Moses Exodus Gospel John

Moses exodus gospel John

Introduction

The history of the five books of Moses is the history of Creation, the Fall, the calling of a people for God, all leading up to their entrance to the Promised Land. What we have in the first five books is the story of the whole Bible reflected in the history of Israel. These books give us a picture of what God is doing with His Church throughout the ages. So, we could say that we, here today, are at a point after the Red Sea, after Mount Sinai and somewhere in the desert, not yet arrived at the Promised Land. There are many avenues branching off from this one thought. Let me take you down one of them. Ours is a religion that is rooted in history. Christianity is all about what God does in history. Of all the religions of the world, in this we are unique.

And that 'and', along with the opening verses of the book, reminds us of this. It glances back at what God did before in calling out a people for Himself - Jacob and his sons - and leading them to Egypt, there to be welcomed by Joseph. These opening verses look back on what God has done and then look forward to what God does next, after Joseph. God is at work in history. Now, let's take a closer look at this history. Something has happened between the end of Genesis and the beginning of Exodus where Moses picks up the story line again. The children of Israel have changed. At the end of Genesis Israel is an extended family of seventy some people. By the time we get to the beginning of Exodus they have become a multitude of people who fill the land. Is there anything significant in this? Absolutely. 2

Background

God is at work in history. In Genesis He promised Abraham that his seed would be as numerous as the stars. What we see here, in Exodus, is our God keeping His promise. But notice some things. This is where the lessons lie. First, it looks so normal. God's acts in history aren't dramatic. The sign that God was at work in the life of Israel is that the people were having babies. Do you see that God moves His plan forward through history by very normal means? Secondly, notice that God works behind the scenes. Moses doesn't shout at us here, 'Hey, look at what God is doing!' God is not even mentioned in this morning's text. Rather, God acts quietly in the flow of history behind the scenes. And then, there's a third thing that might be easily missed. There's a gap between the end of Genesis and the beginning of Exodus; a gap between Joseph and Moses. 1It's a gap of 430 years. Four hundred plus years of no miracles, no prophets, no big events. Just people having babies. For 430 years. Four hundred thirty years into our past would ...