A Story Unlike Any Other Story… Ever!
This blog post is Part 2 of a series entitled "From Fear To Freedom" by Pastor Jeffrey Dean Smith of Donelson First in Nashville, TN.
Message Date: February 4, 2024
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On August 13, 1994, Amy and I were married. We moved into a home we built on the Wilson and Davidson County line. At the time, Amy taught Business classes at Davidson Academy by day and attended Law School by night. I traveled a lot during this time. My ministry was taking off and the Lord was giving me opportunities to speak and preach in places all across America. Whether on the road or at home, most of my mornings included a daily ritual phone call from my new wife that inevitably started with almost verbatim the same few words from Amy about a choice she would say was a horrific mistake! Just about every morning after arriving at work, she would call me and begin by saying: “I made a terrible mistake marrying you Jeffrey!” … Just kidding! She would say, “I hate Nashville traffic! We have to move!” Well, we put up with the traffic for three years and then we moved here to Donelson in 1997. Amy and I have only moved one time during our 29 years of marriage. I hope we never move again. We only moved 10 miles. But it was a monumental task I hope to never again repeat.
10 miles is nothing compared to almost 500. In particular when the year is 1728 BC. Canaan, a land in the ancient Middle East, has been overwhelmed by a drought and famine. Known for its agriculture and rich soil, the green and flowering landscape has all but dried up. This famine led the sons of Israel to move approximately 500 miles from Canaan to Egypt; no short trip indeed, especially in a time such as this when a lengthy move happened via foot and on the backs of animals.
Exodus 1:1-5
I suppose Jacob and his entire Jewish family of 70 believed that the famine is what led to their decision to make the move to Egypt thus becoming foreigners in a foreign land. But we are going to see that there is much more to the journey these Jews made from Canaan to Egypt than merely a family in need of food. You may recall from last week’s study that Abraham was promised the stars... well, descendants as numerous as the stars.
Genesis 15:5-6
Do you notice the statement: “…and he credited to him as righteousness?” What does this mean? It means that God made Abram righteous that day – the same righteousness that His Son, Jesus, will one day bring to the entire world for those who choose to accept Him as Savior. At that moment, Abram believed in God and he became righteous. And then look at what God says:
Genesis 15:13-21
There are 6 “know for certain” statements God makes to Abraham in Genesis 15 about what is to come for the people of God, the nation of Israel:
1. God’s people will be strangers in a land not theirs.
2. God’s people will be slaves.
3. God’s people will be mistreated.
4. God’s people will be mistreated by a people who will be punished.
5. God’s people will be delivered and will leave a land not their own with many possessions.
6. God’s people will return to Canaan.
So from this promise of God until the first breath of Moses, what happens? Well, what doesn’t happen! A lot happens! Before we dive head-strong into this very detailed and in-depth study of this remarkable man, we need once again to take a colossal step backwards to adequately understand all that has happened leading up to the reason for which the Jews are in Egypt living as foreigners in a foreign land. And I too want to say this: If you have grown up in the church, then these Old Testament stories, I presume, are of tremendous familiarity to you. And if not careful, you can be guilty of approaching this teaching series with either perceived expectations, traditions or assumed knowledge.
I am confident there is not a person coming into this study fully void of fears; not a one of us. We each carry with us, on some level and in some way, fears. I want to encourage us all, though not easy to do, to make this our personal pursuits to:
Voyage into this journey, as did Moses (most of the time,) with a trusting heart, a faithful expectation, and a willing spirit – an openness to learn, to be taught, to be challenged, to be inspired, to be convicted, to be encouraged, to be refreshed, as I too journey from fear to freedom.
I too want to exclaim: These are not merely stories on a page. These are real events representing real people; people not perfect; people not polished; people angry; people hurting; people questioning; people with feelings – feelings of loneliness, inadequacy, brokenness, and… so very many people living in fear with a very real and necessary need to find freedom.
Here is a not-so-quick history lesson. I am going to show you how it all connects... from Abraham to Moses! And my oh my what history lesson this will be! Around 2080 BC, as we just read, God makes a covenant with Abraham promising him that his descendants will be given the nation of Israel. To Abraham and his wife, Sarah, a son is born. His name is Isaac. You may know the story of Abraham being tested by God when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on Mt. Moriah. I cannot imagine doing so. But Abraham, even after hearing from God that God will in fact bless his name and that his descendants will inherit a great land and be the greatest nation, Israel, Abraham obeys God and takes his son to the region of Moriah to kill him. But look at what happens next:
Genesis 22:15-18
I want to pause to draw your attention to two statements of God that I find to be most amazing: The first is at the end of verse 16. Look again at these words; words we only find referenced in all of the Scriptures to one more person!
Genesis 22:16 - “… your only son.”
These words appear 6 times in all of Scripture. In:
John 1:14 / John 1:18 / John 3:16 / John 3:18 / 1 John 4:9
In each of these passages, the reference is to: God’s only Son, Jesus. The only other two times these words appear in the Bible referencing a Father and Son relationship is here in Genesis 22 and in this verse referencing, again, Abraham and Isaac:
By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son. Hebrews 11:17
Church, I find this to be truly fascinating. This very special statement “Only Son” is solely reserved in all of the Holy Scriptures for the relationship Abraham has with his son, Isaac, and the relationship God has with his own Son, the Savior of the world, Jesus! I know it’s just a few little words, but nuggets like this are throughout Scripture... you just have to look for them. And to me, the usage of these two words, “Only Son,” speaks to a relationship God has with Abraham that is truly special, and too, the relationship Abraham has with his son, Isaac, is too one, in God’s eyes one unlike any other Father – Son relationship in all of Scripture. This too speaks to just how monumental this covenant is between God and Abraham. Truly fascinating!
Additionally, notice a promise from God most amazing here in this passage – a promise for us all! Look again at verse 18: Genesis 22:18 - “All nations!” That’s us y’all! Oh, come Lord bless us! Continue to bless our nation too!
So Abraham displays tremendous faith in God and God spares his son. What is amazing about this story, is that historians presume Isaac to be close to the age of 20 when Abraham climbs the mountain with his son to sacrifice him. Oh, how I hope we study this in detail at a later date. If in fact Isaac was a teenager at this point in time, then this means that Isaac could have easily fought his father off on that mountain that day. But he did not! Could this mean that, not only was Abraham a man of tremendous faith trusting in God in this mostly-impossible situation, but too, Isaac, was such a young man of faith, that he too willingly trusted as his daddy requested and allowed himself to be bound and placed on the wooden altar? What a fascinating moment in this story!
Well… Isaac does not die on that mountain that day, and at a later date, Isaac meets a woman, Rebekah, falls in love, and marries her, and they have two sons:
Genesis 25:19-28
Later in their adult life, things get pretty insane between these two brothers. Jacob, along with the help of his mother Rebekah, trick Jacob’s father Isaac into blessing him rather than the oldest son Esau, who was the rightful heir by age to this blessing. Jacob disguised himself as his brother Esau and receives Isaac’s blessing. Look at what happens:
Genesis 27:30-41
Notice Esau’s statement about his brother, Jacob’s, name. He says he has been “rightly named.” What does he mean by this? Well simply, Esau knew the Hebrew definition of his brother’s name: Jacob / Hebrew/ = to supplant; to overreach; to take the place of through force or scheming. This is exactly what Jacob did! He schemed along with his mother and overreached; he “took the place of” his brother in the blessing rightfully due Esau. And Esau called it for what was! And, this moment too is going to help us see in just a moment why it was imperative that God change Jacob’s name! More on that in just a moment. A longer story than we have time for today. But God works in this relationship, and though the two live estranged for many years, they eventually meet and are reunited. The night before they meet again for the first time in many, many years, Jacob meets with God and has quite the night!
Now… let’s pause here for a moment to answer this question: From where does the name Israel derive? God’s chosen people, the Jews, the nation of Israel to this very day, have this very special name… why? Well, before Jacob and Esau are reunited after years of brotherly discord, Jacob meets with God camping near a stream known as Jabbok.
Jabbok /Hebrew/ = to wrestle
Quite the fitting name considering what happened between Jacob and God at this place: Genesis 32:22-30
So God changes the name of Jacob to Israel. And in doing so, the Genesis of a great nation is born! Have you ever wondered, “Why the name change?” Well, when you understand what Jacob’s name means, you understand fully what God did and why it was so very necessary in this most amazing story! I tell you, I got so excited about this this week that I literally laughed out loud and shouted for joy! Again, Jacob’s name means: Jacob / Hebrew/ = to supplant; to overreach; to take the place of through force or scheming. God changes Jacob’s name to Israel, which means:
Israel /Hebrew/= let God prevail
Though Jacob did deceive his brother, we see that God even uses this dark moment in Jacob’s life to complete His plan for His people, the nation of Israel, and the entire world. God took a deceptive moment from a deceptive person, and He made it right. And His people will now inherit a land and begin a new nation, not because of a man’s deception, but, in spite of a man’s deception.
God does what only God can do – use an incredibly flawed person to fulfill an incredibly flawless promise. And in doing so…God will prevail!
And y’all, here again in this story, we see that from fear, Jacob’s fear over his brother’s hate and revenge, comes freedom – two brothers reunite and begin a new relationship. I’m telling y’all - - there is “from fear to freedom” all throughout this remarkable story! And we are just going to keep and keep seeing it! And the next day, Jacob is reunited with the brother from whom he stole his father’s blessing:
Genesis 33:4-7
Esau had 5 sons with three different wives and settled his family in the land of Seir. Jacob has 13 children by 4 different women; 12 sons and 1 daughter. These 12 sons are super important to biblical history, as they will forever be known as the 12 tribes of Israel. But did you notice… all the children are introduced to Esau… but only one is mentioned and he is even mentioned before his momma is – that is who? Joseph! Jacob and Esau, having so many children, inhabit a land that cannot sustain them both. So the two agree to part ways:
Genesis 36:6-8
Jacob, however, stays in the land of his father, Isaac, and his grandfather, Abraham. Jacob’s eleventh son (and twelfth child) was Joseph. The man Joseph plays an incredibly critical role in the reason for which God’s people end up in Egypt. Let’s read about Joseph:
Genesis 37:1-11
How interesting that Joseph has a dream detailing the very near future that would unfold in ways that no one could have seen was coming! And notice in Joseph’s dream what bows? “Grains of sheaves” bow! Joseph could have had a dream with any number of items bowing. But the bowing comes from the very item that his brothers will soon come to Egypt in need of to live - - grains of sheaves! Truly mind-blowing! And Joseph will in fact soon make a historic mark on Egyptian history that will forever impact both the nations of Egypt and Israel. And yes, too, his brothers will one day bow before him. But not before they sell him into Egyptian slavery. Hated and mistreated by jealous brothers, young Joseph is soon kidnapped by his brothers as a 17 year-old teenager and then sold as a slave by these same brothers to a passing caravan headed to Egypt:
Genesis 37:19-28
I paused this week to imagine what such hate must have been like – to hate a brother so very much that you want him dead, or at a minimum, you are willing to bring about an action that will remove him from your life forever… even knowing that such an action will break the heart of your father in unfathomable ways. However, though a dark, very dark, moment in this story, we are reminded, and will continue to be so through the study of Moses:
God can orchestrate the most inhumane, exceedingly painful, and indescribably dark moments of my life to complete His plan – a plan that not only benefits me but too those around me and those within the greater world.
Church, this is a reality we are going to see time and time and time again in this story… how God’s hand is upon everything – even in a season of time on planet earth as we see here in Genesis and Exodus when betrayal is rampant, pride is on the line, family dysfunction is incessant, loved ones are committing infidelity over loved ones, wives are betraying husbands, brothers want to kill one another, midwives are stabbing babies, and soldiers are drowning newborns, and an entire nation of a million plus are subjected to heat and whips and beatings and injustice…This is a horrific time spanning over almost 1,000 years that involved some of the world’s worst most egregious and reprehensible acts known to humanity… yet…
Scripture, as always, unashamedly confirms to me: God’s divine hand is always on full display and in full control.
It’s fascinating y’all… truly fascinating. Before I continue… journey if you will with me for a brief moment and consider your life story. I wonder how many of you can say that, at a young age, you dreamed of what’s next, devised a plan, outlined your strategy for success, took the appropriate steps to get there, and now however many years later, you are living out your dream, experiencing all the things in all the ways you thought you would with no regrets and no bumps along the way Anyone? Maybe a few of you…But I presume a majority of you, while taking a mental stroll down memory lane instead very well might be recalling specific challenges, uncertain seasons, unforeseen trials, acts of desperation, feelings of tremendous insecurities, devastating setbacks coupled with moments of regrets and a few “what in the world was I thinking” decisions, and a long list of “I wish I could go back and do that differently” experiences.
I’ll tell you… if this is you, you are not alone. I can relate with every single one of these feelings and emotions! I can too tell you this… Just as we will soon see is true for Moses, so it is true for you and me: I am a part of a story that is much bigger than me; A story which has already been written from beginning to end. My role in the story is less about what I accomplish on my own during this time. Instead, it is much more about my willingness to trust God to accomplish through me what He desires as I journey by His side.
I want to encourage you as we journey along with Moses, that you take the time to look back over your story. As you do, I am confident you are going to see, there has never been a time I have journeyed alone.
So… in Egypt, Joseph becomes a slave. And in a very short time, he proves himself quite capable of leading.
Genesis 39:1-6
But soon, Joseph will be falsely accused of making sexual advances toward his boss’s wife. He is thrown in prison and remains there until the Pharaoh requests Joseph to interpret his dreams. Joseph does exactly this alerting the King of Egypt that a great famine is approaching that will be vicious upon so very many people, their cattle, their land, and their very lives. After proving himself wise and trustworthy, Joseph is awarded by the Pharaoh a position only second to the King of Egypt over all of Egypt.
Genesis 41:41-46
A famine soon wrecks the country, including the land of Canaan where Joseph’s Jewish family is still living. Of course, they have no idea that their brother, and Jacob’s son, Joseph, is still alive, much less is now the second in command throughout the most powerful nation on the planet. One final bit of extremely historical context – The famine reached far into Canaan and greatly distressed Joseph’s family leading them to travel to Egypt for food. While there, Joseph reveals to them his identity:
Genesis 45:1-15
Listen… a reminder for us today…These brothers carried with them the fear that one day they would be found out. They too, upon realizing they were standing before their brother whom they had sold into slavery so very many years previous, feared now for their very lives. And too, Joseph had carried with him so very many years a fear over never being loved again by family; never again seeing his father; never again hugging his siblings.All of that fear ended on this day and today, we can be reminded from this story, that: Humility, forgiveness, and repentance play such a critical role in my journey from fear to freedom.
Here is what is amazing in this story… Against all odds, Joseph, an ex-slave, becomes a man of tremendous power and prestige in Egypt, and he does so as a Hebrew Jew, just like his father Jacob and his 11 brothers and 1 sister.Wow! What a story of stories! There is no story ever in the history of time like this story! From the moment God commanded Abraham to look into the sky and count the numbers of the stars, and the son of Abraham, Isaac, who was almost sacrificed by his father at Mt. Moriah; to the birth of twins, Jacob and Esau, and the fight that ensued over a birthright; and then there is the night of wrestling at Jabbok between God and Jacob. It is here that Jacob receives his new name, Israel which again, means:
Israel /Hebrew/= let God prevail
Jacob then has 12 sons, one of whom, Joseph, sold as a slave to one day rule over all of Egypt while still being a Jew. His family follows him there to live once they realize he is alive and will provide for them. And not a single one of them fully comprehends the magnitude of all that has happened in their lives that ultimately has set the stage for God to keep His Word He made to Abraham under the stars 1,000 years before! You see…To fathom, welcome, and appreciate the Exodus, I must realize the larger-than-life story of how God’s people arrived in Egypt and are now desperate of returning home.
The Jews are not in Egypt because of a famine. The Jews are not in Egypt because 11 brothers sold their brother into Egyptian slavery. The Jews are not in Egypt because Joseph was a wise businessman. And the Jews are not in Egypt because 70 people needed food. Yes, all of these events happened and were necessary. But the true reason for which God’s people came to Egypt: God’s promise.
And what the pre-Exodus story proves to us…No matter the circumstances of life, people, rulers and nations… God’s promise always supersedes man’s plans.
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Jeffrey Dean Smith is a husband, father to Bailey & Brynnan, author, and the Senior Pastor at Donelson First in Nashville, TN. If you are in Music City, meet Jeffrey and enjoy iced tea on the front lawn each Sunday at 10:30a.