Asian Fellowship teacher: Ed van Ouwerkerk Today we discuss the “People of the Promise”, the descendants of Abraham: Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses, and how God leads the Hebrew people in Egypt out of slavery. Last time we discussed God’s plan through Abraham

People of the Promise The covenant promise given by God to Abraham was: “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you (Abraham) have done this and have not withheld your son (Isaac), your only son, I will surely..... you and make your descendants as as the in the.... and as the..... on the “ (Gen. 22:15-17) Who was Joseph? This promise of God passes through Abraham’s descendants: Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, etc. starssky sand seashore bless numerous Let’s first have a look at Abraham’s family tree.

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Watch the movie “The Hope” Chapter 6: People of the Promise in English onlineonline or in on DVD.

How did Joseph end up in Egypt? Genesis 37 Jacob, also named Israel, loved his son Joseph. Therefore and because Joseph had dreams, his brothers were jealous and threw him in a pit, sold him to traders to Egypt, dipped his clothes in blood and told father Jacob that Joseph was eaten by a wild beast. Genesis 39 and Genesis 41 Joseph entered Egypt as a slave, and was trapped in a false accusation, but God placed Joseph in a powerful position, because Pharaoh asked Joseph to interpret a dream of Pharaoh and Joseph interpreted the dream (a famine would come) correctly and Pharaoh placed Joseph in authority over Egypt.

How does Joseph’s forgiveness of his brothers reflect God’s forgiveness of us? Genesis 42, Genesis 43 and Genesis 44 The famine came over the earth and Joseph’s family suffered back home in the land of Canaan. But in Egypt Joseph had built the storehouses full of food. Although Joseph was betrayed by his brothers he still loved his family. Genesis 45 and Genesis 46 How did God use Joseph and his circumstances to show His grace and preserve the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Read Genesis 47: Because of Joseph’s position, Joseph’s family was allowed to come and stay in Egypt, and dwelled in a land that was not their own. Read Genesis 50:22-26.

The Hebrew people stayed in Egypt for hundreds of years. They had increased in number and were now called the Hebrew people. Exodus 1 The new Pharaoh was afraid that the Hebrew people would become so great that he enslaved them. The number of Hebrew people still increased. Read Exodus 1:22 How did the Hebrew people become enslaved? God prophesied this. Read Gen. 15: Pharaoh (inspired by Satan) ordered the death of every... in every Hebrew family. boy

But God had a higher plan. Read Exodus 2:1-10 Exodus 2:11-25 When Moses had grown up he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, and he killed the Egyptian. Afraid for Pharaoh’s repercussions Moses fled to the desert and lived there as a shepherd for 40 years. A Hebrew mother laid her baby in a basket and let it float on the river, where a daughter of found the baby. The daughter adopted the baby and named him Moses. Moses grew up as a prince. Pharaoh

God prepares Moses to lead the Hebrew people How did God preserve Moses from death and prepare him to be the leader of the Hebrew people? Notice how God gave Moses 40 years in Egypt to acquaint him with things there, and 40 years in the wilderness as a shepherd so he would be familiar with conditions there as well. Exodus 3 One day God appeared to Moses in a fire in the midst of a bush and yet the bush was not consumed. And God spoke to Moses. God told him to return to Pharaoh and lead his people out of Egypt. Sing “Go down Moses”. Exodus 4, 5, 6, and 7 Moses was afraid but he obeyed God. Moses and his brother Aaron learnt that Pharaoh refused to let the Hebrew people go.

Exodus 7-11 God sent a series of terrible plagues on Egypt, but non of the plagues touched the Hebrew people. After each plague the Pharaoh still refused to let the Hebrew people go. Again we see God’s judgment on sin through the plagues He brings on Egypt, which ultimately brings the judgment of death. God brings the Hebrew people out of Slavery Exodus 12 Then God commanded each Hebrew family to slay a lamb and place blood of the lamb over the door of the houses. And God sent death over every firstborn in the land, except those with blood on the doorposts.

The people of Israel were saved from the angel of death by the blood of the lamb on their doorposts. Read Exodus 12:12-13 This is a picture of the death of Christ and how the shedding of blood (a sacrificial substitute) is shown to be necessary for God’s salvation. This (the blood of a lamb) is another example of a sacrificial substitute to deliver people from Satan, sin and death.

Exodus 12:31 through 14 Finally Pharaoh released the Hebrew nation and the Hebrew people left Egypt, but Pharaoh had a change of heart. With his army he pursued the people to the edge of the sea. Then God divided the sea for the Hebrew people to cross on dry land. And when the Egyptians pursued to follow them, God returned the water drowning the whole Egyptian army. The Hebrews were safe and rescued by God from slavery. What does God’s victory over Pharaoh and the deliverance of Israel tell us about God? God put the Hebrew people in a position at the Red Sea which left them wholly dependent on God (once again) for deliverance. Read Exodus 14:13-14.

Central theme in God’s Word is: ‘how to be saved, sacrificial substitute’ Do you remember three events? 1. After the first sin committed by Adam and Eve, God provided an animal skin to cover their nakedness. In order to provide that skin God must have slaughtered an animal. Gen. 3: The first Jew Abraham was called to sacrifice his own son. After he had shown that he was willing to put his son to death, God inter- vened and provided an animal as substitute sacrifice. Gen. 22:2, God commanded each Hebrew family living as slaves in Egypt to slay a lamb and place blood of the lamb over the door of the houses. This act of obedience was followed by saving them from death, delivering them, and bring them out of slavery. Exodus 12:13. All these events point to the turning point in history, when God sent His only Son as a sacrificial substitute for the sins of all people at all times. Jesus is the promised deliverer, our Savior and Lord. In Him is ‘The Hope’!