He Saw Them Through (1)

Introduction:

The world has always been in a strait gate since the fall of man in the garden of Eden. Daily since then have humans been meeting with myriad of challenges, some would hold close to their jugular like the case of coronavirus, while for some they would easily maneuver through it.

The book from whence the topic has been taken is centered on the brief account of the Israelis journey and relationship with God. Being the eye of God as a nation, God brought them out of impossible position to take them to where he has promised to their fathers. During the process of taken them out of such position, he did some terrible things in righteousness to get them established as well as enter covenant with them as people and nation.

“He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap.” (Psa 78:13)

To really understand what this title means; and the text under focus, I will want us to dig into the background of the events that led to it for the children of Israel.

The people of Israel have been in slavery land in the land of Egypt for years, but during those times that they have been there, we shall notice that one thing was common among them, though there was no formal education neither writing then; yet, their fathers ensured that they were passing along to them oral histories for them to understand and learn from.

It is by those oral histories which they have been passing on to one another from generation to generation that made them to know that the land of Egypt was not their land, it was by that they know that they were aliens in the land of Egypt and one day they shall leave the place for the place that the lord has promised them.

It is good to say that, assuming they were not hearing such history about their land, it is a possibility that some of them would think that Egypt is their country and would not bother to think about the past neither their land again.

Many people like that today have missed their genealogies, they have been unable to trace their generations again because since they migrated to another land, they decided to cut off their genealogies, thus, their children always assume where they are is their country and town. But in some parts of the world today when those people were to receive benefits like others in the land, they would be shoved away, telling them that they do not belong to that country or town.

This means of history, they inherit from their forefathers because God trusts Abraham and he would say of him that though there was no education, but he believes he would hand over correctly to his heirs his doctrines. How would he hand it over when there were not documentations and writing then? God knows that he used to take time to tell his people histories, his relationship with God and he believes he would impress it in the hearts of his children to also do the same thing so that what he is releasing unto him would continue from generation to generation and thence the promise with him to be fulfilled.

“Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

“For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” (Gen 18:18-19)

Shall we read an account of one of the repeated histories that they used to hear when they were in the land that tells them that they are alien there and should be thinking about when they would return to their homes.

“And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.” (Exo 13:19)

We shall see that this is a message that is being passed on to another for generations, the message was being passed for close to four centuries before they were rescued. How do I mean? Shall we do a little bit of thinking (mathematics here) so as to have a full grasp of this?

Joseph through whom Jacob and his siblings got into the land lived for 110 years and he would at least be approximately 40 years of age when those people got to Egypt land through him, because he was granted pardon by King Pharaoh and made the Prime minister when he was 30 years old. (See Genesis 41:46)

“So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.” (Gen 50:26)

After being granted pardon, the first season of plenty which was seven years according to the revelations seen by King Pharaoh, passed, during that time the people of the land were storing those products in anticipation for the fulfilment of the revelation according to the interpretation (Gen. 41: 1-37) which means he would be 37 years and above then.

And it was not until the second year after the storage of foods in Jacob’s house got depleted that his siblings went to Egypt land when they heard that there was food there (Gen 45:6), which shows that he would be 39 going to 40 years when they knew him officially.

By the time, they all moved to Egypt land the man Joseph would be 40 years old. And if that would be subtracted from the 110 years, he lived on earth we shall be left with 70 years in the land with the people.

However, the people were not let go until they spent 430 years in the land.

“Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.” (Exo 12:40)

Which means that when Joseph was about to die, he has been telling them, that they should carry his bone along to the land of Canaan when they are visited and delivered by God. Because of his position in the land of Egypt he couldn’t have asked that his body be taken to the land of Canaan to be buried there, for he would risk the lives of other Israelis living in the land, but he vehemently told them that he does not want his bone to rotten in the land. this is symbolical of faith, pointing us all to heaven, that we should desire a place better than this place.

“By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.” (Heb 11:22)

This shows that for approximately 360 years, they have been passing the message from one person to another that they would be delivered, for even the prime minister, Joseph has said that, and they need to carry his bones along with them.

Now, even if they would not pass another oral messages to one another, at least that of Joseph shall be persistently passed one to another, for they weren’t sure of how the deliverance would occur, they weren’t sure of who would lead them out of the land, thus the need to keep passing the oral messages, history to themselves until it happened.

Having known from their histories that they are non-indigenes of Egypt that they were aliens to the land, they started to take step towards getting out of the country most especially when the leaderships of the country started maltreating them.

“Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.

“And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:

“Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.

“Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.” (Exo 1:8-11)

We did not know the period this prayer starts, but it is logical to say it would start when they started being maltreated, because human nature does not like maltreatment, but when they were yet to be maltreated, they could still be thinking the place is their country, but when they were being denied rights to medical facilities, (Exo 1:15-16), right to other things that other indigenes of the land were having access to, then they remember that they need to start thinking about home and they discovered that they couldn’t deliver themselves by their power, thus, they start to engage themselves in prayer actively that God come to their situation and deliver them.

I will continue with the explanation of this in the second article to know what happened and how the Lord saw them through their situations. The lord surely will see us through our predicaments since we belong unto him.