The story of Joseph is one of the most fascinating tales in all of scripture. What an amazing story.
We see great detail brought forth about his life, and how it affects the Hebrew nation.
And then all of a sudden, we get this:
Exodus 1:8-11
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 He said to his people, “Look, the people of Bnei-Yisrael are too numerous and too powerful for us. 10 Come, we must deal shrewdly with them, or else they will grow even more numerous, so that if war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and then escape from the land.”
11 So they set slave masters over them to afflict them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Raamses as storage cities for Pharaoh.
Joseph was a hero in Mitsrayim (Egypt). He and his family were treated with honor.
Not long afterwards, after the passing of Jacob and Joseph, a new Pharaoh feared them and subjected them to slavery.
This is stated very matter-of-fact in scripture.
But why?
Do we ever get an explanation as to why?
Is there a reason why Yehova would allow His chosen people to fall into the hands of the Egyptians?
Does any of this make sense?
The answer is provided for us, but it is easy to miss.
It was foretold.
Genesis 15:12-21
12 When the sun was about to set and a deep sleep fell on Abram, behold, terror of great darkness was falling upon him! 13 Then He said to Abram, “Know for certain that your seed will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and they will be enslaved and oppressed 400 years. 14 But I am going to judge the nation that they will serve. Afterward they will go out with many possessions. 15 But you, you will come to your fathers in peace. You will be buried at a good old age. 16 Then in the fourth generation they will return here—for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” 17 When the sun set and it became dark, behold, there was a smoking oven and a fiery torch that passed between these pieces.
18 On that day Adonai cut a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your seed, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River: 19 the Kenite, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Raphaites, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
Did you catch it?
Did you see the reason for the time spent in Egypt?
Yehova states what is to happen in verse 13, and states the reason why in verse 16.
Here are the details to glean from verse 13:
1. Strangers in land not their own
2. Enslaved
3. Oppressed
4. …for 400 years
But why???
Here are the details from verse 16
1. Abram will not inherit the promised land, but instead, his 4th generation would.
2. for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.
The 4th generation sets a duration, but what is this weird statement about the Amorites?
In further study of scripture, we see that the Amorites will be destroyed when the Hebrew nation enters the promised land.
Why wait for four generations to do so?
——because, their iniquity is not yet complete.
The delay gives this people group a time to repent.
Does that sound familiar?
It reminds me of these verses:
Genesis 6:3
3 Then Adonai said, “My Spirit will not remain with humankind forever, since they are flesh. So their days will be 120 years.
Genesis 6:13
13 Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh is coming before Me, for the earth is filled with violence because of them.
We see in the account of Noah’s flood, that Yehova gave a 120 year warning. Some people believe that in verse 4 Yehova is simply changing the life span of people from hundreds of years to only 120 years.
That is not the case.
We see that Noah continued to live, and died at the ripe old age of 950!!
We see that Shem lived to be 600 years old, and Abraham lived to be 175 years old.
So, no, Genesis 6:3 is not setting a lifespan for men.
It is a warning.
It is how long mankind had to repent, prior to the flood.
This is the same mercy we see in Genesis 15:16
“for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
In this statement, Yehova acknowledges that the Amorites would continue to do evil, and would one day “complete their iniquity.”
But even though Yehova knew what would happen, He still gave them time to repent. He is a merciful God.
In the end, they did not repent, and they were destroyed.
I find this to be the reason why Israel, the Hebrew nation, had to wait to enter the promised land.
This is why they had to sojourn, and remain in Egypt to be enslaved and oppressed.
So the next question is this…
Why couldn’t they have lived peacefully during this wait?
Why did they have to be oppressed and enslaved?
Again, scripture gives us the answer.
Deuteronomy 15:12-15
12 “If your fellow Hebrew—a man or woman—is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you are to set him free. 13 When you set him free, you are not to send him away empty-handed. 14 You are to surely provide for him from your flock and threshing floor and wine press. As Adonai your God has blessed you, you are to give to him. 15 You will remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Adonai your God redeemed you; therefore I am commanding you this thing today.
In this command, we see a reflection of what the Israelites experienced in Egypt…
They were oppressed and enslaved.
Yehova delivered them from oppression and slavery.
When they left Egypt, Yehova put it on the Egyptians hearts to give them their gold and silver. Israel left Egypt as a wealthy nation.
In Deuteronomy 15, we see this history lesson used as an example of how to treat their servants:
They are told to remember they once were slaves, and to send their servants away with provisions.
As I hand-write the bible, I see all of these details, and they stick with me…
Every single word, every single sentence, every single concept in scripture has a reason behind it.
Based on study of scripture, these are the reasons I have found for the Hebrews being enslaved in Egypt:
1. Give the Amorites time to repent [which they did not]
2. Teach the nation of Israel a life lesson