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Sermon Outline

Exodus

Oppression: The Background and the Birth of Moses

Lesson #1 for July 5, 2025

Scriptures:Exodus 1:1-22; 2:1-25; Genesis 37:26-28; 39:2,21; Acts 7:6; Galatians 3:16-17.

  1. What is the background for Exodus? What is the overall theme of the book of Exodus?

[From the Bible study guide=BSG:] The book of Exodus is not about Moses but, primarily, about God and His leadership in the life of Moses and Israel.―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 14.†‡

[BSG:] The principal point of [this study] … is the phrase “and God remembered his covenant” from our key text: “And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob” (Exod. 2:24). God’s faithfulness to His covenant promises brings stability into relationships between God and His people. He keeps His part, in spite of our unfaithfulness. God’s covenant constitutes the legal establishment of a relationship between God and His followers.―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 15-16.‡§ [God made arrangements to free His people.]‡

  1. Who was oppressed? What did God do about that oppression?

[BSG:] The book of Exodus resonates with accounts of the oppressed, the marginalized, the persecuted, the exploited, and the degraded. Thus, people today who feel abandoned, forgotten, and enslaved can find hope, because the same God who saved the Hebrews can save them as well.

The book of Exodus speaks to the existential battles of life and to the injustices and trials that are part of this life. Everyone can be encouraged by the stories of God’s interventions in favor of His suffering people. God hears the cry of the oppressed, sees their struggles, notes their tears, and, in their agony, comes to help.

God takes the initiative to deliver those who trust in Him. We need simply to accept, by faith, what He offers us. This is why the book of Exodus should be studied, for it points to what Jesus has done for us all. It is a book about redemption, deliverance, and final salvation—all of which are ours, by faith, in Christ Jesus and what He has secured for us.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Sabbath Afternoon, June 28.†‡

God’s Promises to Abraham

  1. God had promised Abram/Abraham that: (1) He would be the father of a great nation, and (2) The Messiah would come through his line. However, there was much trouble and heartache in the “family” before those promises were realized. Paul wrote:

Galatians 3:16-17: 16Now, God made his promises to Abraham and to his descendant. The scripture does not use the plural “descendants,” meaning many people, but the singular “descendant,” meaning one person only, namely, Christ. 17What I mean is that God made a covenant with Abraham and promised to keep it. The Law, which was given four hundred and thirty years later, cannot break that covenant and cancel God’s promise.—American Bible Society. (©1992). The Holy Bible: The Good News Translation®* [GNT] (Today’s English Version) [TEV], Second Edition,Galatians 3:16-17). Philadelphia: American Bible Society [abbreviated as Good News Bible-TEV].‡ [When did God promise that to Abram?]‡

  1. God had warned Abraham that trouble would be coming.

Genesis 15:13-16: 13The Lord said to him, “Your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land; they will be slaves there and will be treated cruelly for four hundred years. 14But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and when they leave that foreign land, they will take great wealth with them. 15You yourself will live to a ripe old age, die in peace, and be buried. 16It 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.”—Good News Bible-TEV.*†

  1. Paul recorded Stephen’s speech saying that God had told Abraham that his descendants would be slaves.

Acts 7:6: “This is what God said to him [Abraham]: ‘Your descendants will live in a foreign country, where they will be slaves and will be badly treated for four hundred years.’”—Good News Bible-TEV.*‡

  1. Without a good knowledge of the contents of the book of Genesis, it is impossible to understand what happened in the book of Exodus.

Joseph’s “Family” (Jacob’s/Israel’s Family) Moved to Egypt and Flourished

  1. Joseph had saved Egypt and that whole region from famine. Then, Joseph’s relatives (Jacob’s/Israel’s family) moved to Egypt and settled in the fertile land of Goshen in the Nile delta. They were blessed because of the work of Joseph; they prospered and grew in number.

[BSG:] The book of Exodus is called in Hebrew shemot, literally “names” in English, according to the opening words of that ancient document. “And these are the names” is how it begins. The names of the patriarch Jacob’s family are enumerated right at the start.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Sunday, June 29.‡§

Exodus 1:1-7: 1 The sons of Jacob who went to Egypt with him, each with his family, were 2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, 3Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, 4Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 5The total number of these people directly descended from Jacob was seventy. His son Joseph was already in Egypt. 6In the course of time Joseph, his brothers, and all the rest of that generation died, 7but their descendants, the Israelites, had many children and became so numerous and strong that Egypt was filled with them.—Good News Bible-TEV.*† [Later, we will talk about “70.” See starting with Item #33.]‡

  1. The first 215 years starting with Abraham in the land of Canaan went well. The descendants of Israel lived in Egypt for 215 years. It was not until about 100 to 115 of those years had passed that trouble began. What changed? Why weren’t Joseph’s descendants still treated with dignity and respect?

A “New” King and the Death Decree

Exodus 1:8-14: 8 Then, a new king, who knew nothing about Joseph [a king who did not respect the work of Joseph and what Joseph had done for Egypt], came to power in Egypt. 9 He said to his people, “These Israelites are so numerous and strong that they are a threat to us. 10In case of war they might join our enemies in order to fight against us, and might escape from the country. We must find some way to keep them from becoming even more numerous.” 11So the Egyptians put slave drivers over them to crush their spirits with hard labor. The Israelites built the cities of Pithom and Rameses to serve as supply centers for the king. 12But the more the Egyptians oppressed the Israelites, the more they increased in number and the further they spread through the land. The Egyptians came to fear the Israelites 13–14and made their lives miserable by forcing them into cruel slavery. They made them work on their building projects and in their fields, and they had no pity on them.—Good News Bible-TEV.*†‡

[BSG:] Israel’s prosperity turns into a problem. The new Egyptian Pharaoh becomes jealous and afraid of Israel; so, he shrewdly enslaves them through hard work and oppression. Historically, these dramatic events can best be placed against the backdrop of Egypt’s Eighteenth Dynasty. The new Hyksos dynasty began to rule at that time. Its first king, Ahmose (1580–1546 b.c.), can be recognized as the one who did not acknowledge Joseph’s achievements (Exod. 1:8) [“knew nothing about Joseph,” GNB*] and began to enslave the Israelites. The situation of God’s people quickly began to decline, from one of prosperity and the free inhabitance of Egypt to abject slavery under the bondage of harsh masters (Exod. 1:11, 13, 14). The king behind this drastic change was Amenhotep I (1553–1532). However, the more the Israelites were oppressed, the more they increased in number (Exod. 1:12). The pressure upon Pharaoh grew to subdue God’s people through hard labor.―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 14.†‡§

  1. Pharaoh decided that he needed to do something to stop the number of Israelites from growing so rapidly.

Exodus 1:15: Then the king of Egypt spoke to Shiphrah and Puah, the two midwives who helped the Hebrew women.—Good News Bible-TEV.*

[From the writings of Ellen G. White=EGW:] …. Orders were issued to the women whose employment gave them opportunity for executing the command, to destroy the Hebrew male children at their birth. Satan was the mover in this matter. He knew that a deliverer was to be raised up among the Israelites; and by leading the king to destroy their children he hoped to defeat the divine purpose. But the women feared God, and dared not execute the cruel mandate. The Lord approved their course, and prospered them.—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets* 242.1.†‡ [Compare Herod and Jesus! Was Satan trying to prevent Moses from growing up and delivering Israel? Or, was Satan looking even further down to road to try to prevent Christ from delivering the whole world and the human race and secure the universe? Or, both?]‡ [https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p84.1049&index=0]‡

  1. These Hebrew midwives, or possibly Egyptian midwives, probably knew little of theology. However, they knew what was moral and what was right.

[BSG:] Shiphrah and Puah, two midwives, are models of faithfulness. Because they feared God, they did not need to be afraid of Pharaoh’s anger. Their respect for the God of life guided them to have respect for human life. They refused to kill, by “accident,” the male Hebrew babies at birth. They knew that life is a gift from God, so they rejected Pharaoh’s orders.―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 15.‡

Exodus 1:15-22: 15 Then the king of Egypt spoke to Shiphrah and Puah, the two midwives who helped the Hebrew women. 16 “When you help the Hebrew women give birth,” he said to them, “kill the baby if it is a boy; but if it is a girl, let it live.” 17But the midwives were God-fearing and so did not obey the king; instead, they let the boys live. 18So the king sent for the midwives and asked them, “Why are you doing this? Why are you letting the boys live?”

19 They answered, “The Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they give birth easily, and their babies are born before either of us gets there.” 20–21Because the midwives were God-fearing, God was good to them and gave them families of their own. And the Israelites continued to increase and become strong. 22Finally the king issued a command to all his people: “Take every newborn Hebrew boy and throw him into the Nile, but let all the girls live.”—Good News Bible-TEV.*† [Could you throw all the baby boys into the river? What about any baby boy?]‡

[BSG:] In the darkness of hardships and our own suffering, we need to fix our eyes on God and trust Him, His leadership, and His wisdom because He will never forsake His children. He is with them in the midst of oppression and persecution. He knows the tears of the abused and wounded. He suffers with them. The prophet Isaiah aptly declares that God is afflicted in all our afflictions (Isa. 63:9). His solidarity with us is strong and irrevocable. In our suffering, He suffers; in our distress, He feels distressed; and in our pain, He feels pain. He is on the side of the persecuted who suffer for righteousness’ sake (Matt. 5:10). He is a merciful and gracious Lord. He is longsuffering with us, and, on the cross, He suffered to secure our salvation. In contrast, oppressors, abusers, and violators will experience God’s judgment of condemnation and final destruction. In this context, let us remind ourselves of the insightful statement of Ellen G. White …. [in] The Ministry of Healing [page 474 as quoted just below in Item #11].―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 15.‡§

  1. Ellen White notes:

[EGW:] In the future life the mysteries that here have annoyed and disappointed us will be made plain. We shall see that our seemingly unanswered prayers and disappointed hopes have been among our greatest blessings.—Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing* 474.1.‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p135.2492&index=0]‡

  1. What does the term pharaoh mean?

[BSG:] No pharaoh has a name in the book of Exodus. They carry the title of “Pharaoh” only, which means “king.” The Egyptians believed that the pharaoh was a god on earth, the son of the god Ra (or Osiris or Horus). Ra was considered the highest Egyptian deity, the sun god himself.

Yet despite all his power, this “god” [Pharaoh] was not able to force the midwives to go contrary to their convictions. In fact, in contrast to the nameless pharaoh, the two midwives are named, Shiphrah and Puah (Exod. 1:15); they are highly esteemed because they feared the Lord.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide for Tuesday, July 1.†‡§

  1. Pharaoh was not happy with the results. When he realized that his plan to kill the Israelite male babies was not working, he commanded all the Egyptians to take any Hebrew baby boy that they found and throw that baby into the river Nile which in their language is called Hapi. But, that order was not followed the way Pharaoh intended.

Moses: His Birth, Survival, and Adoption

Exodus 2:1-10: 1 During this time a man from the tribe of Levi married a woman of his own tribe, 2and she bore him a son. When she saw what a fine baby he was, she hid him for three months. 3But when she could not hide him any longer, she took a basket made of reeds and covered it with tar to make it watertight. She put the baby in it and then placed it in the tall grass at the edge of the river. 4The baby’s sister stood some distance away to see what would happen to him.

5The king’s daughter came down to the river to bathe, while her servants walked along the bank. Suddenly she noticed the basket in the tall grass and sent a slave woman to get it. 6The princess opened it and saw a baby boy. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said. [According to the beliefs of the Egyptians, a baby taken from the river would be a god.]

7 Then his sister asked her, “Shall I go and call a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby for you?”

8 “Please do,” she answered. So the girl went and brought the baby’s own mother. 9The princess told the woman, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So she took the baby and nursed him. 10Later, when the child was old enough [apparently 12 years old], she took him to the king’s daughter, who adopted him as her own son. She said to herself, “I pulled him out of the water, and so I name him Moses.”—Good News Bible-TEV.*†‡

  1. Apparently, Moses was a beautiful child. His mother was able to protect him for the first three months of his life. However, then she resorted to her plan to hide him in the river. He was found by Princess Hatshepsut. She, in turn, paid the mother of Moses to take care of him until the age of 12.
  2. Moses was born under a death threat. Who could have envisioned such a result of the promises God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Exodus 2:24-25: 24 [God] heard their groaning and remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25He saw the slavery of the Israelites and was concerned for them.—Good News Bible-TEV.*‡

[BSG:] Moses’ birth (Exod. 2:1–10) [quoted just above after Item #13] is a turning point in the flow of Israel’s history. God’s people were praying for deliverance from slavery, asking for His help in their desperate situation. God answered their supplications with the birth of Moses. God’s miraculous intervention to protect Moses’ life in this particular circumstance was possible only in collaboration with his parents and Miriam, his sister. Thus, we observe that God uses human instruments to advance His cause and purpose.―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 15.†‡§

  1. Moses was adopted by Hatshepsut, the Egyptian princess.

[BSG:] The Egyptian princess Hatshepsut adopted Moses as her son. The name given to Moses has an Egyptian origin, meaning “son of” or “born of,” as reflected in the names of Ah-mose [sic] (“son of Akh”) or Thut-mose [sic] (“son of Thoth”). His name is, thus, rendered in Hebrew as Mosheh, namely “drawn out.” His life was miraculously spared when he was “drawn out” of the river.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Wednesday, July 2.‡§

[BSG:] Moses’ Egyptian name fits well with this time period (similar to the name Thutmose) and means “born of” or “drawn (from).” His full name probably was Hapi-mose (Hapi being the god of the river Nile). But Moses, when referring to himself and writing under God’s inspiration, cut Hapi from his name, a sign of his refusal to be associated with the [Egyptian] god of the Nile.―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 14-15.‡

  1. Is there any mention of Hatshepsut in extra-biblical records? See the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut: https://www.privatetoursinegypt.com/Hatshepsut-Temple-attraction41

See also: https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g294205-d17814298-West_Bank_Luxor_valley_of_the_kings_queen_Hatshepsut_temple_Memnon_status-Luxor_Ni.html#/media/17814298/?albumid=-150&type=ALL_INCLUDING_RESTRICTED&category=-150

  1. After growing up for 12 years with his own Hebrew family, Moses went to live in the palace of his adoptive mother and received all the benefits and problems of being royalty.

[EGW:] She [Moses’s mother] kept the boy as long as she could, but was obliged to give him up when he was about twelve years old. From his humble cabin home he was taken to the royal palace, to the daughter of Pharaoh, “and he became her son.” Yet even here he did not lose the impressions received in childhood. The lessons learned at his mother’s side could not be forgotten. They were a shield from the pride, the infidelity, and the vice that flourished amid the splendor of the court.—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets* 244.1.†‡ [https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p84.1059&index=0]‡

  1. What was the princess’s plan for Moses.

[BSG:] Moses then received the best Egyptian education, all in order to prepare him to be the next pharaoh of Egypt (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 245). [What would it take to train a “god”?] How fascinating that, ultimately, so much of this education would be useless for, or even work against, what really mattered: the knowledge of God and of His truth.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Wednesday, July 2.†‡§ [As part of his advanced education, did Moses learn the new technique of writing using an alphabet instead of symbols such as hieroglyphics? There is reason to think that Moses wrote in Hebrew using the new concept of an alphabet!]‡

[EGW:] At the court of Pharaoh, Moses received the highest civil and military training. The monarch had determined to make his adopted grandson his successor on the throne, and the youth was educated for his high station. “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.”Acts 7:22. His ability as a military leader made him a favorite with the armies of Egypt, and he was generally regarded as a remarkable character. Satan had been defeated in his purpose. The very decree condemning the Hebrew children to death had been overruled by God for the training and education of the future leader of His people.—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets* 245.1.†‡ [What was Satan doing at that time?]‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p84.1063&index=0]‡

Moses: Conflict and Violence

  1. However, then there was a sudden change. Did Satan have anything to do with the change?

Exodus 2:11-16: 11 When Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his people, the Hebrews, and he saw how they were forced to do hard labor. He even saw an Egyptian kill a Hebrew, one of Moses’ own people. 12Moses looked all around, and when he saw that no one was watching, he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand. 13The next day he went back and saw two Hebrew men fighting. He said to the one who was in the wrong, “Why are you beating up a fellow Hebrew?”

14 The man answered, “Who made you our ruler and judge? Are you going to kill me just as you killed that Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said to himself, “People have found out what I have done.” 15–16When the king heard about what had happened, he tried to have Moses killed, but Moses fled and went to live in the land of Midian.—Good News Bible-TEV.*† [What a change!]‡

  1. So, what do you think Moses should have done with the Egyptian who killed the Israelite? What would you have done? What was the result?

[EGW:] The whole matter was quickly made known to the Egyptians, and, greatly exaggerated, soon reached the ears of Pharaoh. It was represented to the king that this act meant much; that Moses designed to lead his people against the Egyptians, to overthrow the government, and to seat himself upon the throne; and that there could be no security for the kingdom while he lived. It was at once determined by the monarch that he should die; but, becoming aware of his danger, he [Moses] made his escape and fled toward Arabia.—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets* 247.1.†‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p84.1073&index=0]‡

  1. Do you think it was within God’s plan that Moses kill the Egyptian? Or, was that Satan, trying to thwart God’s plan? How do you think things would have worked out if Moses had not killed that Egyptian?

Romans 8:28: We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose.—Good News Bible-TEV.*

[BSG:] The good news in all this is that, despite Satan’s plans, God overruled, and He used faithful people to thwart the enemy. We do live in the territory of our enemy, whom Jesus called “the prince” or “ruler of this world” (Eph. 2:2, NKJV;John 14:30). Satan usurped this position from Adam, but Jesus Christ defeated him in His life and through His death on the cross (Matt. 4:1–11,John 19:30,Heb. 2:14). Although Satan is still alive and active, as revealed in his attempt to kill those children, his own execution is certain (John 12:31; John 16:11; Rev. 20:9, 10, 14). The good news is that life’s difficulties can be overcome by God’s grace (Phil. 4:13). That grace is our only hope.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Friday, July 4.†‡§

  1. We know that Satan claims to be the ruler of this world. In some respects, he is!

Moses in Midian

Exodus 2:15-25: 15-16 One day, when Moses was sitting by a well [in Midian], seven daughters of Jethro, the priest of Midian, came to draw water and fill the troughs for their father’s sheep and goats. 17But some shepherds drove Jethro’s daughters away. Then Moses went to their rescue and watered their animals for them. 18When they returned to their father, he asked, “Why have you come back so early today?”

19 “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds,” they answered, “and he even drew water for us and watered our animals.”

20 “Where is he?” he asked his daughters. “Why did you leave the man out there? Go and invite him to eat with us.”

21 So Moses agreed to live there, and Jethro gave him his daughter Zipporah in marriage, 22who bore him a son. Moses said to himself, “I am a foreigner in this land, and so I name him Gershom.”

23 Years later the king of Egypt died, but the Israelites were still groaning under their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry went up to God, 24who heard their groaning and remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25He saw the slavery of the Israelites and was concerned for them.—Good News Bible-TEV.*†‡ [Why didn’t God find some way to end Israel’s slavery sooner? Or, was God trying earlier, and the Devil temporarily blocked that by inciting Moses to kill the Egyptian?]‡

  1. Moses’s life can be divided into 3 major parts of 40 years each.

[BSG:] Moses lived 120 years (Deut. 34:7), and his life can be divided into three parts of 40 years each. The first 40 years were in Egypt, much of them in the royal palace. The second 40 years he spent in Jethro’s house in the Midian territory. [The third period of 40 years was spent leading Israel out of Egypt and in the wilderness.]―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Thursday, July 3.‡§

[BSG:] The Bible does not reveal to us much about the first 40 years of Moses’ life (Acts 7:23), save these salient details: (1) Moses became the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; (2) when grown, he killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew; (3) he disputed with a Hebrew man hitting a fellow Hebrew; (4) subsequently, he flew [sic] [fled] to Midian where he stayed with Jethro, a priest, and married Jethro’s daughter, Zipporah; and (5) then he had a son, Gershon.―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 15.‡§

  1. Looking at the story of Jacob and his family superficially, we can wonder why God allowed the children of Israel to go into Egypt and be forced into slavery. While we do not have all the details, there is enough evidence to suggest a reasonable answer.
  2. Jacob’s sons had begun to marry Canaanite wives. If they had remained in Palestine/Canaan, the children of Jacob/Israel would have melted into Canaanite society. Then, we never would have heard of them. God needed to get His people away from the Canaanites!
  3. Many years earlier when Abraham and his entourage went to Egypt during a famine in Canaan, Pharaoh became concerned about the fact that Abraham was so wealthy and so powerful. Pharaoh was concerned that Abraham might be a threat to the Egyptian people and his government. Perhaps, he had heard about Abraham’s conquest of the kings who had attacked Sodom and Gomorrah in the Jordan Valley! (See Genesis 14.)
  4. After a period of time and when the drought eased, Pharaoh urged Abraham to return home. Pharaoh gave Abraham gifts to expedite him on his way. At that time, a decree was made in Egypt, forbidding the Egyptians to associate with foreigners who were herders of cattle and sheep. See Ellen White’s comments in Patriarchs and Prophets, page 130.1. (https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p84.510&index=0) Thus, when Joseph’s brothers arrived in Egypt, Joseph instructed them to tell Pharaoh that they were herders of sheep. Thus, they were given a specific, semi-isolated place in the Nile delta where they grew as a nation without intermingling with the Egyptians and away from the Canaanites. Thus, these two steps provided a way for the Hebrews to become a nation without being lost among the pagan nations in which they grew up.
  5. It may be hard for us to understand why God allowed the Hebrews to go through all those problems. But, let us never forget that God’s plans are farseeing, knowing the end results. God knew exactly what was going to happen, and He protected His people.
  6. God’s protection applies particularly to those who are oppressed, persecuted, exploited, even marginalized. God is the great Equalizer!
  7. Why did God allow His people to suffer under slavery and oppression from the Egyptians? Why didn’t God raise up a deliverer when oppression first started? Or, earlier? Why did God allow His people to become slaves and essentially non-humans who were not allowed to think for themselves or act out of conscience?
  8. Let us never forget that the Bible─including the book of Exodus─is not about human beings; it is about God!

The Issue of “70” Becoming “2 Million”

  1. There is a significant problem that is not dealt with in Bible study guide. The biblical record suggests there were only four generations of Israelites who lived in Egypt. How did they grow so quickly from a group of 70 descendants of Jacob (Exodus 1:5) to become a nation of almost 2 million people by the time of the exodus? If those 2 million were all direct descendants from Jacob, and there were only four generations from Jacob to Moses, those who know how to calculate such things have determined that each Hebrew woman would have needed to have had 56 living and procreating children!
  2. It is likely that when Jacob’s family went to Egypt, they went with their servants, their shepherds, and even their military people that they had kept from the days of Abraham. Remember that Abraham had 318 “fighting” men (Genesis 14:14) with him, likely to protect his flocks and herds. Thus, it was a large group that moved to Egypt; it was not just the 70!
  3. The Bible says there were 600,000 Israelite men in the exodus. So, about 2 million people.

Exodus 12:37: The Israelites set out on foot from Rameses for Sukkoth. There were about 600,000 men, not counting women and children.—Good News Bible-TEV.*

  1. Let us look at some secular history around the time of Moses and the exodus. Who were the rulers of Egypt at that time?

[BSG:] The historical background of Moses’ birth and life is thrilling because he lived during the time of the famous Egyptian eighteenth dynasty. One king during this dynasty—Thutmose III, called the “Napoleon of Egypt”—is considered one of the most famous pharaohs of ancient Egypt.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Wednesday, July 2.‡

[BSG:] This chain of pharaonic ruthlessness and oppression culminated during the cruel reign of Thutmose I (1532–1514), who mercilessly issued the death decree to kill all male Hebrew babies (Exod. 1:22). If the Exodus occurred in March 1450 b.c., the date we advocate, then Moses was born 80 years earlier, which would be 1530 b.c., during the rulership of Thutmose I. Thutmose I had a daughter who became Queen Hatshepsut (1504–1482). Hatshepsut adopted Moses and gave him that name. Hatshepsut died while Moses was in Midian. Hatshepsut’s husband Thutmose II (1508–1504) had, by a concubine, a son, namely Thutmose III (1504–1450), who was the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Pharaoh Amenhotep II (1453–1425), not the firstborn son of Thutmose III, was for more than two years a co-regent with his father and had a son who died in the tenth plague as the firstborn son. Pharaoh Thutmose IV (1425–1412), who succeeded Amenhotep II on the throne, was not the eldest son, as the inscription on the Sphinx Stela indicates. Thus, the biblical data can be harmonized with extrabiblical evidence.―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 14.†‡§

  1. It is impossible to explain this story from Abraham to the exodus without recognizing God’s hand repeatedly in miraculous forms.
  2. We have difficult times coming before us. Are we prepared to follow God’s guidance no matter what happens?

[BSG:] The first chapter of Exodus covers a long period—from the time of Joseph, when his father, Jacob, with the entire family entered Egypt, to Pharaoh’s death decree. Though some debate exists over the exact number of years, what matters is that, even with His people enslaved in a foreign land, the Lord did not forget them.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Monday, June 30.†‡

©2025, Kenneth Hart, MD, MA, MPH. Permission is hereby granted for any noncommercial use of these materials. Free distribution of all or of a portion of this material such as to a Bible study class is encouraged. *Electronic version. †Bold type is added. ‡Brackets and content in brackets are added. §Italic type is in the source.

Last Modified: June 9, 2025                                                                                                                          Email: Info@theox.org