(Exodus) Exodus 1 Introduction — J. Vernon McGee

Exodus Continues the Account of Genesis

Now, the book of Exodus, friends, is a book where it continues the account that was begun in Genesis. As someone has said, nothing is begun in Exodus and nothing is concluded in Exodus. It just continues the account.

The Chronological Gap Between Genesis and Exodus

Actually, there is a break, however, of three and a half centuries. You remember back in Genesis 15, 13, God had said to Abraham that they would spend 400 years in Egypt. Now, over in Exodus 12, 40, it says it was 430 years.

Reconciling the 400 and 430 Years

And, of course, the critic always likes to point out little things like that and find an error in the Bible, a contradiction. Well, actually, if you turn over to Galatians 3, 16 and 17, you'd find out that the Exodus date is confirmed.

But you'd note there, it was 430 years from the call of Abraham, and it was 400 years from the time that God told Abraham what would happen to his offspring. You see, He didn't give him that at first.

Uncertainty in Patriarchal Chronology

But I do want to add this rather hastily, that it's difficult to be dogmatic about the chronology of the patriarchal period. That is, when you get back that far, it's very difficult to date it. They didn't have calendars back there, and they didn't feel it was as important as we seem to think it is today, the dates.

Now, we've omitted, if you'll notice, all dates in these outlines. And the reason for that is that the books of the Pentitude, I do not think that we ought to attempt to be dogmatic about dates, and therefore I do not want to put it down in black and white.

Israel Multiplies in Egyptian Bondage

Now, this book of Exodus opens with the children of Israel in Egyptian bondage. In fact, chapter 1, we find Israel in Egyptian bondage. Three and a half centuries have gone by, and they came down there, just a little group, actually.

We're told here in verse 5, "...and all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls," for Joseph was in Egypt already, and that out of these seventy, why, it probably went up to 2 ,100 ,000.

Now, when I get to the book of Numbers, I'll go into detail of why we assume that it was that number. In fact, that happens to be the numbering that Dr. Melvin Grove-Kyle, one of the great Egyptologists of the past, he was the editor of National Geographic and of this ponderous set of books called the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.

He was a great archaeologist, by the way. I had the privilege of studying under him, and he gives the figure of 2 ,100 ,000 that went out of Egypt, and 70 went down. So, you see, when God said that he would multiply the seed of Abraham, God really did it.

God Fulfills His Promise to Jacob

He made good. I think that you need to put with the book of Exodus, the passage back in the 46th chapter of Genesis, beginning of verse 2, the two verses there, and I'd like to read these because this gives us the background.

And it says, "...and God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. And he said, I am God, the God of thy father. Fear not to go down into Egypt, for I will there make of thee a great nation.".

Now, when the book of Exodus opens, that promise of God has been made good. Here are these people down there, 2 ,100 ,000, and that, by the way, is a minimum. It could not have been less than that. Personally, I think it could have been twice that number.

Some think it was five millions came out of the land of Egypt. And again, regardless of the number, down in that land, they became a great nation. But under most adverse circumstances and difficulties, as we shall see as we get into this book, the man now that comes before us is actually the author of the Pentateuch, the man who wrote Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Moses and the Authorship of the Pentateuch

These first five books of the Bible are called the Pentateuch, and Moses is the author. They are called the Mosaic System or the Mosaic Law, he being the author of these books. And you are well aware, I'm sure, that the critic today assumes there were many authors, not just Moses.

And that's been batted around since the days of the Graf Welthausen hypothesis that came out of Germany. You see, that came out before Nazism came out of Germany. It's interesting that when men give up the Bible, they take on some very peculiar philosophies, but that was part of the rejection.

We still take the position that Moses is the author of the first five books of the Bible, and there's good evidence that that is accurate. And therefore, we're going to have Moses come before us in this book as he does in no other book.

The Three Forty-Year Periods of Moses' Life

And you find his life divided into three 40-year periods. The first 40 years in Pharaoh's palace in Egypt, and then 40 years on the backside of the desert in Midian, and then 40 years in the wilderness as the leader of Israel.

And we'll go into that, of course, when we get to it. These are some of the things that are going to be before us as we get into this book of Exodus. And by the way, we do have a book that we'd like to mention at this time, and we send these little books to those who have part in this program.

We have no other way, frankly, of carrying on the program or getting out books except just to tell folk very candidly, I don't like to use gimmicks in saying we send a book to you free, and then on the other hand say, be sure and send in an offer.

Well, I just think we better tell it like it is, and that is we do depend on those who believe in this program and want to continue it. Therefore, this little book, Back to Bethel, we'd like to send to you.

It takes you back to Jacob and shows how God brought this man from out of the land of Haran back to Bethel and then prepared this man to go down into Egypt where God there made of them a great nation.