The Precarious Position of Death. Thoughts on Exodus 1:1-6

I love God’s word. It is filled with so much richness. You can learn something profound every time you open its pages no matter how exhaustively you’ve studied it. So much can be gleaned from taking one passage of scripture and looking at it from various perspectives. What symbolic words, names, places, numbers, or items might be within the passage? How does the story tell a story within the story that always points to Jesus Christ? What can I learn by comparing and contrasting God with man, one character to another character, or the righteous to the unrighteous? What can I learn from cross references to allow the Bible to interpret itself to expand my understanding? I love pondering the overarching and threaded themes throughout the Bible, to see and connect how it is an integrated message revealing God’s heart to the object of his love, mankind.

Recently, someone in my life made the comment that even Christians cannot agree on what the Bible is saying. What a grieving statement to hear from someone you love when you know the depth of goodness and wisdom contained within its pages. Sometimes, as I approach difficult and controversial passages, I hesitate and lose what little boldness that I have. Who am I to speak on the wonders and glory of God. What if I say something wrong? Exodus can strike similar fear. How does this impact me? What am I supposed to understand from all of these laws? Questioning passages and seeking an understanding of difficult texts is not something we should shy away from, however. They are contained within God’s word for a reason. We should seek to understand. These complexities should never, however, overshadow the simplicity that is the gospel message of grace. Our approach should always begin by seeking to understand the author’s main point. Words are subject to misinterpretation if they are not understood within the parameters of the context that they were delivered in.

I’ve recently begun a study in the book of Exodus. Exodus starts with a recount of the sons of Jacob who came to Egypt. If you’re familiar with the Bible, you might gloss over this beginning. One thing that the combination of writing and studying the Bible inductively has taught me is to appreciate these beginnings as much as the meaty middle of the story. Someone took the time to craft the beginning of this story in precisely this way. The author is trying to introduce us to something about the story that is important to its overall context.

Exodus 1:1-6 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household.: Reuban, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin. Dan and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. All the descendants of Jacob were seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt. Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation.

The words that jump out to me are names and died. They make this introduction a link between the events that are to come, and the promises previously given. The author is reminding us of the sons of Jacob and making a point to show that they are not living in the land of Canaan, but that they are living in Egypt. God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations and that his descendants would receive the whole land of Canaan. This does not hit the mark of God’s promised blessing. I can’t help but wonder if they would have been faithful to follow God’s voice if the slavery and oppression would never have occurred or would they have been content remaining sojourners in a foreign land and never desiring to take up their position as God’s people in God’s nation? What does it look like in a life when complacency replaces waiting on the Lord?

Genesis ends with a sense of foreboding surrounding death. After Jacob dies, his sons recognize their precarious position and are fearful that Joseph, the brother with all the power, the brother that they hurt, will retaliate. They, however, are met with grace. Genesis 50:18-21 His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus, he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. Now we see that Joseph and his brothers have also died, bringing them once again into a precarious position, a foreshadowing that begs the reader to ask, will the next leader be so gracious and kind as Joseph had been? But, the more important question, the question linked to this particular family, the descendants of Abraham, will the intent and actions of the next leader thwart the purposes and intent of the living God? Will God remember them and his promises? This passage begins with the main themes that set the tone for the entire book of Exodus. Despite death lurking and prideful, unyielding evil plotting at every turn, God is in control. He remembers, and he delivers.