Reviewing Background Developments for Book of Exodus

Genesis 12 records the very first time God freely offered to Abram (after the latter heeded His call to uproot from his country) the promise that the land to which He had led him would be given by Him to his descendants forever.  This promise is so important that God chose to personally repeat it to him in Genesis 13, 15 and 17 (as well as much later to Isaac in Genesis 26:4 and Jacob in Genesis 35:12).

 

Given the multiple repetitions of this divine promise, why then did Abraham’s descendants have to re-locate (during Jacob’s life-time) to yet another place when the “father of many nations” (Genesis 17:5) was already residing in the land hand-picked by God Himself?  Was it impelled by circumstances beyond their control (such as the devastating 7-year famine that struck all the regions)?  Was it due to Jacob’s longing to be re-united with his beloved son Joseph (who was supposedly killed some 20 years ago)?  Was it because of the need to venture elsewhere to find far more fertile lands for potential re-settlement?

 

The answer is simple.  It was actually in accordance with what God had planned for Abraham’s descendants.  The Promised Land where they were currently in would indeed be theirs for the taking in some distant future.  Prior to that eventuality, however, God also arranged for them to be temporarily re-located to a nearby country as outlined in Genesis 15:13-16 (which was proclaimed centuries before any of the events reported in Exodus ever occurred):

“Then He said to Abram: ‘Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.’ ”

 

Genesis 15:16 clearly foretells the return of Abraham’s descendants to the Promised Land after the Amorites’ descent to the uttermost depths of sin.  God is holy and just but He is also known to be merciful and long-suffering.  According to His plan, Abraham’s descendants must wait for the indigenous tribes’ iniquities to degenerate to such a level as to actuate the occupation of the Promised Land by His people.  In view of the wanton sins prevailing then, God could not possibly allow the Hebrews to continue dwelling there in the meantime ― with opportunities for inter-mingling among the natives ― “… lest they teach you [viz Abraham’s descendants] to do according to all their abominations which they have done for their gods” (Deuteronomy 20:18).  Was it feasible for the chosen race to co-exist with their sinning neighbours whilst remaining steadfast in faithful relationship with God?  Peter explains what will happen if a righteous man lives continually among the sinful: “… righteous Lot was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked because that righteous man, while living among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds” (II Peter 2:7-8).  Since God chose not to exterminate the Amorites as yet, Abraham’s descendants would have to be re-located elsewhere away from the unholy influence of the local inhabitants who had for far too long been entrenched in their abominable practices.

 

There is additionally the issue of intimidation by the resident tribes which had already undergone the survival-of-the-fittest process when struggling to settle in Canaan long before Abram’s arrival.  Naturally, they would not embrace any influx of strangers aspiring to sink roots in hard-won lands and thereafter compete for available resources.  One of the psalmists paints the following picture of Abraham’s descendants at the time: “… they were few in number, indeed very few, and strangers in it [viz land of Canaan]” (Psalm 105:12).  With neither strength in number nor allies to call upon, the chosen race must keep a look-out for hostilities from aggressive communities; for example, Ahimelech was prompted by the Philistines at Gerar to demand Isaac and his household to “go away from us” (Genesis 26:16) while Jacob, after finding out what two of his sons did at Shechem, became worried that “… since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me” (Genesis 34:30).  In fact, divine protection had even to be provided during Jacob’s family flight from Shechem where “the terror of God was upon the cities that were around and they [viz hostile neighbours] did not pursue the sons of Jacob” (Genesis 35:5).

 

There is an old saying that the grass gets trampled all over whenever elephants come together to fight.  When the tribes within or without Canaan fought with each other, there would usually be collateral losses; for example, after the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Bela joined forces in the battle against the kings of Elam, Shinar and Ellasar, the victors not only looted Sodom and Gomorrah but “also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods and departed.” (Genesis 14:12)  Another scriptural episode with incidental collateral losses occurred much later at Ziklag where David took refuge to escape from King Saul’s clutches: while David and his 600 men were busy at the Philistines’ camp, “the Amalekites invaded the South, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, and took captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone but carried them away …” (I Samuel 30:1-2)  Obviously, Abraham’s descendants ought to be re-located to a powerful country (with soldiers guarding its borders) so that they would be spared from having to suffer collateral losses whenever warring factions decided to raid each other.

 

Hostilities also spilled over into mundane quests such as when competing tribes foraged for basic necessities like potable water and grazing grounds.  Even fellow kinsmen Abram and Lot had to part ways because “there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock [while it was pointedly noted that] the Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.” (Genesis 13:7)  Water was another precious commodity that often gave rise to contention; for example, “Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a well of running water but the herdsmen of Gerar quarrelled with Isaac’s servants, saying, ‘The water is ours.’ … Thereafter the servants dug another well, and the herdsmen quarrelled over that one also.” (Genesis 26:19-21)  Being a stranger without any plot of land to call his own, Abraham had no recourse other than to speak thus to the sons of Heth during his mourning for Sarah, “I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place …” (Genesis 23:4); the transaction in this particular instance proceeded amicably but there is no scriptural record of the patriarchs ever attempting to secure a second site to supplement the cave and surrounding field purchased by Abraham at Machpelah for family burials.  It would certainly benefit Abraham’s descendants to be re-located to a rich country with well-developed infrastructural provisions for such basic necessities.

 

In short, God’s plan was effectively to furnish an eco-system for the 70-strong family of Jacob to multiply without having to encounter the problems outlined in the preceding 5 paragraphs.  God even gave Jacob the following assurance when the latter was considering the trip to meet his long-lost son Joseph: “… do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there …” (Genesis 46:3)  Growing the number of Abraham’s descendants from a mere 70 to more than 600,000 was actually not good enough because the Hebrew men must also be militarily capable of vanquishing all the sinful tribes upon their return to the Promised Land.  That God’s plan (as foretold in Genesis 15:13-16) indeed came to pass has since been affirmed in the psalmist’s reflections on what transpired in the book of Exodus: “… Jacob dwelt in the land of Ham. The Lord increased His people greatly and made them stronger than their enemies.” (Psalm 105:23-24)

 

Interestingly, God did not initially identify the “land that is not theirs” (Genesis 15:13) for Abraham’s descendants to re-locate to.  Instead, He mentioned the undisclosed destination to Jacob only when His plan was about to be set in motion: “… do not fear to go down to Egypt for … I will go down with you to Egypt and I will also surely bring you back …” (Genesis 46:3-4)  What then were the criteria for Egypt to be the country of choice in offering the eco-system required for Jacob’s fledgling family to grow into a great nation stronger than their enemies?

 

The obvious attributes were that Egypt had the opportunities to become militarily powerful (and therefore able to extend protective shelter from marauding forces) as well as economically developed (and therefore able to provide basic necessities on a routine basis).  However, what was of greater concern to God was the need for His people to be shielded from the unholy influence of pagan worshippers.  On the one hand, Canaan was inhabited by sinners who were at the time awaiting judgment as “… the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete” (Genesis 14:15).  On the other hand, Egypt was well-known for the plethora of gods worshipped by its people.  What then was the advantage for re-locating Abraham’s descendants from Canaan to Egypt?

 

At this juncture, it ought to be pointed out that the Canaanite tribes, whilst wary of strangers encroaching onto their hard-fought lands and vying for valuable resources, did not actively prohibit social inter-mingling; for example, Dinah did not sense any disapproval from the locals when she “went out to see the daughters of the land” (Genesis 34:1) and Prince Hamor had no compunction approaching the Hebrews to “make marriages with us; give your daughters to us and take our daughters to ourselves.” (Genesis 34:9)  In stark contrast, the Egyptians have been recorded in the Pentateuch as being collectively intolerant of the Hebrews’ social customs, sheep-herding work and religious rites as can be seen from the following verses:

●     “… the Egyptians could not eat food with the Hebrews for that is an abomination to the Egyptians” (Genesis 43:32)

●     “… when Pharaoh calls you [viz Joseph’s brothers] and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ then you say, ‘Your servants’ occupation has been with live-stock from our youth even till now …’ so that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.’ ” (Genesis 46:33-34)

●     “And Moses said, ‘It is not right to do so for we would be sacrificing the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God. If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not stone us?’ ” (Exodus 8:26)

In view of these considerations, Pharoah was more than willing to grant Joseph’s request for the Hebrews’ settlement as per the divine intention to “… set apart the land of Goshen in which My people dwell …” (Exodus 8:22)  With this ideal segregation arrangement for housing the chosen race separately from the native population, there was minimal opportunity for the Hebrews to inter-mingle among the Egyptians and be influenced by the religious practices of this equally-pagan land.

 

As already noted from God’s plan (set out in Genesis 15:13-16), the Hebrews could occupy the Promised Land only after the Amorites’ iniquities became complete.  Would Egypt with its plethora of gods be spared in the process?  Actually, there is also mention in God’s plan that “… I will judge the nation whom they [viz Hebrew slaves] serve” (Genesis 15:14).  Clearly, God intended all along to demonstrate ― not only to the Hebrews but also to everybody else ― that even the mightiest and proudest country existing in the world at the time would have to succumb and acknowledge Him: “Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I have gained honour for Myself over Pharoah, his chariots and his horsemen.” (Exodus 14:18)  Indeed, God could have immediately brought Pharoah to his knees by skipping over the first 9 plagues and killing the Egyptian first-born males at the very outset.  Instead, He confided to Moses, “Pharoah will not heed you so that [all of] My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 11:9)  For the first 3 plagues, Pharoah’s pride apparently stemmed from his reliance on the local deities’ powers; for example, “Pharoah also called the wise men and sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt did in like manner with their enchantments” (Exodus 7:11) to duplicate the first miracle of turning an inanimate rod into a live serpent.  Little wonder then that God told Moses toward the end of the plagues, “… against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment” (Exodus 12:12).  Remembering how God had overwhelmed the most powerful nation ought to bolster the confidence of the Hebrews should they ever lose heart at the borders of the Promised Land and give pause for doubt-ridden trepidation: “These nations [in Canaan] are greater than us. How can we dispossess them?” (Deuteronomy 7:17)

 

In summary, the events in the book of Exodus were not due to happenstance.  The plan disclosed personally by God to Abram in Genesis 15:13-16 shows Him to be the prime mover directing the background developments leading to the interim sojourn in Egypt.  Notwithstanding such irrefutable evidence, there remain some who insist that the widespread famine provided the impetus for Jacob to travel with his family to Egypt where he could furthermore re-unite with Joseph.  While there is no dispute about the 7-year famine and father-son re-union being the triggers for the re-location of Abraham’s descendants from the Promised Land, the following verses also affirm that God’s hand was manifestly evident behind the scenes:

●     “Moreover, He called for a famine in the land[s] and He destroyed all the provision of bread. He sent a man before them ― Joseph ― who was sold as a slave. They hurt his feet with fetters and he was laid in irons until the time that His word came to pass … [when] the ruler of the people let him go free and made him lord of his house … to bind his princes at his pleasure.” (Psalm 105:16-22)

●     “Then Joseph said to Pharoah, ‘God has shown Pharoah what He is about to do … and the dream [of the 7 good cows before the 7 ugly cows] was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.’ ” (Genesis 41:28-32)

●     “Joseph said to his brothers, ‘… God sent me before you to preserve a posteriority for you in the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me … a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt …’ ” (Genesis 45:7-8)