Exiting Egypt: Chapter One – Part 2

Exiting Egypt: Chapter One –

A People Who Refused to Die

By Dennis Lee Part 2 of 5

Exodus 1:1-22

The first word is Covenant

Read Ex. 1:1-7

Exodus is the sequel to Genesis. The first seven verses connect us to the account given in Genesis. In fact, look at how literal this is

• Exodus 1:1-4 virtually repeat Genesis 35:22-26

• Exodus 1:5 reiterates Genesis 46:27

• Exodus 1:6 connects with the ending of Genesis 50:26

• Exodus 1:7 reveals the fulfillment of Genesis 1:28; 15:5

Now, it has been estimated that around 350 years have passed since Joseph’s death to the time of Moses’ birth.

And what we see is the faithfulness of God in the keeping of His covenant. That is the lesson of this first part, The Faithfulness of God.

It is really hard to understand the full impact of these verses if we don’t understand God’s faithfulness to His covenant; that God is a covenant keeping God.

You see, God has an ongoing agreement with His people, and that includes those of the New Testament church. This is seen in the words of Hosea.

And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; then I will say to those who were not My people, 'You are My people!' And they shall say, 'You are my God!' (Hosea 2:23 NKJV cf. 1 Pet. 2:10)

Peter repeats these words as an expression that this Scripture is fulfilled in the New Testament church.

But it all began with Abraham.

Now the Lord had said to Abram: "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 (Gen. 12:1-2 NKJV)

And then by faith Abraham departed as the Lord has spoken to him (Gen. 12:4). That was the beginning of a great journey of faith, which culminated when he was 99 and Sarah 90.

I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly (Gen. 17:1-2 NKJV)

And so it was that the Lord fulfilled His promise and gave to them a son who would continue to fulfill God’s covenant, Isaac. One of my favorite verses concerning this miraculous birth and of Abraham’s faith is found in the book of Romans. Of Abraham Paul said,

Who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be." (Rom. 4:18 NKJV)

Abraham believed in God’s promise, in the faithfulness of God, and therefore did not consider his or Sarah’s age, or the fact that Sarah womb was dead, that is, she was unable to deliver a child. God is indeed faithful.

And so, Exodus is a continuation of that promise of that covenant, which is found in the names of Isaac’s son, Jacob’s, 12 sons and a total of seventy person’s who made that trek to Egypt, and who, in the next 350 or so years became so fruitful and multiplied to such an extent that it is said that they were more numerous than the Egyptians.

This move was in accordance to God’s word and promise to Jacob, when God told Jacob,

I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there (Gen. 46:3)

This was then to fulfill what God told to Abraham earlier

Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years (Gen. 15:13 NKJV)

And so, the lesson of God’s covenant agreement with Abram, Isaac and Jacob, is that He is faithful to keep His promises to you and me. We can depend on Him.

So, let’s put ourselves in the picture. As Christians we are in covenant with God, His New Covenant as promised in Jeremiah 31, which has been sealed by the blood of Jesus shed for us as He died upon the cross. For you see, that is the law of the covenant. Without blood, a covenant cannot be ratified, which is seen in each covenant that God has made with His people. Further, without blood there is no forgiveness of sin, which the Law dictates and the writer of Hebrews confirms (Lev. 17:11; Heb. 9:22). (We’ll look further into this when we look at the Passover Lamb)

And so we can trust the promise of God that our sins have been forgiven through belief in Jesus Christ and His death for us upon the cross. And with that promise is the same promise that He will keep with us as He kept and protected Israel, His chosen people. Some of those promises include,

Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6 NKJV)

He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Heb. 13:5b; cf. Deut. 31:6-8)

And so, whatever is going on in our lives, whatever adversity we may be experiencing, whatever sorrow and pain, we know that we have a faithful covenant keeping God who loves us and will see us through to His promises.

So we are not to lose heart and give up. We are not to lose faith. The God in whom we serve is the same faithful God who delivered Israel out of their bondages and into the Promised Land. And so He too will deliver all of us.