The promise extends into this era by way of the patriarchs of Israel. “Jacob’s twelve sons and Joseph’s two children multiplied until they became a great nation during the Egyptian bondage.” The Egyptian bondage was prophesied as early as Genesis 15:13 by God when He said to Abraham that “thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.” So, the reader is not taken aback by the Egyptian bondage, but by the subtlety of the subjugation. After Joseph’s death, a son of Jacob and a Pharaoh-appointed ruler, Abraham’s heirs multiply in Egypt. While that Pharaoh was still on the throne, he was friends with the Israelites because of what Joseph had done. However, a new Pharaoh did arise that did not know Joseph; the great number of Jews in Egypt were no longer considered friends, but potential enemies.
But this was the people of promise, Abraham’s heirs, God’s chosen people. “Israel was more than a family or God’s son; Israel had also become a goy, a ‘nation’ (Exodus 19:6).” How would God bring them out of this horrible dilemma? What was to become of this great young nation?
God had a man in mind to lead His people from out of the stronghold of the Egyptian kingdom. His name was Moses. In effort to keep the Israelites from multiplying any further, Pharaoh issued a decree to kill all Hebrew male babies. When Moses was born, his Hebrew parents hid him for three months. Once he could not be hidden any longer, they put him in an ark and put him in the river where the Pharaoh’s daughter and her maidens found the child on the river’s edge and decided to raise the baby. So, Moses became the adoptive son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
When Moses is an adult, he witnesses an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. He kills the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. After Moses tries to be peacemaker between two brawling Hebrews, they “reject his authority and broadcast his earlier murder.” What Moses had tried to hide was now known and an informed Pharaoh sought to kill Moses. Moses runs from Egypt into a region of the desert known as Midian where he starts a family and works for his father-in-law as a sheep-herder.
God called Moses from a burning bush. The Lord told Moses, “I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:6). God has not forgotten His people. God has not forgotten His promise. And God has not forgotten the seed. “And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites” (Exodus 3:7-8). The Lord has chosen Moses to deliver the nation of Israel from the bondage of the Egyptians.
This great nation of Israel, led by Moses, would be delivered from the hand of Pharaoh. But, it would be no easy task. Through a series of plagues and miracles and the eventual drowning of Pharaoh and his armies, God frees the Hebrews from Egyptian oppression to thus lead them to the promised land of Canaan.
The inner biblical unity is still centered upon God’s promise in the Garden of Eden, through the Flood, to the promises made to Abraham, and even unto this great nation of over 600,000 freed slaves led by Moses. The Lord is faithful to His people through these calamities and the Lord is faithful to His promise. The unifying thread is never disrupted even throughout the various eras whereby we can form a solid and complete theology built upon His promise. Before we continue into the next era, we should take note of some important events that will factor in the expansion of the Genesis 3:15 promise.
God is holy and therefore His people will be a holy nation. In order for man to continue in fellowship with a righteous god, man had to be “right-standing” with God. God gave Moses the Law to introduce to the people of Israel. The Law showed man that he is not righteous nor could he ever be righteous.
The Ten Commandments were etched upon Mt. Sinai by the finger of God. Its laws of morality were meant to show mankind how to keep a connection with God and how to treat others. Man needed guidance in these areas because the flesh is sinful by nature.
“The same law that made such high demands on mankind also provided in the event that there was a failure to reach those standards an elaborate sacrificial system” Because man is sinful by nature, by birth, and by choice, when laws are broken there must be consequences. God installed a system for forgiving sins. There were burnt, guilt, sin, grain, and peace offerings that involved animal sacrifices in place of the guilty party. “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). The book of Leviticus outlines the sacrifices and ceremonial laws. The sacrifices were intended to keep and restore the covenant relationship between man and God.
God sets apart priests to perform these holy acts of forgiveness. Aaron serves as the first high priest. Aaron, his sons, the tribe of Levi are appointed to be the high priest, priests, and the priests’ assistants. They minister to the people. They perform the holy ceremonies for the people duties within the tabernacle.
Where would the priests perform these duties? God designed the tabernacle to have a place of where to perform the sacrifices and the ceremonies. It was where the congregation would meet and there were the priests, the altar, and the Lord. The tabernacle would be a place where the Lord would dwell. “And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory” (Exodus 29:43). No other place was set aside for the nation of Israel to be in the presence of the Lord, but the tabernacle. No other place was sanctified on earth for God to dwell among men. “And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God” (Exodus 29:46).
Where is the promise, the center of our theological study, found in the Law? Where is the promise in the tabernacle? The Law showed man that they were not righteous. The Law showed that man could never be righteous when sin is ever-present. The Law showed that God is holy and righteous. The fact that mankind needs forgiveness from sin is demonstrated in the Law and that God in grace and mercy will provide forgiveness is seen within the tabernacle. The promise is ongoing even in the wilderness, even among sinful man. Not only is this a picture of the “Lamb of God,” but it is part of the thread of promise that connects the various eras found as early as in the Old Testament.
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