Exodus 1 - 2

THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL

Romans 15:4 – “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”

Israel’s journey from Egypt to the Promised Land is an essential subject for Christians to study. The apostle Paul makes this clear in 1 Corinthians 10:1-11 -- “Moreover, brethren, I would not ye should be ignorant, how our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”

 Paul knew that Christians would discover vital lessons when they took time to study Israel’s journey. In many ways, Israel’s journey from Egypt to the Promised Land gives us a sort of spiritual “road map” for what to expect in our walk with God. Their successes and their failures can help you in your own journey of faith.

First let’s take a look at exactly who the children of Israel are:

Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judah and his brethren (Matthew 1:2).

What God told Abraham: And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly… Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee” (Genesis 17:1-6).

What God told Isaac: And there was a famine in the land… And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, “Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: journey in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I swear unto Abraham thy father; And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 26:1-4).

What God told Jacob: And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And he said, let me go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him, “What is thy name?” And he said Jacob. And he said, “thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with man, and hast prevailed” (Genesis 32:24-28).

And God appeared unto Jacob again… And God said unto him, “Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and He called his name Israel. And God said unto him, I am the God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins.” (Genesis 35:10-11).

And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. and He said, “I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation” (Genesis 46:2-3).

When you ask most people who are the children of Israel, most will say the Jewish people. Well, they would be right to a point but the children of Israel are made up of more than just the Jewish people.

The first thing we need to know about the children of Israel is that “Israel” is the name of a man. The covenant that God made with Abraham, He also made with his son Isaac, and grandson Jacob. God said unto Abraham, “In Isaac shall thy seed be called” (Genesis 21:12).

So far we have learned that it was Jacob that had his name changed to Israel and that God has passed on the promise to him.

Who are the children of Israel? The descendants of Jacob (Israel). And later at the end of this Bible Study we will learn they are also “children of the promise”.

And so the story begins…

Exodus 1 (The book of Exodus is about the departure of the children of Israel out of Egypt.)

The Children of Israel Oppressed

There were seventy members of Jacob’s family that came into Egypt to live with Joseph and his family, and they were called the Children of Israel.

And it came to pass that Joseph, his brothers, and all that generation died. But the children of Israel multiplied, and became great, and grew very strong, and they filled the land.

In that day a new king reigned in Egypt that did not know Joseph and his brothers, and he was afraid of the children of Israel because there were so many of them. The new king (which in that day was called Pharaoh) was afraid that if war broke out, the children of Israel would join their enemies and fight against them.

So Pharaoh made the children of Israel to become slaves. He set rulers over them and made them work very hard, and forced them to build cities for them. But the more he oppressed the children of Israel the more they multiplied and filled the land, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became.

So the Egyptians worked the children of Israel without mercy. They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar, and make bricks, and do all the work in the fields. The Egyptians were ruthless in all their demands.

Pharaoh became so alarmed at the rate the children of Israel multiplied that he gave an order to the Hebrew midwives, he told them, “When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him, but if it is a girl, let her live.”

But because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king’s orders. They allowed all the babies to live, including the boys.

So Pharaoh called for the midwives, and demanded, “Why have you done this? Why have you allowed the boys to live?

The midwives told him, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women. They are stronger and have their babies so quickly that we cannot get there in time.”

So God was good to the midwives, and the children of Israel continued to multiply, and grew more and more powerful. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

Pharaoh could not let this happen so he gave a new order to all his people. He said, “Throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River, but you may let the girls live.”

Exodus 2

The Birth of Moses

About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married. When the woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son, she saw that he was a special baby and she kept him hid for three months. But when she saw she could no longer hide him, she made a basket, and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds that grew along the bank of the Nile River. She sent the baby’s sister to stand at a distance to see what would happen to him.

Not long after, Pharaoh’s daughter came to bathe at the river. When she spotted the basket among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it for her. When she opened the basket, she saw the baby. The baby was crying and she felt sorry for him. She said, “This must be one of the Hebrew children.”

Then the baby’s sister approached the princess and asked, “Would you like me to find a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby for you?”

“Yes, do!” the princess replied. So the girl went and called the baby’s mother.

“Take this baby home and nurse him for me,” the princess told her. “I will pay you wages for your help.” So the baby’s mother took the baby home and nursed him.

The child grew, and the mother took the child and gave him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. The princess said, “I will call him Moses because I drew him out of the water.”

Many years later, when Moses became grown, he went to visit his people, the Hebrews, and he saw how they were forced to work so hard. During his visit, he saw an Egyptian beating one of the Hebrews. After looking in all directions to make sure no one was watching, Moses killed the Egyptian, and hid his body in the sand.

The next day, when Moses went out to visit again, he saw two Hebrew men fighting. Breaking the two up, he asked, “Why are you two fighting one another?”

One replied, “Who made you to be our prince and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?”

Then Moses was afraid and thought, “Will everyone know what I did?” Sure enough, Pharaoh did hear about what had happened, and he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian.

One day as Moses sat beside a well, some daughters of a priest came to draw water for their father’s flocks. But some other shepherds came and chased them away, so Moses jumped up and rescued the girls from the shepherds. He then drew water for them for their flocks.

When the girls returned home to Reuel, their father, he asked, “Why are you back so soon today?”

“An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds today,” they answered. “He also drew water for us and watered our flocks.”

“Where is he?” their father asked. “Why did you leave him there? Go, invite him to come and eat with us.”

Moses accepted the invitation, and he settled there with him. Reuel had seven daughters, and in time, he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses to be his wife. Later she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, and said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.”

Years passed, and the Pharaoh of Egypt died, but the children of Israel continued to grow under their heavy burden of slavery. They cried and their cry reached God, and he heard their groaning. God remembered the covenant he had made with Abraham, Isaac, and with Jacob.

And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God was concerned about them.