Our second period in the times of Israel spans four centuries. When Jacob’s family settled in Egypt, they at first fared well under Joseph’s administration. After the death of Joseph, however, the descendants of Jacob were made slaves of the Egyptians as had been foretold
BONDAGE IN EGYPT
Joseph, one of the twelve sons of Israel, was sold to slave traders by his brothers. Yet with God’s help, Joseph rose to power in Egypt. His brothers were driven there by a famine which Joseph had foretold. Egypt was surviving the famine because of Joseph’s wisdom in storing food during the preceding good years. Joseph forgave his brothers, welcomed them to Egypt, and settled the family in Goshen. Generations later, Egypt had forgotten the origin of the Israelites, who by now were many, and Egypt
Joseph, having revealed his identity to his family, helped them settle in the Egyptian territory of Goshen. Joseph’s power was immense in Egypt, so the Israelites prospered in that land under his protection, and made it their home. However, they were to remember that their people’s eventual home would be Canaan, the land God had sworn to give their descendants
Between the end of Genesis and the beginning of Exodus, there is a long gap. The introduction to Exodus informs us that, during this time, "the sons of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly and multiplied, and became exceedingly mighty, so that the land
However, "a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph". This Pharaoh
In this present lesson, we look at some of the timeless principles that are involved in the story of Israel’s troubled times. Their bondage in Egypt, like the story of Joseph’s ups and downs, is instructive for us when we too meet with
Behind this story is the principle that bad things sometimes happen, and between the good times there will be bad. Just as Joseph had ups and downs, so did the rest of the children of Israel, and sometimes the downs lasted long. But God was always there to give the
There is a school of thought which holds that the God of the Old Testament was somewhat cruel and fickle --a God who played games with people’s lives. David put the true case: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all"
The people were in bondage for nearly four hundred years, and they may have thought God had forgotten them, but not so. He had always been aware of their troubles. He said to Moses, "I have surely seen the opression of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows"
When God makes a promise, the most important thing is "that the promise might be sure to all the seed"
Sometimes people bring troubles on themselves, but not all trouble is like that. The downs in Joseph’s life were not due to any fault of his. The slavery in Egypt was not something the children of Israel brought upon themselves, or that they deserved. One could not even say that God brought these troubles upon them. God does not cause distress and tribulation. Rather, he "causes all things to work together for our good"
Sometimes when bad times come, we forget that there have been good times, and there will be good times again. Even in their bondage, the children of Israel could listen to the stories passed down to them, of how God had been with them and made promises which, one day, would be fulfilled. So they could have hope. Our attitude toward trouble should be that which is set out in Philippians 4:4-8. We can rejoice and have peace, if we realise that trouble only comes between good days. We can remember the good days gone, and hope for the