Exodus
1 – 4
All Jacobs brothers are dying away leaving their children to
multiply, which they do quite well! By verse 1:11 the king of Egypt is
concerned:
When you arrive in
Egypt, I want you to pay Pharaoh a visit. Make sure you perform all the wonders
that I have entrusted to your hand. But I am going to harden Pharaoh’s stony
heart, so that he will not free the people.
So we see how the people become enslaved.
It was not from Egypt conquering them, but rather the king getting worried they
would revolt. When rulers throne is threatened they tend to do stupid things,
as seen throughout history. In this case it was all part of the plan.
Think about it Jacobs 12 sons would have
all died in their land if Joseph was not sold into slavery. They would have
remained in comfort in Egypt and not inhabited the Promised Lands as God
promised if they were left to grow. No, we look at God’s plan in very short
time slices, not generations. God works wonders over time and you just have to
open your eyes to see this. My story over the last 15 years may be proof of
that, life was not smooth at all, but we are in a wonderful spot today.
Verse 2:9 shows the funny way God works:
Pharaoh’s
Daughter (to the nurse): Here! Take this child and
nurse him for me, and I will pay you for your services.
So the woman took
the child—who was secretly her own son—and nursed him just as
Pharaoh’s daughter had instructed.
Here
she abandons her child to spare his life and God arranges it so she can raise
him in the palace. How cool is that?
Verse
3:14 is one that we need to really absorb:
Eternal One: 14 I AM
WHO I AM. This is what you should tell the people of Israel: “I AM has sent me
to rescue you.”
First “The Eternal One” is derived from the
Hebraic word meaning “I am”. This is one of the most powerful statements when
you think about it. Who is God? You can write a novel and just scratch the
surface of who God is or just say “He IS”. God is so far above our
understanding, yet can be described so simply.
Now this is part of the Bible that excites me because we get
to see God triumph over lesser gods. This will unfold over the next few
readings from Exodus and understand more fully verse 4:21 where Pharaoh’s heart
is hardened:
When you arrive in
Egypt, I want you to pay Pharaoh a visit. Make sure you perform all the wonders
that I have entrusted to your hand. But I am going to harden Pharaoh’s stony
heart, so that he will not free the people.
Why would God harden Pharaoh’s heart and
allow such destruction? Wait and see!! It’s COOL!!!