431 – The Exodus

SEMESTER 2

431 – The Exodus

BIBLE INSTITUTE OF CORRESPONDENCE

COURSE:  BIBLE SURVEY II LESSON # 31
THE EXODUS

Read Ex. 2:11 through Ex. 4:31.

INTRODUCTION:

1. One of the great events of Bible history is the exodus of Israel from Egypt.
2. Looking back, it is a people who from a single family, became a huge nation in 215 years.
3. Looking forward, to Solomon’s time, about 500 years later, they will be the greatest and most splendorous nation on earth.
4. How does all this take place?

I. THEIR LEADER, MOSES

1. The man God chose (at the time God called him) was a meek man and slow of speech, (far from a politician).
2. He was well educated, but in the way of the Egyptians. (Acts 7:22)
3. He had a knowledge of Christ, which he obviously had received from the Holy Spirit and through his mother.
4. It was thus that he refused to be Pharaoh’s grandson and cast his lot with the people of God.
5. In his earlier years he knew something of his call to draw Israel out of Egypt. (Acts 7:23-28)
6. Moses, at age forty, abandoned this call, and for forty years made no plan for it. (Acts 7:28-30)
7. Moses neither was, nor could be the king of Israel for he was of the tribe of Levi, not Judah.
8. In spite of all this, God chose him and he was most sufficient for God’s purpose for him.

II. THE TIME FRAME

1. Moses was born about 1524 B.C., fled Egypt about 1484, and returned to lead Israel out about 1444 B.C.
2. Do not think of the plagues of Egypt as covering a significant time. From Moses’s; return to Egypt, to the exodus was a few weeks at most.

III. THE CALL OF MOSES

1. God spoke to Moses from a burning bush which was not consumed. (Ex. 3:1-10)
2. God identified Himself to Moses and revealed His power and purpose for Moses. (Ex. 3:11-22)

IV. THE PLAGUES AND MIRACLES WROUGHT IN EGYPT

1. God’s method of causing Pharaoh to let the people go was the plagues and ultimately the death of the firstborn.
2. In all there were 13 miracles up through the slaying of the firstborn.
3. Ten of these miracles were judgments of plagues, each followed by warning to let the people go.
4. Pharaoh’s response, along with the Egyptian’s was to compete with God by the performance of miracles by the magicians.
5. The final plague that caused Pharaoh to release the people was the death of the firstborn.
6. Two things should surely be drawn from Pharaoh’s conduct in the last plague.

i. The very thing that is death to the wicked, is life and freedom to God’s people. (II Cor. 2:15-16)
ii. Judgment never brings true repentance. Pharaoh’s was super­ficial and thus temporary.

7. God permitted Pharaoh’s hardness of heart, and used his vicious pursuit of Israel to judge Pharaoh and get glory to Himself as He planned. (Ex. 4:21)

V. THE MULTITUDE THAT WENT OUT

1. I mentioned in a previous lesson that this multitude probably exceeded two million.
2. Scripture gives us a good rule by which to figure the multitude. (Ex. 12:37-38, Ex. 38:26)

i. It is thought by some that this refers only to men able to go to war, as in the numbering of Num. 26. Notice Num. 26:2 and 26:51.
ii. If you count this 600,000 all the men and assume an even number of women, and two children per couple average, you have 2,400.00.
iii. I would not be surprised if the exodus involved 3 to 5 million people.