Lesson #02

RETURN TO SYLLABUS

EXODUS 1 and 2
Lesson #02
BONDAGE AND BIRTH

• Memory verse: Exodus 1:13

• The book of Exodus begins with a repetition of the end of the book of Genesis. In this way, it tells us that Exodus begins exactly where Genesis ended.

• Read Exo 1:1-7 The twelve tribes in Egypt
• It is very important to notice that all the 12 tribes of Israel are represented in Egypt.
• Why did the Israelites make Egypt their home?
• They came down to Egypt from the promised land to escape from famine in the days of Joseph.
• At the end of the book of Genesis, the Israelites were given a favorable status in Egypt because of Joseph who provided leadership and provisions for all the nation of Egypt in a time of famine.
• Read Exo 1:8-14 The Israelites in bondage
• A Pharaoh that did not know Joseph:
• Because the Egyptians did not teach the children their history, the name of Joseph and his actions in saving the people of Egypt were soon lost.
• The Israelites also were often guilty of this same negligence concerning God’s intervention in the lives of the people. They neglected to teach the children accurate history.
• Our generations today fall into the same error. Therefore, over time subsequent generations don’t know God, or His Word, or what He had done for the people in the past.
• Ignorance of history is history’s greatest tragedy.
• Pharaoh’s plan is like Satan’s plan, to put God’s people in bondage.
• What reason did Pharaoh give for putting the Israelites in bondage?
• The Israelites had multiplied to such a number that the Pharaoh feared that they would side with Egypt’s enemies in times of war and cause the downfall of the nation.
• Because we cannot accurately pinpoint the date, we cannot determine if the threat was real or imagined.
• Seventy Israelites came down to Egypt from the promised land. At the time of the exodus, there were approximately 2,000,000 Israelites.
• The question occurs at this point concerning the length of time that the Israelites were in Egypt from Joseph to the Exodus.
• Almost all footnotes in study Bibles and Bible commentaries will tell you that they were in Egypt for some 400 years. What the Bible commentaries do not tell you is that there is a major problem with that number.
• Read Gal 3:16-17
• This passage tells us that there were 430 years from the giving of the covenant to Abraham to the giving of the covenant to Moses.
• Because of this passage, the Israelites could not have been in Egypt for 400 years.
• Read Gen 12:4 and Exo 12:40
• If we read Exo 12:40 carefully in Hebrew, we see that “the sojourning” of the Israelites was 430 years of living on the road, not the dwelling in Egypt.
• Therefore, the 430 years period begins with Abraham’s entrance into the promised land in Gen 12:1 and ends 3 months after the exodus when God gave the covenant to Moses on Mt. Sinai.
• Read Act 7:6-8a
• This passage in Acts refers to the short time periods in those 400 years when the Israelites were outside the promised land.
• Abraham went to Egypt because of famine.
• Isaac went to Egypt because of famine.
• Joseph went to Egypt as a slave. Then Jacob (Israel) went to Egypt because of famine.
• You will notice that verse 8 refers to Abraham and not to Moses.
• How long were the Israelites in Egypt?
• Using these related Bible texts and the genealogies given in the book of Genesis, we can calculate that the Israelites were in Egypt for only 215 years.
• However, this number, too, presents us with a problem. Was this period of 215 years long enough for the Israelites to multiply from 70 people at the end of Genesis to 2,000,000 people at the end of Exodus even though God blessed the people in this way, “…and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.” (20)
• Why did God allow His people to be put into slavery?
• The promises of God are obtained by faith. That is as true today as it was in the Old Testament. A lack of faith causes man to become subject to bondage under the world system. (Gal 4:3)
• Remember that Egypt represents the world system, speaking spiritually.
• The development of an organized system of slavery (11):
• They used the slaves to build, “treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.” (11)
• There is much speculation as to the location of these cities.

• Read Exo 1:15-22 Forced birth control
• The midwives, Shiphrah and Puah:
• The meaning of these two names is interesting. Shiphrah means = beauty, and Puah means = splendor.
• These two names are Semitic names which tells us that these two women were Israelites. They were the two women in charge of all the midwives among the Israelites.
• The Pharaoh’s government attempted to control the prolific birth of Israelite babies by insisting that the Israelite midwives kill the boy babies.
• The more oppressive the government became, the more prolific were the Israelites.
• This was strictly by God’s design. God was developing a nation of people.
• This very fact of God’s blessing upon the Israelites prompted the forced birth control by the Egyptian government.
• However, the midwives refused to obey the government.
• Read Rom 13:1 and Pro 12:22
• How could God bless the midwives (Exo 1:20) for disobeying authority and lying to them?
• The Bible clearly tells us that all authority in this world is placed there by the sovereignty of God. However, God is the ultimate moral authority.
• When the believer makes these kinds of decisions, he must weigh the lesser of two moral evils. In this case, the lesser moral wrong is that of deceit and lying as opposed to the greater moral wrong of murder.
• Read Exo 2:1-10 The birth of a deliverer
• Despite Satan’s attempt to destroy the lineage to Christ by destroying all male babies, God’s plan was not destroyed.
• Moses, a type or prefigure of Jesus Christ
• In the Old Testament, Moses is one of the primary prefigures of Jesus Christ. Both Moses and Jesus are called the deliverer of God’s people. Even at the time of Moses’ birth, we see the first parallel likeness to events surrounding Christ’s birth.
• Read Mat 2:16
• Both Moses and Jesus were born during a time of political danger, when it was dangerous to be a Jew.
• In both cases, they were born at a time when the Israelites were under bondage to a foreign power.
• Behind the spiritual scene in both cases, is the attempt by Satan to prevent the birth of a deliverer.
• The significance of Moses’ lineage and name:
• Read Heb 11:23-30
• The name, Moses:
• According to Exo 2:10, Pharaoh’s daughter named the child, Moses.
• While the name, Moses, means = one drawn out from the water, it is a Hebrew name. It is possible that the name she gave Moses had an Egyptian addition to it, like “Ahmose” = one drawn out from the water and born of the moon god or “Irumose” = one drawn out from the water of the Nile.
• In Egyptian, the name, Moses, means = “Mos” = Son of Egypt “Moshem” = drawn out.
• According to Heb 11:24, Moses refused to have his name linked to Egyptian royalty, but instead chose to identify himself with his people, the Jews.
• Moses’ parents:
• Moses, who wrote Exodus, does not mention the names of his parents here in chapter 2. However, later in Exodus he did. Therefore we know that his father’s name was Amram and his mother’s name was Jochebed. (Exo 6:20)
• The name, Amram, means = people exalted; red.
• The name, Jochebed, means = Jehovah is honor or glory.
• The miracle
• Moses’ mother hid him for three months to protect his life. Finally, led by God, she made a waterproof basket. She placed Moses in the basket and sent Miriam, his sister to watch over the basket as it floated on the Nile River.
• The historian, Josephus, writes that an angel told Abraham that Moses would be a deliverer of His people.
• The basket was covered with pitch to make it waterproof.
• The Hebrew word for “pitch” is the same Hebrew word used for “atonement”, where Jesus Christ is the atonement (pitch) between man’s sins and God’s holiness.
• Notice that faith is very practical and very active.
• Jochebed does not passively trust the Lord by keeping Moses in the house hoping the soldiers would not notice a crying baby. Instead she creates a plan.
• The name, Miriam, means = fat; thick; or strong.
• Jochebed probably knew that the Pharaoh’s daughter bathed at a secluded spot at a specific time of day on a regular basis.
• The miracle was in the heart of Pharaoh’s daughter. She knew Moses was a Hebrew baby, but she took pity on him.
• Miriam was sent to watch over the baby floating in the basket. When the baby was found, it was Miriam that suggested she find a woman to nurse the baby. Of course, that woman was Jochebed, Moses’ mother.
• Jochebed was allowed to keep the baby at home legally and nurse him until he was weaned (for about 5 years). And besides that marvelous intervention of God, she got paid for it.
• “…and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son.”

(10)

• After the child was weaned, Jochebed took the child to Pharaoh’s daughter. She named the child Moses, and he became her son.
• If the pharaoh and his wife had no sons, Moses would have been heir to the throne of Egypt.
• Read Act 7:20-29
• Moses spent 40 years in Pharaoh’s court. He was highly educated in the culture of Egypt. He was trained in the Temple of the Sun and had access to Egypt’s great library. It was the best education in the world at that time. He was trained to be a leader and more specifically a Pharaoh. He looked like an Egyptian, talked like an Egyptian, and acted like an Egyptian.
• The technical and scientific advances of the Egyptians were phenomenal:
• Significant advances in the knowledge of astronomy including the fact that the earth was round and not flat.
• Significant advances in chemistry, especially in embalming the dead and the manufacture of brilliant colors:
• Science today has no embalming techniques equal to the ancient Egyptians.
• The chemical formulas for color that does not fade even after 4000 years is not equaled today and does not compare to the ancient Egyptians.
• The astounding thing about Moses and all his Egyptian education is that, when he wrote the first five books of the Bible, none of the religion of the Egyptian corrupted the scriptures inspired by God.
• For example, the creation account in Genesis 1 and 2 is totally different from the creation of the world as explained in Egyptian religion.

• Read Exo 2:11-22
• Moses thought he was ready to make right the wrongs done to the Hebrew people, but God was not ready and the Israelites were not ready for Moses. Neither, in reality, was Moses ready. God needed to prepare him for the task ahead.
• The wrong attitudes that Moses needed to change were pride, self-reliance, and emotional motivation.
• The Israelites rejected him when he killed an Egyptian to protect a Jew.
• Word of the murder of the Egyptian caused the Pharaoh to seek to kill Moses.
• Moses fled to the desert of Midian.
• Who were the Midianites?
• They were descendants of Abraham by his concubine, Keturah. These people may or may not have been true worshipers of the God, Jehovah. In any event, they were not heirs of the promise given to Isaac.
• Moses thought he had failed God. However, valuable lessons are learned in failure:
• It is through failure that God builds a life message in you.
• For example, Paul persecuted Christians before he was saved because he thought he was doing God’s will. However, the realization of failing God only made him strong to endure the persecutions that lay ahead of him.
• Principles for experiencing failure in your life:
• Experiencing failure promotes an obedient life.
• Experiencing failure promotes a teachable spirit.
• Spiritual ends are not achieved by carnal hands.
• Timing is as important as action in the kingdom of God.
• Hiding a wrong does not erase it. It only delays the discovery of it and compounds the severity of it.
• Spiritual leadership is appointed by God.
• Experiences of failure are God’s platform for doing His best work.
• In the desert Moses worked as a shepherd. He married and had two sons.
• Moses’ father-in-law was a priest, named Jethro or Reuel
• The name, Jethro, means = pre-eminence.
• The name, Reuel, means = God is his friend.
• Moses’ wife Zipporah. She was considered a gentile because she was not in the lineage descended from Isaac.
• The name, Zipporah, means = a little bird.
• Moses spent 40 years in the desert where God humbled him and prepared him to lead His people.
• Summary:
• In this chapter we see further parallels to the life of Christ in the life of Moses.

Moses a Pre-figure of Jesus Christ
Moses	Christ
Born at a time when Israel was under foreign rule	Born at a time when Israel was under foreign rule
Threatened with death as a baby	Threatened with death as a baby
The faith of his parents saved his life	The faith of His parents saved His life
Found safety in Egypt for a period of time	Found safety in Egypt for a period of time
Possessed all available wisdom at the time	He possessed all God’s wisdom
He identified himself with God’s people	He identified himself with God’s people
He was rejected by the Jews	He was rejected by the Jews
He found acceptance among the Gentiles	He found acceptance among the Gentiles
God prepared him for 40 years to be the deliverer	God prepared him for 40 days to be the Deliverer
During his rejection, he gained a bride.	During His rejection at His first coming, He gained a bride (the church).
Possessed meekness, humility, and faithfulness to God	Possessed meekness, humility, and faithfulness to God
He was as much an Egyptian as he was a Hebrew	He was as much human as He was Divine

• Read Exo 2:23-25
• Notice that God waits until man calls on God for help.
• The same is true of our lives.
• Read Jam 4:2
• God gives two reasons for helping the Israelites in bondage:
• God heard their groaning. (24)
• God did not deliver them because they were worthy of deliverance. On the contrary, the Jews never fully committed themselves to God. They were never faithful and obedient. But God has mercy upon them because He is a God of love and mercy.
• God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (24)
• It is God’s plan that prompts God to respond even though they don’t deserve it. God will fulfill His plan for the Jews in God’s perfect timing.
• Application:
• Some truths about difficult times:
• Difficult times do not erase God’s promise.
• Harsh treatment does not escape God’s notice.
• It is possible to over estimate the impact of your local environment.
• It is possible to under estimate the power of God to overcome your environment.
• Regardless of the environmental odds, godly parents are a powerful tool used by God.
• God puts leaders through a period of training before He can use them.
• If, like Moses, you feel like an outcast, forgotten in the desert, just wait for God’s perfect time. He will use you if you are fully committed to Him.

HOMEWORK
EXODUS 3
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• Application of Exo 1 and 2
• We see the sovereignty of God move in the life of Moses as events, people, and time come together to work God’s perfect will. How have you seen the sovereignty of God work in your life?
• Preparation for Exo 3
• Read Exo 3:1-6
• What unique principles do you see in this passage that relate to hearing God’s voice of direction?
• Read Exo 3:7-10
• What promises does God give for His people?
• Read Exo 3:11-22
• What tasks was Moses to perform for God?
• What is the meaning and significance of the name for God in Exo 3:14?
• What promises are given to God’s people?
• Memory Verse: Exodus 3:14