Exodus
- Lesson One Notes
I. Exodus 1:1 in the Hebrew reads: AAnd these are the names .
. .@
A. AAnd@ functions in the Hebrew to
join Exodus with what has come before, the book of Genesis, the story of God=s redemption plan for
mankind.
B. The
covenant made with Abraham continues through Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.
1. On the journey to Egypt Jacob is
given a vision by God at Beersheba: AAnd God spoke to Israel in
a vision at night and said, >Jacob! Jacob!= >Here I am,= he replied. >I am God, the God of your
father,= he said. >Do not be afraid to go
down to Egypt for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will
surely bring you back again.@ (Genesis 46:1-4) In
Exodus we will see that this promise that God made to Jacob is fulfilled.
2. Powerful lesson for us: Jacob=s God is faithful and
Jacob=s God is our God. We can depend on Him to keep His
promises.
3. As Christians, we are in covenant
with God. The covenant made with us has
been sealed by the blood of the Cross, just as the covenant in the Old
Testament was sealed with the blood of the Passover lamb.
C. The purpose for the list of names is
to connect the present to the past.
D. In the New Testament the Gospel
writers show the continuity that Jesus has with the past through his
genealogy. That genealogy now includes
each of us as God=s children. . . AYour past is noble, your
present is secure, and your future is certain.
You are in Christ and he does not change.@ (Rom. 6:5)
II. Exodus 1:6-22
A. A. . .the Israelites
were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous= @ (vs. 7) This is creation
language B Abe fruitful and multiply,@ a sign of God=s blessing.
B. Verses 8-10 ANow there arose a new king
over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.@ Change is inevitable!
1. New kings that Adon=t know Joseph@ happen in our own lives B the new boss, a divorce,
death of a loved one, loss of a job.
2. Change can mean despair & defeat
or it can bring us to our knees with another alternative: trust B trust in the God of
Jacob, the God of the covenant, who is constant in His love and has promised He
will be there until the end.
C. The Pharaoh decides that he must Adeal shrewdly@ with the Israelites and
the result is Egypt is no longer a pleasant place to live.
D. What were Israelites thinking during
this time of oppression and hard labor?
Perhaps, why is this happening?
Where are you God?
AWondering where God is and
what he is doing is not a mark of spiritual immaturity or distrust in God. Rather, it represents the honest yearnings
of God=s people living in this
world, who long to feel his presence in their affairs.@
(Peter Enns B The NIV
Application Commentary B Exodus)
E. Example of Psalm 73 (See end of the
notes) The writer of this psalm feels doubts about God=s presence but while
experiencing these doubts, he turns to God for comfort and there he experiences
God=s presence.
ADoubts of his [God=s] presence will come B this is our lot in
life. Nevertheless, how we perceive the
matter does not determine its reality.
God is present, he does care.
Our sense of his absence must be met head-on, as the psalmist does. We are honest with him, and the result is a
deeper, more trusting, and thus more intimate relationship with him. We doubt and we struggle, but we trust God.@ (Peter Enns)
F. Next step in Pharaoh=s plan is to exterminate
all male babies and he seeks to elicit the help of two Hebrew midwives,
Shiphrah (Abeauty@) & Puah (Aspendor@)
1. These two Afeared@ God and chose to disobey
Pharaoh.
2. God blessed them with families of
their own and gave them a place in history.
G. Because his previous plan failed,
Pharaoh now issues the order that every boy that is born must be thrown into
the Nile but the girls could live.
III. Chapter 2: 1-10 is a familiar story.
A. Verses 1 -10 begin with a love story
of two people falling in love, marrying, and having a baby.
1. The people remain anonymous and it
is only later in Exodus that we learn their names.
AThe writer keeps them in
the shadow, as it were, in order that the light might shine on the primary
actor in the drama B God himself.@
(Maxie Dunham B The Preacher=s Commentary B Exodus)
2. Do you ever feel anonymous? You are important and you are a part of God=s great drama of covenant
and redemption.
B. Three women who are a part of God=s plan for the deliverance
of his people
1. The baby=s mother,a descendant
of Levi, hides her baby for three
months.
a. She obeyed the letter of the law
when she put the baby in the Nile River, but she certainly was defying Pharaoh=s order in the way she did
it.
AShe was trusting the
providence of God and God didn=t fail her.@
(Warren Wiersbe B Be Delivered)
AOn the contrary, she took
steps to devise the very best plan she could under those terrible
circumstances, leaving the ultimate results to a sovereign God.@
(Charles Swindoll B Moses)
b. Lessons to be learned from her
actions: 1) We can rely on the God of Jacob, her ancestor. 2) Not only can rely completely on God, we
can relax in trust and wait for the Lord to do his work.
3) When we have planned carefully and done our best
in any situation, we can wait and trust that God is in control.
ATo walk by faith does not
mean you stop thinking. . . Acting foolishly or thoughtlessly, expecting God to
bail you out if things go amiss, isn=t faith at all. It is presumption. Wisdom says, do all you can within your strength, then trust Him
to do what you cannot do, to accomplish what you cannot accomplish. Faith and careful planning go
hand-in-hand. They always have.@ (Charles Swindoll)
2. Pharaoh=s daughter finds the baby
in the reeds, hears him cry and feels compassion for this Hebrew child.
3. Moses= sister has been left to
witness what would happen & sees Pharaoh=s daughter and her
reaction to this baby. She is bold
enough to approach the Princess with a plan.
4. No coincidences here, just the hand
of God.
C. Verse 10 - AWhen the child grew older
she took him to Pharaoh=s daughter . . .@ How difficult must this have been for the mother & the
child? This was not just a move from
one house to another. His whole
lifestyle would be changed!
D. The verse ends with these words: A. . .and he became her
son. She named him Moses, saying >I drew him out of the
water.= @
E. In Acts 7: 22 we are told that AMoses was educated in all
the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.@ You could say he had everything!
IV. Exodus 2: 11 - 25
A. We learn in these verses that Moses
had grown up and some how, some way he knew he was a Hebrew. . . Ahe went out to where his
own people were and watched them at their hard labor.@ Swindoll entitles the chapter on this section of Moses= life B AGod=s Will, My Way.@
B. Moses witnesses one of taskmasters
beating a Hebrew and proceeds to kill him but not without looking first one way
and then another. His passion to help
the Hebrew is admirable but his timing was completely off.
ANeglecting to ask God=s counsel, neglecting to
seek God=s timing, you step in to
handle things. And by and by, you=ve got a mess on your hands.@ (Swindoll)
C. Moses flees from Egypt to the land
of Midian which has been described as a bleak and desolate place B The Prince of Egypt finds
himself living in a wilderness and taking care of his father-in-law=s sheep.
D. Moses is enrolled in AWilderness 101" where he will major in
obscurity, waiting, discomfort and solitude.
Moses would need the training he receives here but he would also develop
a servant=s attitude and learn to
rely on God.
E. The Hebrew word for Adesert@ is midbaar &
is derived from the word dahbaar, meaning Ato speak.@
ALet me draw from that root
term and suggest that the desert is the place where God speaks, where He
communicates some of His most important messages to us. . . Apart from that
desert experience, you and I might live out our lives without ever hearing or knowing
what the God of the universe desires to tell us.@ (Swindoll)
F. Meanwhile, God=s people cry to God for
help out of their miserable state and God=s plan will be to use a
deliverer who has been especially educated and
trained for the job.
G. Acts tells us that Moses= life is divided into
three 40 year segments. He would spend
40 years in Egypt, being cared for by his mother, adopted by Pharaoh=s daughter and educated in
Egyptian schools. His second forty
years would be spent in the desert, caring for his father-in-law=s sheep and in that
solitude he would be taught by God. He
spent his final forty years with the Israelites wandering in the wilderness,
experiencing trials and discouragement but being led by God.
AMoses spent his first
forty years thinking he was somebody.
He spent his second forty years learning he was nobody. He spent his third forty years discovering
what God can do with a nobody.@ (Dwight L. Moody
PSALM 73
1 A psalm of Asaph.
Surely God is good to Israel,
To those
who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost
slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.
3 For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 They have no struggles;
Their bodies are healthy and strong.
5 They are free from the burdens
common to man;
they are not plagued by human ills.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
they clothe themselves with violence.
7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity;
the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.
8 They scoff, and speak with malice;
in their arrogance they threaten oppression.
9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
and their tongues take possession of the earth.
10 Therefore their people turn to them
and drink up waters in abundance.
11 They say, AHow can God know?
Does the Most High have knowledge?@
12 This is what the wicked are like B
always carefree, they increase in wealth.
13 Surely in vain have I kept my heart
pure;
in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.
14 All day long I have been plagued;
I have been punished every morning.
15 If I had said, AI will speak thus,@
I would have betrayed your children.
16 When I tried to understand all this,
it was oppressive to me.
17 till I entered the sanctuary of
God;
then I understood their final destiny.
18 Surely you place them on slippery
ground;
you cast them down to ruin.
19 How suddenly are they destroyed,
completely swept away by terrors!
20 As a dream when one awakes,
so when you rise, O Lord,
you will despise them as fantasies.
21 When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,
22 I was senseless and ignorant;
I was brute beast before you.
23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
27 Those who are far from you will
perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
28 But as for me, it is good to be near
God.
I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.