9-6-14. Exodus 1:1-22.  The God Who Purifies and Blesses -my devotional

Exodus 1:1-22                                                                                                                    9-6-14

Key Verse: 1:7                                                                                                  Kevin E. Jesmer

“but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.”.” (NIV)

A prayer for those who would rather light a candle than curse the darkness…Lord, thank you for blessing us with peace, stability, hope, abundant resources and the rule of law. These are not “given’s” throughout the world. People are living in hellish conditions, where their nations are falling apart because of one type of oppression after another. Lord, we thank you for what we have here in America. We thank you for blessing us abundantly. Lord, help us use this refuge of prosperity as a vantage point to reach out to the rest of the world with the love of God. Help us to be a “City On A Hill.” Help us to shine the light of the gospel to a world lost in darkness and fear and despair. May it begin with us, in our own hearts and homes and communities and then to others. We know that it is only by your power alone. We trust you as we put our hands to the plow. Please teach me how to light a candle in my small part of this world through this passage. I pray in the powerful and “game changing” name of Jesus Christ.

Part 1: We Can Not Even Imagine How God Will Work (1-7)

Sometimes we wonder how God will multiply his people and the number of servants of God in the world. History has already shown how that he has done it again and again, despite the intrigues of people. Look at Exodus 1:1-7, “These are the names of the sons of Israel 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. 5 The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all; Joseph was already in Egypt. 6 Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, 7 but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.” (NIV)

God had brought Jacob’s family–70 persons–to Egypt so that he might make them into a great nation. Now, 400 years later, since they first came to Egypt, they had become a great multitude, 600,000 men plus women and children. It was over one million people.

God is faithful to fulfilling his promises to Abraham. God was going to make his decedents into a great nation, so numerous that they would be more numerous than the sand in the sea and the stars in the sky. God had already been working for 400 years to bless and grow Abraham’s family in the land of Canaan, but they could never become a great and powerful nation if they stayed where they were. Yes, they would increase in number, but they would increase slowly and they would never have an influence on the whole world. They could never do it on their own, but God would multiply them in a different way, in a way that is totally unexpected but totally necessary for them to grow as a great people.

This world needs missionaries to go forth into the whole world and raise disciples if Jesus, But there are so few missionaries compared to the growing need of the world. We can not produce enough missionaries to serve the needs of the vast mission fields, using traditional models. If we just looked to churches and individuals to fund our missionary endeavors, we will soon run out of options. How can God establish enough missionaries to serve the needs of the people of this world? I don’t know. But God has an answer. God will be do something to multiply and empower equip his people. What he will do will be as unexpected as bringing his people to multiply in foreign land, a land where they would be subjected to much suffering in the forges of Egypt.

God has his purposes for everything. It seems terrible that that these people had to relocate and start again in a foreign country, where they had no history, and not connections, and were subject to prejudice. It is sad that they had to be slaves of hundreds of years. How could this be the will of God? But we know that God used this migration of Hebrews to eventually bless the whole world with the promises of God and the fulfillment of those promises, Jesus Christ.

Why are the Christians suffering so much in the Middle East? Why are Iraqi Christians being driven from their ancient communities to live among the Kurds? Why are Christians being oppressed in China, for example? Is Jesus being defeated? Is Jesus’ Kingdom being dismantled? No. God has a great plan to multiply and empower his people and work through them. But right now we can not even imagine what God will do in the future. There will be a powerful body of Christians established in the Middle East…I just know it.

Here is something to consider. There is so much need in the world. There is a need for so many missionaries. But the need far out weighs the missionaries. There are hundreds of isolated communities in Northern Canada who need missionaries. How can we get enough servants of God into the mission field to preach the gospel and raise disciples of Jesus? On our own this is impossible. But with God, nothing is impossible. He will raise up his servants in amazing and unexpected ways to make his Gospel known. The purposes of God cannot be thwarted. God will make them happen, just as he made Abraham’s descendents as numerous as sand on the beach and the stars in the sky.

Part 2: Trust That God Is Working Out His Purposes (8-14)

Look at verses 8-14, “Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. 9 “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. 10 Come, we must deal shrewdly 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.” 11 So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities 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. 14 They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.” (NIV)

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 glory, the Egyptians enslaved and oppressed the Israelites, forcing them to build their cities. 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.

We can see that the persecution backfired.  The increased persecution actually became the crucible through which divine refining that was going on. Gold is refined in fire. To put it simply gold ore is place exposed to extreme heat and liquid gold and the impurities and separate and what is left is purer and purer gold. The people were becoming as pure gold. Satan may try to crush and destroy the people of God, but God works through persecution to multiply, spread and purify his people.

Life is very hard. This is a fallen world. I don’t want to downplay any of our struggles. But how we interpret those struggles is very important. How do we interpret hardship and even persecution in our lives? Do we see it as an enormous inconvenience? Or do we see it as an opportunity? Do we despair that oppressive forces in our lives are going from bad to worse? Or can we have eyes to see what God is doing in our lives? I hope and pray that we may all have eyes to see the work of the great metallurgist, Jesus Christ, at work in our lives and trust him with our lives and our future. Even in the darkest and most senseless times God is working out his purposes. That is our faith.

Part 3: God Always Has His People In Place (15-19)

God always has his people in place to protect his people in dangerous situations. Look at Exodus 1:15-19, “The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” 17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?” 19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.” (NIV)

The cruel policies of the king did not slow down the birth rate of the Hebrews. The more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied. So the king of Egypt took more drastic measures. He commanded the two Hebrew midwives to kill the newborn baby boys

But God worked in wonderful ways. He moved the hearts of the midwives. They feared God more than they feared the king and were strengthened to do the right thing at the right time, to save the boys from death.

God always has his people in keys places, who are willing to stand up and protect God’s people. As servants of God, we are sometimes placed in distressful places and even dangerous places. Our lives may even be threatened. But we are never alone. Jesus is with us. There are his angels protecting us. There are also people who will stand on Jesus’ side and protect us.

I remember one missionary who was in serving in a Muslim village. There was a riot where the villagers were running though the streets looking for westerners. But an old Muslim man, lay down on the steps of the missionary house and told the rioters that the people in the home were “People of the Book”. They bypassed that house. They were saved because of the one old man. Missionaries can go to hazardous places where most are afraid to go, and trust the Lord that they will not leave this world, even one day before they are destined to go.

Part 4: When God Wants To Bless He Blesses (20-22)

There is one sure fire way to a blessed person, not matter what the situation. Look at Exodus 1: 20-22, “So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. 22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.” (NIV)

The king rebuked the midwives because the Israelites continued to increase in numbers. They told the king that Hebrew women were stronger than Egyptian women. The king, however, did not give up. He ordered the boy babies thrown into the Nile.

Even though the king wanted to throw the midwives in jail or kill them, God wanted to bless them. And that is what God did, for he is God. They got families of their own, and God blessed the nation with increased population and a bright future. When God decides to bless nothing can stop the blessing from coming our way, even if a powerful, megalomaniac dictator wants to do different. The fact is, God blesses people who fear and obey him more than they fear the people of this world. He blesses those who are willing to stand up and do the right thing, even at risk of great sacrifice.

Everyone wants to be a blessed people. Well there is one sure fire way to be blessed, even when one lives under the power of a cruel dictator. It is to be like the midwives and be willing to stand up and do what is right. They found their destiny in God and did it. They sought God and his kingdom despite dangers. Matthew 6:33 reads, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” This may not mean riches and ease and comfort. But it will mean spiritual joy, and spiritual blessings. For the midwives, it meant families. When God aims to bless, nothing or no one can stop him. Seeking after and serving Jesus is the best way to be blessed even in a bad economy, even in an oppressive third world country. Step out in faith and take God at his word.

Prayer: Lord, so often I just don’t understand what you are doing in my life. Things seem so hard. But I know that you are refining my faith to be as pure gold and to bless my life. Thank Lord.

One Word: God wants to refine and bless our lives.