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The books of
Exodus (ch. 1:6); Leviticus (ch.
1:1); Numbers (ch. 1:1); and
Deuteronomy (ch. 1:3) all continue
their history of Israel with the
word “and”. This being a
conjunctive, points to the
importance of considering that which
came before, that is Genesis.
Throughout Genesis, the consistent
theme has been the sovereignty of
God in the ongoing preparation for
the coming of Christ and the
fulfilment of Genesis 3:15.
The Preparation of Israel For The
Exodus
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a) |
The first major step in that
preparation was the sovereignty of
God in calling Abram from Ur of the
Chaldees (Gen. 15:7; Neh. 9:7) for
several reasons: |
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i) |
For the fulfilling of His own
purposes (Jn. 4:42; 1 Jn. 4:14).
God chose Abraham to be the human
ancestor for the bringing of Christ
into the world. To Abraham God gave
the promise that through his seed
all the families of the earth would
be blessed (Gen. 12:3), and Matthew
1:1 states the Lord was from the
seed of Abraham. |
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ii) |
God called Abraham to be an
illustration to make evident man is
saved without the law (Rom. 4:1-4)
but by faith, and those who are
saved by faith are the sons of
Abraham (Gal. 4:22-31). Again,
Abraham was a case history of a
heathen idolater being changed and
becoming a worshipper of God, not by
law but grace (Josh. 24:2, compare 1
Thess. 1:9). |
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b) |
The next great movement by God was
multi hinged: |
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i) |
By the exalting of Joseph and a
famine God brought His people into
Egypt where, for a time, they
enjoyed great freedom (Gen.
46:4-7). However, there came a time
when under a different dynasty the
children of Egypt lost their freedom
and became slaves to a series of
Pharaohs. Despite how things looked,
God was working, and Moses was
born. Having put the baby in a
basket floating in the Nile, the
daughter of Pharaoh heard the baby
cry and brought the little one into
the palace becoming one of the early
steps for the Exodus. |
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ii) |
Being brought up in the Egyptian
palace Moses was highly educated
politically in every way a prince
would be (Acts 7:22). However, he
had to be educated in the school of
God. That was when he worked in
Midian as a shepherd (Ex. 3:1).
Earlier, Moses began to understand
that God would deliver His people
and sought to do the impossible task
by killing the Egyptian. It was
utterly foolish, but it showed Egypt
was not his home nor were the
Egyptians his people. He was
forsaking Egypt. He had a lot to
learn. |
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iii) |
At the same time and for much longer
that the eighty years of Moses’
earthly sojourn
(Gen.
15:13; Acts 7:6), the hardships for
the children of Israel became
increasingly severe, and despite
being idolaters (Ezek. 20:5-8), they
began to call on God for deliverance
(Ex. 2:23-24). Thus the sovereignty
of God and the free will of the
children were working together. |
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iv) |
At the same time over in Midian the
training of Moses had finished, he
was now qualified to go to Egypt and
untimely lead God’s people out
of the land of bondage
(Ex. 4:19, 21, 23). |
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The Preparation of Moses
It is a truth that God always has an
individual to fulfil His purposes.
Some
illustrations of such: |
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a) |
Daniel, to witness to Nebuchadnezzar
and Belshazzar what was about to
happen (Dan. 2:19-45; 5:22-31). |
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b) |
God had Esther in the palace court
for the delivering of His people
(Esther 7:3-10). |
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c) |
Peter to speak the gospel to the
Gentiles (Acts 10:15, 28, 45). |
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d) |
When it came to the Exodus, God
prepared Moses to shepherd His
people. |
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The life of Moses can be considered
contrastively and by similarity to
the Lord.
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a) |
Moses and the Lord were both spoken
of as prophets (Deut. 18:15; Matt.
13:57). |
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b) |
Moses and the Lord were not on earth
priests, yet both fulfilled priestly
functions (Ex. 29:11; Heb. 7:27;
9:14). |
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c) |
Moses and the Lord were both raised
by God at a precise time to deliver
the people of God (Gen. 15:13-14);
Gal. 1:4). |
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d) |
Moses and the Lord fasted for forty
days (Ex. 34:28; Matt. 4:2). |
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e) |
Moses and the Lord were intercessors
with a deep love for failing people
(Ex. 32:30-32; Jn. 17:1-26). |
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f) |
Moses and the Lord had shining
faces, Moses by deep communion with
God, the Lord it was His own glory
(Ex. 34:30, 35; Matt. 17:2). |
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g) |
Moses and the Lord were tempted to
compromise and both rejected such a
matter (Ex. 10:24; Matt. 4:2-10). |
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h) |
Moses and the Lord knew what it was
to be a shepherd (Mk. 14:27; Jn.
10:11; Heb. 13:20; 1 Pet. 2:25; 5:4;
Ex. 3:1). |
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i) |
Moses and the Lord were both over
houses (Heb. 3:2-6). |
Moses in contrast to other prophets: |
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a) |
Christ is directly connected with
five prophets: |
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i) |
Moses - The context is a contrast
between Moses and the enchanters.
Moses’ power was direct from God,
theirs was from the devil (Ex.
7:17-22). |
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ii) |
Elijah (Elias) was a man of prayer
(Jam. 5:17; Lk. 5:16; 9:29; 22:32,
41, 44). |
Moses and the Lord were Shepherds: |
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a) |
In the reading of John 10:15-18, it
is observed the words “layeth down”
and “giveth” are repeated. As with
every avenue of the Lord, His giving
and laying down is unequalled by
anyone in any and every period of
the earth’s history. His giving and
laying down of His life was: |
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i) |
An act of His own volition, “I lay
it down of myself” (Jn. 10:18). |
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ii) |
An act of personal enablement, “I
have power to lay it down” (Jn.
10:18). |
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iii) |
An act of loving sympathy, “I lay
down my life for the sheep” (Jn.
10:15). |
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vi) |
An act of anticipation and victory,
“I lay down my life, that I might
take it again” (Jn. 10:17). |
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