Journey of the Israelites (Part I)

Lesson Content

Deliverance from Egypt The journey of the Israelites is a type of our spiritual life. All that happened to them during their journey were for examples and are written down fo r our admonition (I Cor.10:1,11). Egypt is a type of this sinful world and Pharoah, of the devil who is the prince of this world.

1. Reasons for the Israelites leaving Egypt:

(a) Their life was bitter to them through hard labour (Exo.1:14): Before we w ere saved, we were servants to sin. It is said that the wages of sin is death (Rom.6:23). Then Satan, the author of death, appointed taskmasters such as sickness, difficulties, losses and other curses to make our life bitter. We were also serving the world because of the love of money which pierced us through with many sorrows (I Tim.6:10). We are told to flee from the love of money (I Tim.6:11). Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt.11:28).

(b) To obtain deliverance from their bondage (Exo.2:23; 3:8): In our life, we were in bondage to sin (Jn.8:34), the devil (Heb.2:14,15) and the world (Gal.1:4).

(c) To offer sacrifice to God in the wilderness (Exo.3:18): In our spiritual life we are told to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice unto God to do His will. For this, we are not to be conformed to this world (Rom.12:1,2; Heb.10:5-7).

(d) God’s promise to bring them into a land flowing with milk and honey (Exo.3:8): In our spiritual life, God h as given us exceeding great and precious promises to escape the corruption that is in the world through lust and to become partakers of the divine nature (II Pet.1:4).

2. The way in which they were delivered from Egypt:

(a) By the strong and outstretche d arm of God and with great judgments (Exo.6:1,6): Each time Pharoah hardened his heart and refused to let the people go, God plagued Pharoah and the land of Egypt for the following reasons:

(i) That the Egyptians might know that there were no other god s than the Lord God (Jehovah) (Exo.7:5). (ii) That Pharoah might know that there was no other God like unto the Lord God (Exo.8:10). (iii) To make a difference between the Israelites and the Egyptians (Exo.8:22,23). (iv) That the people of Israel might know that ‘Jehovah’, the Lord their God alone is the One Who delivers them.

(v) To show forth His redemptive works to bring glory to God. God delivering the children of Israel from Egypt with His strong and outstretched arm is a shadow of what is ex plained in Romans 15:18,19. God Himself bears witness, with signs and wonders, to the gospel we preach, to make the Gentiles obedient by word and deed (Heb.2:4).

(b) By observing the Passover (Heb.11:28): Each household observed the Passover by slaying a lamb. In the New Testament, Christ our Passover has been slain for us (I Cor.5:7; Heb.2:9). “... he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isa.53:5). Therefore, when we truly repent of our sins, confess and forsake them, receiving Jesus as our Saviour, His blood cleanses us (I Jn.1:7,9). We receive redemption through His blood, which is the forgiveness of sins (Eph.1:7).

Moral

As God heard the cry of the children of Israel and delivered them from their afflictions and bondage as they observed the Passover, even so when we cry out to God, repenting of our sins and accepting Christ as our Saviour, He is able to deliver us from all kinds of bondages.