Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 12:40-42

40 Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.

41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.

42 It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the Lord to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.

In these verses we learn that the Israelites lived in Egypt for a total of 430 years. Of course, not all of that time was spent in servitude. There is an unspecific gap of time between when Jacob and his sons came into the land and when a later Pharaoh decided to subjugate the Israelite people. It seems likely that most of their time was spent in freedom, as they were not put under Egyptian oppression until they had grown to a mighty number, and the population growth would have started relatively slowly, becoming exponentially greater with each passing generation.

430 years was long enough to make all the stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the great patriarchs, distant history to the current generation. Consider that 430 years before today’s date would have been 1593, which was the time period of William Shakespeare and Galileo Galilei. Shakespeare is as far removed to us as Jacob was to Moses. Not completely removed, still well known and with a clear line of connection in between, but removed still the same.

Thus, it was a new Israelite nation that emerged from Egypt, far different from the one that went in. This new Israelite nation was one that knew nothing of its forefathers’ land of inheritance. It was one that had become accustomed to living under another’s rule. It was one that had been surrounded by all manner of false gods and strange practices. But in spite of all this they were being called to reconnect with their foreordained place in the world.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 1:1-7

1 Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob.

2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,

3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,

4 Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

5 And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.

6 And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.

7 And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.

Exodus takes a step backwards and recaps some of the information that we had at the end of Genesis. It reiterates all of the sons of Jacob who lived with him in Egypt, it reminds us that there were seventy descendants in their party, and it reminds us of the passing of Joseph.

Not only Joseph, though, it further extends the narrative to state that all of that generation were passed away. This truly marks the end of an era. The age of the patriarchs is officially closed and now begins the time of the Israelite nation.

Seventy descendants might make for a large family gathering, but hardly an entire civilization. Verse 7, however, shows that the Israelites “increased abundantly,” even to the point that “the land was filled with them.” Let us remember that this is the fulfillment of a promise that God had been making to the patriarchs ever since Abraham: that they would become a great nation. The fulfillment of other promises is still to come, but this is the one upon which all those others was predicated. At times the fulfillment of this promise appeared quite uncertain, as Abraham’s lineage remained a very small population in danger of extinction at every turn, but in this verse we see that God proved faithful through it all.

But while this represents one step forward, we are of course about to hear about another string of setbacks, enslavement and genocide, making the success of Abraham’s descendants uncertain once more. Yet again, faith will be required, the Israelite nation will be the perpetual underdogs, and they will have to depend on God’s salvation at every hand.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 35:9-12

9 And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padan-aram, and blessed him.

10 And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.

11 And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;

12 And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.

Now that Jacob had come to this consecrated land God appeared to him again. This time it appears that God’s identity was not a mystery to Jacob, such as at the time of his night-time wrestle. God is here in clarity and power, for he is here to reaffirm His solemn oaths to Jacob.

Jacob is reminded that he is not to be called Jacob, but Israel, and that he is to sire a nation of kings, and that his children will inherit this land that surrounds him. This reminder of divine promise is very similar to the process that God took Abraham through. God knows that the nature of our hearts is for faith to wane and doubt to creep in, and so He takes special effort to revitalize and reinvigorate us. Were we perfect, God would only need to speak once, and we would always believe, but we are not perfect, and God gracefully accounts for it.

Unlike with Abraham, though, the promises given are already beginning to be fulfilled. All of Abraham’s life he had only one son born into divine promise, and Isaac only had one son of promise as well. Neither of these men had the beginnings of a great nation before their eyes, they just had to trust that it would come at some future date. Jacob, however, now has eleven sons, and soon twelve. There have been three generations of trunk, but now Jacob is seeing the stem splitting into many branches. The reality of God’s promise was at last beginning to manifest.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 24:59-60

59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his men.

60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.

I wonder if Laban and Rebekah’s mother realized how appropriate the blessing they gave to Rebekah was. I wouldn’t be surprised if “be thou the mother of thousands of millions” was a generic wish given to every new bride, but in her case it actually became a reality.

Abraham was promised to be a father of many nations, but that covenant only passed on to a single son, Isaac. Thus Isaac and Rebekah bear the full weight of the blessing as well, destined to be the progenitors of an entire nation. Actually, two nations. From Rebekah would come both the Israelite branch and the Edomite, though the covenant heritage would only pass through the former.