The Everlasting Covenant

Chapter 16 – Preaching the Gospel in Egypt

“And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel; and Aaron spake all the words which the Lord had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that He had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.” Exodus 4:29-31.

Tribulation Necessary

But they were not yet ready to leave Egypt.

They were as yet but stony ground hearers of the Word. They received it with joy at the first, but as soon as persecution arose they became offended. If they could have left Egypt without any hindrance, and could have had an easy passage to the promised land, they doubtless would not have murmured; but “we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God,” [Acts 14:22], and those who do enter in must learn to rejoice even in tribulation.

This lesson the Israelites had yet to learn.

Value of Persecution

The message to Pharaoh, “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let My people go,” [Exodus 5:1], resulted in a still more grievous oppression of the Israelites.

This was really a necessity for them, that they might be the more anxious to leave, and afterward have less desire to return, and that they might see the power of God. The plagues that came upon the land of Egypt were as necessary to teach the Israelites the power of God, that they might be willing to go, as they were for the Egyptians, that they might be willing to let them go.

The Israelites needed to learn that it was not by any human power that they were delivered, but that it was wholly the work of the Lord. They needed to learn to trust themselves completely to His care and guidance. And as “whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope,” [Romans 15:4], we should learn the same lesson as we read the story.

God’s Explanation

It is not at all to be wondered at that the people complained at the first when persecution increased as the result of the message brought by Moses.

Moses himself seems to have been perplexed by it, and went to ask the Lord about it.

“And the Lord said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh; for by a strong hand shall he let them go, and by a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.” “And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am JEHOVAH; and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by My name Jehovah I was not known to them. And I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their sojournings, wherein they sojourned. And moreover I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage: and I have remembered My covenant. “Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am Jehovah, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched-out arm, and with great judgments; and I will take you to Me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you into the land concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it to you for an heritage; I am JEHOVAH.” Exodus 6:1-8 R.V.

The Gospel of Deliverance

We have learned that when God made the promise to Abraham He preached the Gospel to him; it follows, therefore, that when the time comes for the fulfillment of the promise, the seed to whom it is fulfilled must know at least as much of the Gospel as was revealed to Abraham; and we should expect to find the same Gospel preached to them.

This was the case.

We learn from the Epistle to the Hebrews that the Gospel which is now preached to us is the same that was then preached to them, and in the Scripture last quoted we find it.

Note the following items:–

  1. God said of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, “I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers.”

  2. Then He added, “And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered My covenant.”

  3. When the Lord says that He remembers a certain thing, He does not imply that that thing has ever passed from His mind, for that is impossible. Nothing can ever escape Him. But, as we find in various instances, He thus indicates that He is about to perform that thing. In the final judgment of Babylon it is said, “God hath remembered her iniquities.” [Revelation 18:5]. “And great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.” [Revelation 16:19]. “God remembered Noah,” [Genesis 8:1], and caused the flood to cease, but we know that not for one moment while Noah was in the ark was he forgotten, for not even a sparrow is forgotten.

(See also Genesis 19:29; 30:22; and 1 Samuel 1:19 for the use of the word “remember” in the sense of being about to fulfill the thing promised.)

  1. It is evident, therefore, from the sixth of Exodus, that the Lord was about to fulfill the promise to Abraham and his seed. But as Abraham was dead, that could be done only by the resurrection. The time of the promise which God had sworn to Abraham was very near. But this is evidence that the Gospel was being preached, since only the Gospel of the kingdom prepares for the end.

  2. God was making Himself known to the people. But it is only in the Gospel that God is made known. The things which reveal the power of God make known His Divinity.

  3. God said, “I will take you to Me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God.” Compare with this the promise of the new covenant, “I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord.” Jeremiah 31:33-34.

No one questions that this is the proclamation of the Gospel: but it is the very same thing that was proclaimed to the Israelites in Egypt.

  1. The fact that the deliverance of the children of Israel was such a deliverance as could be effected only through the preaching of the Gospel, is evidence that it was no ordinary deliverance from physical bondage to a temporal inheritance. A most wonderful prospect was opened before the children of Israel, if they had but known the day of their visitation, and had continued faithful.

Preaching to Pharaoh

It is a truth that “God is no respecter of persons; but in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him.” Acts 10:34-35.

This was not a new truth in the days of Peter, but has ever been true, for God is always the same.

The fact that men have usually been slow to perceive it, makes no difference with the fact. Men may fail to recognize the power of God, but that does not make Him any the less powerful; so the fact that the great mass of God’s professed followers have usually failed to recognize that He is perfectly impartial, and have supposed that He loved them to the exclusion of other people, has not narrowed His character.

The Promise to Abraham Included the Egyptians

The promise was to Abraham and his seed.

But the promise and the blessing came to Abraham before he was circumcised, “that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also.” Romans 4:11.

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:28-29.

Therefore the promise embraced even the Egyptians, as well as the Israelites, provided they believed. And it did not embrace unbelieving Israelites any more than it did unbelieving Egyptians. Abraham is the father of those who are circumcised, but only of those who “are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.” If the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, their uncircumcision is counted for circumcision. (See Romans 2:25-29.)

God’s Long Suffering

It should not be forgotten that God did not begin at once to send the plagues upon Pharaoh and his people. He did not propose to deliver the Israelites by killing their oppressors, but rather by converting them, if it were possible.

God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9. He “will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:4. “As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live.” Ezekiel 33:11.

All men are God’s creatures, and His children, and His great heart of love embraces them all, without respect to race or nationality. Accordingly, at the first, the simple demand was made upon Pharaoh to let God’s people go free.

But he impudently and haughtily replied, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice, to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.” Exodus 5:2. Then miracles were wrought before him. These were not at the first judgments, but simply manifestations of God’s power. But the magicians of Pharaoh, the servants of Satan, counterfeited these miracles, and Pharaoh’s heart became harder than before.

Yet the careful reader will see that even in the miracles that were counterfeited by the magicians, the superior power of the Lord was manifested.

Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart

When mild measures failed to cause Pharaoh to acknowledge the power of God, judgments were sent. God, who knows the end from the beginning, had said that Pharaoh’s heart would be hardened, and even that He Himself would harden it; and so it was. Yet it must not be supposed that God set about deliberately to harden Pharaoh’s heart against his will, so that he could not have relented if he had wished.

God sends strong delusion, that men should believe a lie, only upon those who have rejected the truth, and who love a lie. (See 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12.)

Every one has just what he most desires. If any man wishes to do the will of God, he shall know of the doctrine; but to him who rejects truth, there is nothing left but darkness and deception. (See John 7:17.)

Hardened by Mercy

It is well to note that it was the manifestation of the mercy of God that hardened Pharaoh’s heart.

The simple request of the Lord was scornfully denied. Then the plagues began to come, yet not immediately, but with interval enough to allow Pharaoh to think. But as long as the power of the magicians appeared to be as great as that exercised by Moses and Aaron, Pharaoh would not yield. Soon it became manifest that there was a power greater than that with his magicians.

They brought frogs upon the land, but they could not drive them away.

“Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the Lord, that He may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the Lord.” Exodus 8:8.

He had already learned enough of the Lord to call Him by His name.

“And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh; and Moses cried unto the Lord because of the frogs which He had brought against Pharaoh. And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields. And they gathered them together upon heaps; and the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.” Exodus 8:12-15.
“Let favour be shown to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord.” Isaiah 26:10.

Thus it was with Pharaoh.

The judgment of God caused his haughty purpose to weaken; but “when he saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart.” Again there came swarms of flies, at the command of the Lord, and Pharaoh said,

“I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away; intreat for me. And Moses said, Behold I go out from thee, and I will intreat the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to-morrow; but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord. And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the Lord. And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; and He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, and from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one. And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.” Exodus 8:28-32.

And so it went on throughout the plagues.

All the steps in each case are not recorded, but we see that it was the longsuffering and mercy of God that hardened Pharaoh’s heart. The same preaching that comforted the hearts of many in the days of Jesus, made others more bitter against Him.

The raising of Lazarus from the dead fixed the determination in the hearts of the unbelieving Jews to kill him. The Judgment will reveal the fact that every one who has in hardness of heart rejected the Lord, has done so in the face of the revelation of His mercy.

God’s Purpose with Pharaoh

“And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, Let My people go, that they may serve Me. For I will this time send all My plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like Me in all the earth. For now I had put forth My hand, and smitten thee and they people with pestilence, and thou hadst been cut off from the earth; but in very deed for this cause have I made thee to stand, for to show thee My power, and that My name may be declared throughout all the earth.” Exodus 9:13-16 R.V.

The still more literal rendering of the Hebrew by Dr. Kalisch, reads thus:

“For now I might have stretched out My hand, and might have smitten thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou wouldst have been cut off from the earth. But only for this cause have I let thee exist, in order to show thee My power, and that my name may be acknowledged throughout all the earth.”

A close comparison will show that this idea is expressed in the Revised Version, as quoted above, but not so clearly. It is not the case, as is too often lightly supposed, that God brought Pharaoh into existence for the express purpose of wreaking His vengeance upon him. Such an idea is most dishonouring to the character of the Lord.

But the true idea is that God might have cut Pharaoh off at the very first, and so have delivered His people without any delay.

That, however, would not have been in keeping with the Lord’s invariable course, which is to give every man ample opportunity to repent. God had borne long with Pharaoh’s stubbornness, and now proposed to send severer judgments; yet He gives him fair warning, that even yet he may turn from his wickedness.

God had kept Pharaoh alive, and had delayed to send His severest judgments upon him, in order that He might show unto him His power. But the power of God was being manifested at that time for the salvation of His people, and the power of God unto salvation is the Gospel.

Therefore God was keeping Pharaoh alive, in spite of his stubbornness, to give him ample opportunity to learn the Gospel. That Gospel was as powerful to save Pharaoh as it was to save the Israelites.

The revised renderings have been used because they are clearer than those of the common version, and not because the same truth is not set forth in each.

Take the common rendering, “In very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to show in thee My power; and that My name may be declared throughout all the earth,” [Exodus 9:16], and grant that it refers to the bringing of Pharaoh to the throne. Even then it is far from showing that God raised him up for the purpose of plaguing and killing him.

The text says that it was for the purpose of showing God’s power, and causing His name to be known throughout all the earth. To infer that God can show His power and make known His name only by the destruction of men, is dishonouring to Him, and contrary to the Gospel. “His mercy endureth for ever.” 1 Chronicles 16:34.

Declaring the Name of the Lord

God’s purpose was that His name should be declared throughout all the earth.

This is what was done, for we read that forty years later the people of Canaan were terrified at the approach of the Israelites, because they remembered what God had done in delivering them from Egypt. But the purpose of God would have been accomplished just the same if Pharaoh had yielded to the wishes of the Lord.

Suppose that Pharaoh had acknowledged the Lord, and had accepted the Gospel that was preached to him: what would have been the result? He would have done as Moses did, and have exchanged the throne of Egypt for the reproach of Christ, and a place in the everlasting inheritance. And so he would have been a most powerful agent in declaring the name of the Lord throughout all the earth.

The very fact of the acceptance of the Gospel by a mighty king, would have made known the power of the Lord as effectually as did the plagues. And Pharaoh himself, from being a persecutor of God’s people, might, like Paul, have become a preacher of the faith.

Sad to say, he did not know the day of his visitation.

A World-wide Gospel

Take particular notice of the fact that the purpose of God was that His name should be declared throughout all the earth.

This affair was not to be done in a corner. The deliverance from Egypt was not something that concerned only a few people in one portion of the earth. It was to “be to all people.” Luke 2:10.

In accordance with the promise to Abraham, God was delivering the children of Israel from bondage; but the deliverance was not for their sakes alone. Through their deliverance, His name and power was to be made known to the uttermost parts of the earth.

The Work Still to be Done

The time of the promise which God had sworn to Abraham was drawing near; but since that promise included the whole earth, it was necessary that the Gospel should be proclaimed as extensively. The children of Israel were God’s chosen agents to perform this work.

Around them, as the nucleus, the kingdom of God was to centre.

That they proved unfaithful to their trust, only delayed, but did not change God’s plan. Although they failed to proclaim the name of the Lord, and even denied it, God said, “As truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.” Numbers 14:21.

“This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness into all nations, and then shall the end come.” Matthew 24:14.

 

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