“The Exodus”

Series: A Journey through the Old Testament [on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

June 20, 2021

Introductory Comments:

The Exodus is one of the most intriguing stories in the Old Testament. We see good versus evil; we see a dramatic deliverance; we see miracles; and, we see God fulfilling His promises. 

We are continuing our series called, “A Journey Through the Old Testament.” Today, we’ll be talking about the Exodus. The Exodus is God’s story of calling a man to lead the people of God out of bondage and slavery. 

Let’s pray together as we learn from God’s Word. 

(prayer)

By the way, exodus refers to a mass departure, or exit, of people; it’s when a lot of people leave at one time. Well, that’s what we’re learning about today, a mass departure of people. So, let’s check it out. 

First, let’s look at . . .

I. Major elements[on screen]

First, the descendants of Jacob became extremely numerous in the land of Egypt. (Exodus 1:5-7) [on screen]

Remember, it was just Jacob and his family who originally moved to Egypt. Now, they have gone from 70 to so many that they filled the land. 

Read Exodus 1:5-7 in Bible

Some of you may wonder how many people were involved in the Exodus. Well, we see here that the group started with 70. Exodus 12:37 tells us that there were 600,000 able-bodied men, as well as their families. So, it’s safe to say there were probably over 1,000,000 Israelites in Egypt during this time. 

Remember, God told Abraham that his descendants would multiply greatly. It looks like God is keeping His promise. 

We learn that the new king of Egypt treated the Israelites harshly. (Exodus 1:8-14) [on screen]

Read Exodus 1:8-14 in Bible

The new Pharaoh was concerned about the growing number of the Israelites, but the more he oppressed them, the more they multiplied. What he didn’t know was that God was blessing them!

Church, let me remind you that when God is doing something, no one is going to stop it. 

Pharaoh would try something else. He would attempt to stop as many babies from being born. In the midst of Pharaoh’s evil attempt to destroy Israelite babies, God brought Moses into the world. (Exodus 1:15-2:10) [on screen]

Pharaoh attempted to destroy all the Israelite babies, but we learn that God spared many of them. 

During this evil time, Moses is born and hidden away by his mother. Eventually, his mother places him in a basket and he is found by Pharoah’s daughter who has compassion on him and takes him as her own son. 

Next, as a grown man, Moses flees to Midian. (Exodus 2:11-23) [on screen]

Moses realizes that he is an Israelite and he eventually kills an Egyptian man whom he witnesses beating an Israelite. 

Pharaoh seeks to kill Moses for what he did, so Moses flees to Midian. 

During the middle of all of this, the book of Exodus points out that God remembered his covenant with the people of Israel. (Exodus 2:23-25) [on screen]

Read Exodus 2:23-25 in Bible

While Moses is away, God appeared to Moses in the form of a burning bush and called him to deliver the Israelites. (Exodus 3:1-22) [on screen]

Moses was shepherding flocks when he saw a bush that was burning but was not burning up. 

God spoke to Moses out of the bush.

Read Exodus 3:4-6 in Bible

God told Moses that He knew of His people’s suffering and wanted to use Moses to deliver them from Egypt. 

So, God equips Moses with miraculous powers in order to convince others that he has been sent by God. (Exodus 4:1-9) [on screen]

People say crazy stuff all the time, right? So, how could Moses prove that he really was sent by God? Well, God gave Moses the ability to perform miracles so others would know that he really was sent by God. 

Next, God also tells Moses to use his brother Aaron as a spokesman. (Exodus 4:10-17) [on screen]

Moses is hesitant because he cannot speak well, so God says for him to use Aar