A KING WHO DID NOT KNOW JOSEPH

Passage: Exodus 1:1-14

Key verse: 8

NIV

The Israelites Oppressed

1 These are the names of the sons of Israel(A) who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; 3 Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; 4 Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher.(B) 5 The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy[a] in all;(C) Joseph was already in Egypt.

6 Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died,(D) 7 but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers(E) and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.

8 Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.(F) 9 “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous(G) for us.(H) 10 Come, we must deal shrewdly(I) with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”(J)

11 So they put slave masters(K) over them to oppress them with forced labor,(L) and they built Pithom and Rameses(M) as store cities(N) for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites 13 and worked them ruthlessly.(O) 14 They made their lives bitter with harsh labor(P) in brick(Q) and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.(R)

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Footnotes
  1. Exodus 1:5 Masoretic Text (see also Gen. 46:27); Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint (see also Acts 7:14 and note at Gen. 46:27) seventy-five
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Israel Increases Greatly in Egypt

1 (A)These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5 All the descendants of Jacob were (B)seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt. 6 Then (C)Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. 7 (D)But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.

Pharaoh Oppresses Israel

8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, (E)who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, “Behold, (F)the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. 10 (G)Come, (H)let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them (I)to afflict them with heavy (J)burdens. They built for Pharaoh (K)store cities, Pithom and (L)Raamses. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. 13 So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel (M)work as slaves 14 and (N)made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.

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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS

Exodus - A Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation

(KeyVerse= 19:4-6)

Exodus is the second book of Moses. It begins with Abraham's descendants in slavery in Egypt. They had become a great multitude, but their life in slavery was hell. Pharaoh represents all systems and men who oppress other men. The lives of the slaves in Egypt is a vivid picture of slavery to sin. The slaves in Egypt had secure jobs and enough to eat. But they had no hope and no direction. They learned to accept fatalistically an existence without freedom and without meaning.

Exodus 2:24 says that God heard their groaning and remembered his covenant with Abraham (Ge 15). He saved and trained one man, Moses, and sent him to deliver his people.

The key verses of Exodus are 19:4-6. These verses provide an outline for the book. 'You have seen what I did to Egypt...' God performed ten acts of judgment on the Egyptians, and brought Israel out of Egypt (1:1-13:16). 'And how I carried you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself.' God enabled his people to cross the Red Sea as on dry land. He trained his people in the wilderness and brought them to Mount Sinai (13:17-19:25). There he gave them the law and made a covenant with them (2

:1-4

:38). His purpose was to make them a holy nation and a kingdom of priests. The first half of the book is about getting Israel out of Egypt; the second half, about getting Egypt out of Israel.

1. The Israelites filled the land (1-7)

God had brought Jacob's family--7

persons--to Egypt so that he might make them into a great nation. Now, 4

years later, they had become a great multitude. They could never have become such a numerous and homogeneous people if they had remained as nomads in Canaan. Furthermore, God used the furnace fires of Egypt to mold them into a nation.

2. Egyptian policies (8-14)

Joseph had been instrumental in saving Egypt, but when the dynasty changed, the new king did not remember him. The king only knew that the land was filled with Hebrews, and he feared them. Because of fear, greed and the desire for an easy life, the Egyptians enslaved and oppressed the Israelites. The Egyptians tried to reduce their numbers by using them ruthlessly to do hard labor. They wanted many weak Israelites to die. God was with the Israelites, however, and they continued to increase in number.

Prayer: Lord, in the darkest and most senseless times you are working out your purposes. Teach me to trust you.

One Word: The Sovereign God turns evil into good