Sunday: The God Who Hears
“I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering” (Exod. 3:7, NIV).
Four hundred years is a long time to wait, especially when waiting in conditions of increasingly harsh slavery.
Slaves in Egypt
God had promised that He would return to His people and bring them out of Egypt, but for generation after generation they were left to build the wealth and prestige of their idolatrous oppressors, and all the while God seemed silent.
Then God manifested Himself in a unique way. He appeared in a burning bush out in the remote desert to an unlikely leader, a fugitive prince and humble shepherd named Moses. He gave the reluctant Moses a job to do, and the first part of that job was to go back to the Israelites in Egypt with the message that God had heard and seen their oppression—and, yes, He did care. In fact, He was about to do something to change their situation dramatically.
Read Exodus 3:16-17. Why was it important for God to begin outlining His plan for these people with this specific message? What catches your attention about this statement from God?
But God does not stop there. Not only does He have a plan for a better land, He does not intend for the people to escape from Egypt destitute. For hundreds of years, they had contributed to the wealth of the Egyptian Empire. God foresaw the initial resistance from Pharaoh, but He assured Moses that the Israelites would be compensated for their years of hard labor: “And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed” (Exod. 3:21, NIV).
After their years of oppression, God took the opportunity to establish a new kind of society with these former slaves. He wanted them to live in a different way and to establish a society that would continue to be sustainable and viable. His plan was that this new kind of society would be a model for the surrounding nations and, like Abraham, that the blessings they received from God would also bless the whole world.
| How important is it to you that God is a God who sees the suffering of people in the world and hears their cries for help? What does this tell you about God? Consider Exod. 4:31. |
(31)
Four hundred years is a long time in human history. It is between 16 and 20 generations. Someone in the Ashton family is into family history and I have my genealogy going back 14 generations. I have to say that while I remember my grandparents and have seen the graves of some of my great-great-grandparents, before that I have no knowledge of the family members, even though some of them are called "Maurice Ashton" (both spellings). So it is not surprising that the Israelites had forgotten their ancestry.
The Israelites had come to Egypt as privileged guests and had essentially outstayed their welcome. So as was common in those days privilege was essentially forgotten and they were put to work, probably by those who were jealous of their position. And in the course of those 400 years, their knowledge of God had largely been eclipsed by the needs of day-to-day survival. Even in their slavery, they were relatively well fed; they ate onions and longed for them when the food got a bit boring on the exodus.
Having said all that, they were aware of their captivity and longed to be back in the land that Abraham had been given. Moses however, had his work cut out educating them. It was not just a case of rescuing a captive nation from its oppressors, but of changing their lives so that, not only would they be self-sufficient but active witnesses to the nations around them.
The lesson we can learn from the captive Israelites is that helping is often an educative process. God was listening, but freedom was not just doing what they wanted, it was about learning and growing and developing. That is a lot more than putting money in a box.
It is valuable to know that God is intimately involved with our situation, knowing even more than we do about everything that happens to us. He knows the number of hairs we have. Even though He has to let His people suffer at times for reasons only He can see and understand at the time, it is for our good if we love Him and are the called according to His purpose. Someday we will understand if we are faithful. God will show us all things.
Maybe, at times, we don’t receive because we don’t pray in the name (Character) of Jesus. Maybe other times it is to save us from eternal destruction. If we ask for the “Faith of Jesus” that comes with the presence of the Holy Spirit, we can be encouraged in Him.
“Conflict is inevitable, but combat is optional.” — Max Lucade
A group of Pharisees and scribes approached Him, dragging with them a terror-stricken woman, whom with hard, eager voices they accused of having violated the seventh commandment. Having pushed her into the presence of Jesus, they said to Him, with a hypocritical show of respect, "Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest Thou?"
Their pretended reverence veiled a deep-laid plot for His ruin. They had seized upon this opportunity to secure His condemnation, thinking that whatever decision He might make, they would find occasion to accuse Him. Should He acquit the woman, He might be charged with despising the law of Moses. Should He declare her worthy of death, [461] He could be accused to the Romans as one who was assuming authority that belonged only to them.
"He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." And stooping down, He continued writing on the ground.
The woman had stood before Jesus, cowering with fear. His words, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone," had come to her as a death sentence. She dared not lift her eyes to the Saviour's face, but silently awaited her doom. In astonishment she saw her accusers depart speechless and confounded; then those words of hope fell upon her ear, "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more." Her heart was melted, and she cast herself at the feet of Jesus, sobbing out her grateful love, and with bitter tears confessing her sins.
This was to her the beginning of a new life, a life of purity and peace, devoted to the service of God. In the uplifting of this fallen soul, Jesus performed a greater miracle than in healing the most grievous physical disease; He cured the spiritual malady which is unto death everlasting. This penitent woman became one of His most steadfast followers. With self-sacrificing love and devotion she repaid His forgiving mercy.
The Sinless One pities the weakness of the sinner, and reaches to her a helping hand. While the hypocritical Pharisees denounce, Jesus bids her, "Go, and sin no more."
Desire Ages Pages 460-465
The pharisees thought God did not hear them.
1) He did not speak and publicize the sin of the pharisees who were seeking the blood of Him
2) He did speak to the woman giving the assurance of salvation.
How do we choose to respond to what we heard is vital in our relationship with the Lord and each other.
As a church do we hear the cry of the oppressed and give a lifting hand to the one who is hurting or do we gossip and create a greater conflict.
Jacob and his sons went to Egypt, one of them was Levi, who had Kohath who had Amram who had Aaron and Moses, so Moses was the great grandchild of Levi 1Chron 6:1-3
Joseph died at 110 years old and while he lived the children were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them. Ex 1:6,7
So it was only 3 generations and they weren't persecuted all the time,why did they forget the LORD, was it time, prosperity or persecution?
When did the 400 years of affliction start? 30 years after the promise to Abraham when Ishmael mocked Isaac. 215 years later Joseph revealed himself to his brothers and 215 years later Moses led them out of Egypt
AnswersinGenesis/bible-questions/how-long-were-the-Israelites-in-egypt
Valuable information. Thank you!
Thanks you Maurice. were can I find this information. I want to learn more.
Cleopatra I suggest you read the 1st 3 chapters of The Desire of Ages for a good history lesson. The latter chapters of Prophets and Kings are pertinent also to Maurice,s excellent history summary. If you don’t have access to Ellen G.Whites writings you can down load the ‘EGW writings’ app. Android or Apple. Oh so you only have Windows 10. Just type in https//whiteestate.org. Or
https//egwwritings.org
I have often read this story and wondered why 400 years. How long must we suffer before my compassionate God acts to remove the oppression. I ponder over how inpatient we are while we go through trials and reflect on my own desperate moments when I'm consumed by the waiting and seeming inaction from my deliverer. I am reminded that for some trials the words of Paul may provide the answer 2 Chorintians 12:9 "God's Grace is Enough"
I must trust His timing
Hello Angel,
Just thought you would be interested in an idea about why the children of Israel had to wait 400 years before they could possess the Promised Land. In Genesis 15 when God makes his promise to Abram, he states:
“Your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land; they will be slaves there and will be treated cruelly for four hundred years. But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and when they leave that foreign land, they will take great wealth with them. You yourself will live to a ripe old age, die in peace, and be buried. It will be four generations before your descendants come back here, because I will not drive out the Amorites until they become so wicked that they must be punished.” (Genesis 15:13-16.)
So it not just about us. As the Apostle Peter points out, “The Lord is not slow to do what he has promised, as some think. Instead, he is patient with you, because he does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins.” (2 Peter 2:9.) God is not willing that anyone perish. He wants all who will to come to him and become his children.
Richard
“The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.”
- Proverbs 15:29
In this era of social media such as Facebook and Twitter, it is quite common to find friends and acquaintances using these tools to ask for prayer, to offer prayer, or to share posts that say something like “I believe prayer works; click if you agree.” Often, those who use social media for such purposes are well-intentioned, and we do not want to deny that the Lord can use such avenues to rally His people to come before His throne. However, the fact that such things are such a common sight online can indicate a significant misunderstanding of prayer and God’s willingness to hear it. When even non-Christians or people of no religious affiliation whatsoever start promising to offer prayers in our behalf, we know that they are operating under false assumptions about our Creator and those to whom He listens.