God Wants You—Not a Better Version of You

Exodus 1:1-5

 

 

Exodus 1:1 says:

Exodus 1:1 (NKJV) Now these [are] the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt; each man and his household came with Jacob:

 

Who are these “children of Israel,” and why did they go to Egypt? 

 

First, let’s orient ourselves to the Biblical timeline. Google Gemini helped me construct the timeline below.

• Adam to Noah: 10 Generations (approx. 1656 years).

• Flood to Abraham: 10 Generations (approx. 427 years).

• Abraham to Jacob: 3 Generations (Abraham→Isaac→
→Jacob).

• Jacob's Birth: Often placed around 2025 BC in traditional timelines

 

Later in Jacob’s life, God changed His name to “Israel.” This is the name of the nation that arose from Jacob’s descendants, and verses 2-5 of Exodus 1 list Jacob’s (Israel’s) children. They are as follows:

Exodus 1:2-4 (NKJV) 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; 3 Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin; 4 Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher

 

The story of this family is unique, just as every family's story is. Therefore, in some ways, this family is not too different from any other family. As we work our way through just a little of their history, I am sure you will be able to find parallels in your own family (include grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and such).

 

We are going to see that every family on earth needs the healing found only in Jesus Christ, our Lord. The devil will whisper to you that you are no good, godliness is for others, but it is too late for you, and other such things. These are the lies we all face.

 

Let’s begin, then, to visit this family. Looking up again to verses 2 through 4 of Exodus 1, do you see how, in the NKJV, verse 3 ends with a semicolon, setting the 4 following names off by themselves? Let me show you a picture that will help explain this.

 

In this family tree, we see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel). Under Jacob, we see four names. Leah and Rachel are sisters, and they are married to Jacob. Bilhah and Zilpah are slaves. You will notice that the slaves’ children are the ones that Exodus 1:4 sets apart from the others. 

 

Rachel and Leah used the slaves in a competition to produce babies. I find it appalling that while Leah and Rachel were trying to be valuable in their husband's eyes, they disregarded the human rights of their slaves. Rachel, Leah, and Jacob did not ask Bilhah and Zilpah if they wanted to sleep with Jacob or have his children. Nope, they didn’t have any say in the matter, and then their children weren’t considered as valuable as the others.

 

But this wasn't new for this family. Abraham had a child with Sarah’s slave. When Sarah's own child was born, Abraham had to send Ishmael and Hagar away. And what God said about Ishmael was God's explanation of the natural consequences of Abraham and Sarah’s actions. Genesis 16.

Genesis 16:12 (NKJV) “He shall be a wild man; His hand [shall be] against every man, And every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”

 

Consider the sentence, “His hand shall be against every man.” The wild man was Ishmael. Islam came from his descendants. Islam teaches that Ishmael was the faithful son who continued Abraham’s line and the true worship of God. The covenant and land are not part of their relationship with God. Abraham and Ishmael submitted to God; therefore, the name of the religion, “Islam,” means submission. Please do not think that I am saying that all followers of Islam are bad or violent, but Islam is a violent religion. Even more regrettable, billions of people have been led astray, and every person led astray is a soul lost for eternity.

 

Abraham set an example. But Jacob’s family contributed even more to the dysfunction of this family. (Dysfunction is a description of sin in action.) Let’s list just a few of the things that happened in this family.

• Reuben slept with his father’s slave woman, Bilhah. Most likely, this act was not just sexual but a power move to assert authority over his father's house.

• Judah had sex with his daughter-in-law and fathered children with her. He thought she was a prostitute and didn’t realize she was his daughter-in-law, but she knew him well enough to understand that she could trap him by pretending to be a prostitute.

• Ten of the brothers plotted to kill Joseph, but the opportunity for profit led them to sell him into slavery. Later, they told Jacob they didn’t know what happened to Joseph, but “Look, we found his torn and bloody clothes!”

The list is long, and we've only just begun to scratch the surface. God reveals all of this stuff in His Word, the Bible! Why?

 

No one knows all of God’s reasons, but for one thing, this was a real family dealing with the struggles that all families face. Since Adam, the only person who lived a sinless life is Jesus Christ, our Lord.

 

When God chose Abraham, he was an idol worshipper who lived among a people who worshipped idols. God brought Abraham out from the group and chose him to be God’s vessel. Abraham was not perfect, and God mentions some of his sins. Jacob and his family also had faults. Yet, amid their sinful, dysfunctional mess, God chose them and set them apart as His own special people.

 

Has Israel ever been anything but a sinful, selfish, prideful people? No, of course not! Have any of us ever been anything but a sinful, selfish, prideful people? No, of course not! Look at what Romans 3 says to anyone who thinks they might be better than someone else.

Romans 3:9-12 (NKJV) 9 What then? Are we better [than they?] Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. 10 As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”

 

What then? Can anyone be right with God? Can anyone be saved from this wretched condition? Yes, thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

As we journey through Exodus, we will see how God works to bring His people out from the idol-worshipping, rebellious world and shape them into His own special people, a people for His own possession to proclaim His glory. As we see and understand how God dealt with Israel and Egypt, we will grow in our understanding of how He is working in our lives.

 

In closing, I want to return to something I said earlier. I said,

The devil will whisper to you that you are no good, godliness is for others, but it is too late for you, and other such things. These are lies that we are all faced with.

 

I hope that today you have seen that it is never too late. Abraham was 86 years old when Ishmael was born. Abraham and Sarah’s treatment of Hagar was a sin, and yet God did not say, “That is enough! I am through with you!” On the contrary, God brought good out of it. God loves the great nations that have come out of Ishmael, and many of Ishmael’s descendants are mighty servants of our Lord Jesus Christ. God’s mercy and grace are much greater than any sin. The people that have descended from Ishmael are precious and of as much value before God as any other people on the face of the earth, be they Jew or Gentile, slave or free, rich or poor. In His word, God says, 

Galatians 3:28 (NKJV) There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

 

Let me return to the point I am trying to make. No matter what sin you have committed, God wants you as His own. If you can understand these words, understand that God is speaking to you right now. He wants you! He doesn’t want you to clean up your life first. He will take care of that. He wants you! Just YOU. He loves you and is asking you right now to say to Him, “Okay, Lord, I am Yours. I trust You to make of my life what You will.”