wait a minute! Didn’t we read in chapter two that his father-in-law was named Reuel? As mentioned in the last episode, some scholars believe that Reuel was actually the grandfather, but was addressed as father. We read in the New Testament that people referred to Abraham as “our father.” In reality, he was many generations removed, but still referred to as father. The bottom line is that it’s not really important to the story. But there are logical explanations of differences.

In the first verse of chapter three, Moses is shepherding the flock near the “mountain of God (Elohim). The next verse informs the reader that “the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush.” (Exo. 3:2) Yet, the bush was not burning up. The interesting thing to me here is the mention of the divine name, represented in English as “LORD,” with all capital letters. Understand that at the time of this event in Moses’ life, there was no apparent revelation to him of the divine name. Moses writes this later in his life and, apparently, chooses when to speak of God in general terms, such as Elohim, and when to specify his divine name. When we read Genesis, Elohim is used in chapter one to describe the Creator God. But when he provides more detail in chapter two, “the LORD God” is given the credit as the Creator. He is the one who speaks to Adam and puts him in the garden. He is the one who gives him instruction. Moses is careful to inform his readers that the God who spoke to him is the LORD.

The LORD got Moses’ attention by the spectacle of the burning bush that did not burn up. Moses’ intrigue led him to take a closer look. At that time, the LORD called Moses by name, and Moses responded. The angel of the LORD instructed him to take off his shoes because he was on holy ground. We are not told why the shoes made a difference. But I’ve heard it preached that Moses ' sandals were manmade items that came between him and what the LORD had made and consecrated. That sounds nice. But the real point is that obedience to the LORD’s command was much more essential. It’s an act of faith.

The LORD then explained that he was the God of Moses’ ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses’ response to that was to hide his face out of fear of God. This last detail will be significant later in Exodus.

One must be careful not to assume that God will appear to them in such dramatic ways. The events of this story and others in the Bible are not intended for the readers to draw conclusions that suggest God will do the same thing to or for them. But it may be reasonable to suggest that God appeared to Moses as he did, knowing it would reveal truths about God that would benefit many more people than Moses and the Israelites in bondage. Such principles that we could glean are: God can and will draw people to himself. God knows who we are. It’s essential to have a reverent or respectful kind of fear before God.

Episode348-"The LORD God calls Moses" Exodus3v1-6

David Largent

Episode 347 - "And God knew" - Exodus 2:23-25

Ex. 2:23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

Sometimes, the brief and seemingly ambiguous sections of Scripture contain some of the greatest treasures of truth. This section moves the story from Moses' life as a shepherd back to the primary conflict of God’s covenant people, Israel, being enslaved in Egypt. On the surface, the statements of this section do not appear all that encouraging. But let’s take a closer look.

The first thing we’re told here is that the king of Egypt died. Who is this? This was the king who wanted to kill Moses due to Moses killing of the Egyptian who abused his fellow Hebrew. This king was the Pharaoh who had greatly oppressed the Israelites in slavery. The last time we were told about the death of a Pharaoh was when the one who both blessed Israel and was blessed by Israel died. The next Pharaoh had a completely different attitude about the Israelites. Does the death of this Pharaoh signify a change and offer hope of deliverance from that bondage? The second half of verse 23 gives us the answer, “and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help.” (Ex. 2:23b) The transition from one king to another revealed to them that there was no end in sight of their situation.

This transitional section provides a succinct list of events that occur in succession, setting the stage for what is to come. First, the people “groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help.” (Notice the cause of their groaning is their enslavement. This will be important later.) Who did they cry out to? We’re not told. The text does not say they cried out to the LORD. The picture here is that they are looking for help from anywhere.

The last part of verse 23 says, “Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. (Ex. 2:23c)” The Hebrew word for God here and throughout this section is the more generic term Elohim. (The LORD has not yet revealed his name.)

Verse 24 gives us the next two things that happened. First, God “heard their groaning.” Second, “God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.” (Ex. 2:24b) This helps us understand that the God who heard their groaning was the same God who had spoken to their forefathers, provided for them, and blessed them. This detail tips off the reader to recall that the covenant God had made with them had foretold the enslavement of Abraham’s descendants and God’s promise to deliver them out of that oppression back to the land God had promised them. Hope is starting to be revealed.

Verse 25 reads, “God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.” The idea of God seeing the people of Israel and their situation might suggest his imminent favor toward them. Numbers 6:24-26 is a priestly blessing that includes “may his face shine upon you.” At the very least, I think the point is to communicate that God is fully aware of their problem. This fact is emphasized by the last statement, “and God knew.” Listen to what Dr. Duane A. Garrett says about this brief statement: “It does not primarily mean that God ‘understood’ in the sense of empathizing with their suffering. . . . This assertion most dramatically sets the earthly appearance—that evil has triumphed and that God is nowhere to be found—against the heavenly reality that God does see, know, and care. The heavenly truth calls both the sufferer and the reader to faith.”

Wow! What a powerful reminder that God is never unaware or uncaring. We may not understand the purpose of why he let this happen to Israel or why bad things happen to people today. But these few verses remind us that God can hear our most desperate cries for help. He sees, knows, and cares about us. There may be many factors in our experience that don’t line up with what we expect or would like. But we must trust in his ability and goodness to do what is right. That’s faith.

Episode347-Exodus2v23-25

David Largent

Episode 346 - "Moses' Conscience" - Exodus 2:11-22

[11] One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. [12] He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. [13] When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” [14] He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” [15] When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well.

[16] Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. [17] The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and watered their flock. [18] When they came home to their father Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come home so soon today?” [19] They said, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and watered the flock.” [20] He said to his daughters, “Then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.” [21] And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah. [22] She gave birth to a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.” (ESV)

In our previous episodes, we read about how the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob not only reached a foreign land but were later enslaved and oppressed in Egypt. This fact resonates with what God had revealed to Abraham when he promised that he would not leave them there, but deliver them out of that land to the land God had promised them.

If we start reading Exodus without having read Genesis, we miss out on important details beyond the Abrahamic Covenant. Exodus might better be titled, “Genesis Volume 2.” We are not just anticipating God’s solution to deliver this people group out of bondage, but we are also anticipating the “seed of the woman” who will crush the head of the serpent (the devil) and death itself. These stories are interrelated, and we should not lose sight of this as we read.

So far, the indicators point to a child named Moses, who was protected from the Pharaoh's genocidal death edict, as a key figure and likely protagonist in this Exodus story. He is a Hebrew child born to two descendants of Levi, a son of Jacob (Israel), who, along with his brother Simeon, massacred a community of Hivites in revenge for one of their men raping their sister Dinah. Will this family history have any bearing upon the events that will unfold in Exodus?

An interesting twist in the story is that while baby Moses' life was spared, he was given to his biological mother by the daughter of Pharaoh to nurse. He likely spent at least the first few years of his life with his own mother and culture before being given to Pharaoh’s daughter to be raised in Pharaoh’s household. It’s a twist that makes the reader wonder where his allegiance will ultimately lie.

The answer to that comes very quickly when the story jumps from his early childhood to his adult years. In fact, we understand that Moses was nearing 40 years of age. Verse 11 tells us, “he went out to his people and looked on their burdens.” This suggests that he not only understood his identity as a Hebrew, but that he was compassionate toward their plight and had a conflict of conscience about his position as a member of Pharaoh’s household who oppressed his people. When he watched an Egyptian beating a fellow Hebrew, he murdered the Egyptian and hid his body, thinking no one had seen him. (Maybe a little of that Levitical heritage had come through.)

The next day, he tried to intervene to bring peace between two fighting Hebrew men. The offender asked Moses if he intended to kill him like he killed the Egyptian. Certainly, this man would not have mocked Moses, someone from Pharaoh’s house, unless he knew he had some power over him. There is a bit of irony in the man’s rhetorical question, “Who had made you a prince and judge over us?” (v. 14) As a member of Pharaoh’s household, it seems likely that he was a prince and judge over them. More importantly, we’ll soon discover that God will make Moses a prince and judge over the people. The bottom line is that Moses realized that his crime had been witnessed and his life was in danger. He fled to the east out of Egypt.

Moses stopped at a well where seven daughters of a Midianite priest brought their father’s flocks to water. Other shepherds began to drive them away, but Moses defended them and drove the men away. This act of kindness or justice by Moses led their father, Reuel, to marry off his daughter Zipporah to Moses and make Moses part of his family.

Some interesting facts about these details are that, first, the Midianites were Semitic people. They were descendants of Abraham and his second wife. We don’t know exactly who, what, or how the Midianites worshipped. However, in reading Genesis, Abraham was very specific in sending his servant back to his home area and people to find a wife for his son, Isaac. It was important to Abraham that his son not marry a Canaanite. It seems to me that Moses includes these details to reveal the LORD’s sovereign hand in bringing him into a relation with distant relatives.

A second detail is that the priest of Midian is named Reuel here, but later named Jethro. Scholars suggest that Reuel may have actually been the biological grandfather of the women and Jethro their biological father. Reuel would have been the head of the family and addressed as father. There are other possibilities besides a mistake in the text.

Finally, while we know nothing about the religion of the Midianites. However, later in Exodus 18, we’ll read that Jethro worshipped the LORD for what he had done for the Israelites.

We conclude this section with the birth of Moses and Zipporah’s son, named Gershom, because Moses says, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.” (v. 22) Notably, this has been the case for Moses his entire life.

As this story continues to unfold over decades, the evidence of God’s hand remains consistently evident. I believe that’s true today. God is not some force in the universe with no concern for or involvement in the events that unfold in our lives. God will bring all his promises to fulfillment according to his will.

Episode 346 - "Moses' Conscience" -Exodus 2:11-22

David Largent

Episode 345 "Moses is spared" - Exodus 2:1-10

Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. 3 When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. 4 And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. 5 Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” 8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. 9 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”

The first chapter of Exodus reveals a sharp contrast in the attitude of the Pharaoh of Egypt (whom we read about in Egypt) toward Jacob’s family and a later Pharaoh who knew nothing about the events that brought Jacob’s son Joseph to Egypt and, in turn, his whole family. The earlier Pharaoh and all of Egypt had been blessed because God used Joseph to provide for them during a severe famine. Jacob’s family was a blessing to Egypt, and Pharaoh and Egypt had become a blessing to them. This was the outworking of the positive side of the Abrahamic Covenant. But the new Pharaoh had no knowledge of those things and became paranoid of the ever-growing number of Israelites in Egypt. That ignorance and fear led to a genocidal mandate to all Egypt to throw every newborn male Hebrew baby into the Nile River. This is the conflict of the next epic narrative that we encounter in Exodus.

We read that a Levite man married a Levite woman. In other words, they had both descended from Jacob’s son Levi. What do we know about him? We know that he and his brother Simeon murdered a community of Hitites whose men had agreed to be circumcised, the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant, in order to live in a peaceful arrangement with Jacob’s family. One of their prominent men had raped Jacob’s daughter Dinah and wanted to marry her. Dinah’s brothers concocted this plan, and when the men were sore a few days after the circumcisions, Levi and Simeon went into their village and massacred them. (Gen 34) Not only did they murder these people in vengeance, but they also abused the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant to do it. Jacob was not pleased with this and, on his deathbed, pronounced that the descendants of Levi and Simeon would be “divided” and “scattered.” (Gen 49:5-7)

In light of this mandate to kill all male Hebrew babies, I suspect that we’re supposed to understand this detail of a Levite man and a Levite woman having a male baby might be an instrument of God’s wrath against this Pharaoh. But, of course, the first thing that needs to happen is that this male Hebrew baby is delivered from this edict.

The story moves quickly, explaining that his mother successfully hid him for a few months. Then, knowing that it couldn’t last long, she contrived a plan that, ideally, would protect her family from retribution by Pharaoh and possibly spare her baby as well. She made a floating basket, put him in the basket, and put the basket in the Nile among the reeds. Once again, I’m conjecturing. But it seems to me that her plan was a clever loophole because if she were found out, she could say, “I put my baby in the Nile as commanded.” Putting him in the reeds may have offered more protection from crocodiles and the dangers of a swifter current. We’re then told that the baby’s sister watched to see what would happen. My guess is that it was too much for his mother, having just made the most difficult decision of her life.

The story moves quickly from telling us about this baby boy who was a Hebrew and a Levite. His life was preserved and even returned to his own family until he was weaned. I would guess (once again) that he was even circumcised. Later in Moses’ life, God almost struck Moses dead because his own son was not circumcised. Moses’ wife Zipporah circumcised the boy. This suggests that Moses had already been circumcised. Surely, the LORD would not have given him an exception to the command.

Scholars debate the origin of the name Moses. Since Pharaoh’s daughter was Egyptian, some scholars point to a similar Egyptian name meaning "child." They also assume that Pharaoh’s daughter could not understand Hebrew. Even if she did, would she have given him a Hebrew name since she was going to raise him as her own child in the house of Pharaoh? Moses’ Hebrew name means " to draw out.” Pharaoh’s daughter had drawn him out of the water. God was drawing him out from among the Hebrews for a purpose. While I’m inserting much of my own reasoning into the interpretation of this text, perhaps Pharaoh’s daughter gave him the Egyptian name inspired by the LORD, with the view that there would be a double entendre, and later Moses and the Hebrews understood the Hebrew meaning.

So far, this story has established the scene and the conflict, and is clearly introducing us to a major character. But what we should recognize most of all is that God is in control. This new Pharaoh has already revealed that he is not learning this lesson and is inclined to do things his own way. Since God, hundreds of years earlier, had foretold to Abraham this oppression of his descendants and promised to deliver them back to the promised land, we should anticipate that this promise is about to be fulfilled. There will be much more conflict and trouble. But God is in control and will fulfill his promises. We can never hear this too much.

Episode345-"Moses is spared" - Exodus2v1-10

David Largent

Episode 344 - "Pharaoh's Genocidal Plans" - Exodus 1:15-22

Ex. 1:15 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.”

In our last episode, we were introduced to the initial and primary conflict in the Exodus story. Continuing what Moses recorded in Genesis, the events that unfolded reflected God’s promises to Abraham as well as the warning in the Abrahamic Covenant that Abraham’s descendants would be oppressed in a foreign land for 400 years. God was blessing the Israelites and causing them to multiply. But they were also in a foreign land as God had foretold. Then, after Joseph had died and the Pharaoh who had welcomed Jacob’s family had died, the reader is told that a new king arose who did not know Joseph. The conflict is revealed through the digression of the new Pharaoh’s ignorance, leading to fear, paranoia, and finally, oppression of the Israelites. But Moses noted, “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” (Exo 1:12). Pharaoh’s desired effect of limiting the number of the Hebrews had a reverse effect. They multiplied even more. God was revealing that his power and plans were greater than Pharaoh’s.

Rather than backtracking on his plans, the Pharaoh doubled down on his plans and told the Hebrew midwives to kill the Hebrew boys when they were born, but to let the girls live. Scholars debate whether the midwives were actually Hebrews themselves or Egyptians serving the Hebrew women who were delivering children. At least one scholar has argued that the names Shiphrah and Puah are Semitic, suggesting they are Hebrew. What’s important to Moses is the fact that they did not obey Pharaoh’s command because they “feared God”. This fact was reiterated, emphasizing the importance of fearing God rather than Pharaoh. This is a principle that the Israelites to whom this is written are those who would later be on the cusp of entering into the promised land. Moses even wrote that God blessed these women with families of their own because of their commitment to respecting God.

Scholars have also noted the fact that the women lied about why they hadn’t followed Pharaoh’s command. Clearly, fearing God was the primary act of faith for these women, overriding any violation of truthfulness toward Pharaoh, who did not fear God.

What did Moses tell his readers then? He added, “And the people multiplied and grew very strong” (Exo 1:20). Every time Pharaoh did something to limit the reproduction of the Hebrews, God caused them to multiply and be strong. God was sending a message to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh was not listening. In fact, Pharaoh now went public with his plan. He commanded all the people that male Hebrew babies were to be cast into the Nile. The river that brought life through agricultural sustenance was to become an instrument of death.

The primary point revealed here is that no one can defeat God's plans. Pharaoh is going to fight God and will pay a high price for his defiance. I would suggest that we see this truth revealed time and again through the Scriptures. If we take this to heart, it should remind us that God has made promises to all who will trust Him, and we can rest knowing that nothing can defeat those plans.

Episode344-"Pharaoh's Genocidal Plans" -Exodus1v15-22

David Largent

Episode 343 - "The New King Did Not Know Joseph" - Exodus 1:8-14

Ex. 1:8 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.

Do you remember how the book of Genesis opens? God, who was present at the beginning of time, created everything. It’s simple and direct, but it creates the setting for the story of Creation, and the lone character in the story at this point is God. Then, verse 2 reveals a conflict; the earth was formless and void, and it was dark. What makes a story a story is the plot, which reveals how that conflict will be resolved.

Exodus is also a story within a greater story setup in Genesis. The book of Genesis has the reader looking for the “Seed of the woman” who will resolve the problem of sin and death by crushing the serpent's head. (Gen 3:15) As Genesis unfolds, we find that God chooses a man named Abram (later Abraham) and makes a covenant promise to him and his descendants to bless them, give them land and innumerable descendants, and they will be a blessing to the nations. God promised that he would bless those who blessed Abraham and curse those who cursed Abraham. Oddly, God also told Abraham that his descendants would someday be in a foreign land and oppressed for four hundred years, but that God would remember his covenant, deliver them out of bondage, and bring them back to the land which God had promised to them.

At the end of Genesis, we read about how God used Abraham’s great-grandson Joseph to be a blessing to the nation of Egypt as well as his family by managing the grain stored up in preparation for seven years of great famine that God had revealed in a dream to Pharaoh, which Joseph interpreted. Up to this point, and through the introduction to Exodus, the covenant promise is working out positively. Abraham’s grandson Jacob (Israel) and his family are in a foreign land. But there is a mutual blessing happening. Egypt has been blessed because the Israelites were welcomed, and God has caused the Israelites to thrive.

But we are soon introduced to a conflict. Joseph had died, and the Pharaoh who knew the history had died, and a new Pharaoh who “did not know Joseph” came to power. (Ex 1:8) The conflict develops quickly. Ignorance led to fear. Fear developed into paranoia. The paranoia led to the bias against and oppression of the Israelites. Now, we see how God’s warning to Abraham is coming to reality. Soon, we will see exactly how far removed this new Pharaoh is from the one who trusted God’s revelation as interpreted by Joseph. As a result, we will read how faithful God is to his word.

So, what might we gain from this brief introduction to the conflict of the Exodus story? I don’t think one has to try too hard to recognize that what occurred in the mind of this new Pharaoh happens in individuals today. Ignorance of what God has done in the past can lead to fear and bias against God and other people. Perhaps it doesn’t lead to such extreme actions in every case. But when we live in ignorance, fear, and some measure of paranoia, we may alienate ourselves from others to whom God may want us to be a blessing. As the story of the Bible continues, the Israelites will be instructed to set up memorials that will evoke questions from later generations and create opportunities to pass on the stories of God’s faithfulness to his promises. The God of the Bible makes Himself known, and we must remember that He is a God who keeps the promises He makes and wants to bless those who follow Him.

Episode 343 - "The New King Did Not Know Joseph" - Exodus 1:8-14

David Largent

Episode 342 - God is faithful to his covenant promises - Exodus 1:1-7

Exodus 1:1–7

[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. (ESV)

Prior to our study through the four-chapter letter from the apostle Paul to the Christians at Philippi, we walked through Genesis, the first book of the Bible. I believe that while we can be served by studying any book of the Bible, it is valuable not to bounce around too much so as not to forget that the rest of the Bible is heavily dependent upon the context set by the book of Genesis.

Yes. Genesis has many stories and personalities that are interesting in and of themselves. These stories tell us about God and humanity alike. However, unless we read the rest of the Scriptures with a healthy understanding of Genesis, we’ll miss a lot. The opening verses of Exodus remind us of important things revealed in Genesis and prepare us for what is about to be revealed.

If I were to summarize key points of Genesis, it would look as follows:

The God of the Bible is eternal, good, powerful, and loves both justice and mercy. We see the eternal existence, power, and goodness in the first few chapters of the Bible. God created humanity for a relationship with him and with others. God provided an abundance of provisions for his creatures. God is the authority of right and wrong. There are consequences of violating God’s commands. Yet we find God consistently showing mercy and hope. This is most evident in the promise of a “Seed” of the woman who would someday crush the head of the serpent and death itself. As Genesis unfolds, we read about different people who make us wonder for a little bit if they are that “Seed.”

God chose and called a man named Abram (Abraham), who did not know Him, to trust Him and follow a command to leave his home with his family and go to a land that God would show him. Abram did. God made a covenant promise to bless him, give him a great land, and innumerable descendants. That covenant promise was passed down to his miracle son, Isaac, and then to his grandson, Jacob (later named Israel). The covenant included a revelation by God to Abraham that his descendants would someday be enslaved in a foreign land for 400 years. However, God promised that He would remember His covenant and deliver the people from that bondage back to the land of promise. Genesis concludes with all of Jacob’s family in Egypt, a foreign land.

So, the first seven verses of Exodus connect what is about to happen with what has been revealed before. We believe that Moses is the human author of the first five books of the Bible. So, Exodus is not so much the second book as it is the second volume of what Moses has to write. We also believe that Moses wrote this five-volume work at the end of his life. Who is Moses? We’re about to find out. For the time being, we are told the names of each of Jacob’s sons who represent the twelve tribes. Everyone of Jacob’s family is in Egypt.

The next thing we’re told is that each of those children died. This is a reminder that the effects of sin, which began in Genesis 3, are still at play. People die because of the sin of humanity. The Seed has not yet come and crushed the head of the serpent, who was chiefly responsible for the deceit and temptation that led the first people to disobey God.

Then, verse 7 reports that their descendants had multiplied greatly and were strong. Why does Moses write this? To show us that God had been faithful to His covenant promise to greatly increase Abraham’s descendants and bless them. This is a central theme throughout the Scriptures: God is faithful to His word.

Let’s keep this in our minds this week. Even as we hear, see, or read about injustices in the world, let us be reminded that God wants what is good for us, that God is both just and merciful, and that God is faithful and will be faithful to those who, like Abraham, hear his call and trust Him.

Episode342-God is faithful to his covenant promises - Exodus1v1-7

David Largent