Out of Egypt-The Exodus to the Promised Land
Out of Egypt-The Exodus to the Promised Land. Through Abraham’s descendants, the LORD promised to bless all nations and restore His presence and purposes in the world (Gen12:1-3).
‘I will make you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
(Genesis 12: 1-3)
The descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob grew into the people of Israel, and will form the new beginnings of a great nation, a nation founded under the LORD, God.
However, along the road there will be bumps and twists.
Ultimately, the prophecy written in Genesis 12:1-3 will be carried out despite the opposition of the greatest superpower of the ancient world, Egypt.
However, before Israel can become a great nation, and before the blessing to all of the families of the earth can arise from the descendants of Abraham, another prophecy must first be fulfilled.
That prophecy was God’s promise to Abraham that his descendants would sojourn in a land that would not be their own, be afflicted for 400 years, and then come out by the LORD’s hand with numerous possessions (Genesis 15:13-14).
“The LORD said to Abram,
Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.
But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.”
(Genesis 15: 13-14)
The land “that is not theirs” referred to by the LORD is Egypt, and “afflicted” described the oppression which led to the Israelites becoming slaves of the Egyptians under a new ruler of Egypt.
This new, oppressive ruler of Egypt arose after the death of Joseph, and we will see how this political exchange of leadership evoked life-changing events for the Israelites who were sojourning in Egypt.
In this book, we will take a short detour away from studying Jesus’ ancestors, but by understanding why and how the exodus of the Israelites occurred out of Egypt we will gain a deeper understanding of the true meaning of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
In studying the first Passover, which led to the Israelites exodus from Egypt, we will more fully grasp the true meaning behind Jesus when He is referenced as the sacrificial Lamb of God in the New Testament.
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!
And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them saying,
To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing, and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
(Revelation 5:12-13)
By studying ties of the Hebrew Bible to the New Testament, specifically the Book of Revelation, we will come to realize that like the two pieces of Velcro fabric designed to work with each other, these ties are so strong when viewed together that they cannot possibly be ripped apart.
Putting history into Context ~ Israelites in Egypt
To fully understand the Israelites’ exodus out of Egypt, let’s first put the history of the Israelites’ while living in Egypt into context.
For starters, all of the sons of Israel (Jacob’s sons) had come to Egypt to escape a famine in the Promised Land. While living In Egypt, the Israelites successfully flourished, and their numbers increased greatly.
Upon the death of their brother Joseph, who had been in the influential position of second-in-command to the Pharaoh, the sons of Israel continued to live in the land peacefully for a brief period of time.
However, a new Pharaoh soon came into power who had not known Joseph, and was not familiar with how Joseph, even though he was an Israelite in origin, had helped save the lives of thousands of Egyptians and Israelites alike.
This new Pharaoh, never knowing what Joseph did for the Egyptians, did not respect Joseph’s memory. Nor did he respect or care for Joseph’s relatives and descendants, the people of Israel.
Under the new Pharaoh, the Israelites who were flourishing and increasing in number, were perceived as a threat to the Egyptians. The Egyptians feared that if a war broke out, the massive number of Israelites could fight against, and even potentially overtake them.
Essentially the people of Egypt and the Pharaoh feared the Israelites due to their numbers, their ingenuity, and their mysterious way of always being able to succeed in any circumstance, even in a land foreign to them such as Egypt.
Little did Pharaoh know that this was the LORD’s Masterplan – the one, true God of Israel.
Pharaoh, considering he a god, refused to acknowledge the LORD and continually pushed back against Him.
In an attempt to control the Israelites, Pharaoh sent taskmasters to ruthlessly make them work as slaves of the Egyptians, afflicting them with heavy, hard labor.
Pearl: Pharaoh Tried to Limit the Population of Israelites in Egypt
Pharaoh instructed the midwives of Egypt who assisted all births to kill all male, newborn
sons of the Israelite women. However, the midwives feared the God of Israel, and therefore went against the Pharaoh’s mandate and let all of the Hebrew babies live.
These actions by the midwives caused the Pharaoh to grow more obstinate and hard-hearted, and led to him commanding all of his people to cast all sons of the Hebrews into the Nile.
This is where we are in the context of the day.
Pharaoh is attempting to control and demoralize the Israelite people. By casting the Israelites into slavery and by killing all newborn Israelite male babies, Pharaoh is exerting his mighty god- like behavior on the LORD’s chosen people.
It is in this time that one particular, very significant, Hebrew baby has just been born. The baby will be named Moses (Hebrew: Moshe).
Other Books by Dr. Jana Jones McDowell
Cultivating the Christ
Mysteries of the Apocalypse…through the eyes of a Jewish John
Rahab, the Amorite Prostitute
Ruth and Boaz, the Moabite and the Redeemer
Behind the Scenes with David and Bathsheba
“The Promise”..Behind the Scenes with Abraham and Sarah
“David”, In the Midst of a Plague” Biblical Perspectives of COVID-19
Noah and the Ark….Behind the Scenes
Isaac and Rebekah…..Cultivating Israel
Joseph and Judah…Behind the Scenes
About the Author
Jana Jones McDowell DVM, DAVCA, DAVECC has spent a lifetime practicing Veterinary Medicine and former Professor at a College of Veterinary Medicine.
A Christian, Dr. Jones began her research into Biblical studies a number of years ago, focusing on “context.”
Her research revolves around the “context,” with the study and application of the Judaica Books of the Prophets and the Hagiographa (A new English translation of the Hebrew Masoretic text and commentaries by Rashi and other Rabbinical scholars), and the books of the Midrash Rabbah. The basis of this was the exegesis of the Hebrew bible with application to the origins of Christianity.
Dr. Jones-McDowell continues her research of the Jewish roots of Christianity as a student of the Israel Bible Center.
Dr. Jones-McDowell and her husband, reside in the southwest with their horses, Bengal cat named Ravi and their border collie, Sarah.