As one reads the book of Exodus,
especially that part which deals with Pharaoh’s opposition, the interplay of
human fear and cupidity, of Divine forbearance and judgment, the long period of
Israel’s bondage, or the policy of the new king that knew not Joseph, all seem
to move so naturally, cause and effect is so obvious, that the sovereign will
and purpose of God is not apparent on the surface. Yet through all the years of Israel’s
changing fortunes, whether the inhuman hatred of Joseph’s brethren, the famine
that forced Jacob into Egypt, the dreams of Pharaoh, or the change of dynasty,
God’s great purpose was unfolding, and neither the premature advent of Moses,
nor the obstinacy of Pharaoh altered the prearranged plan by so much as one day:--
“Now
the sojourning of the children of Israel (who dwelt in Egypt) was four hundred
and thirty years. And it came to pass at
the end of the four hundred and thirty years, EVEN THE SELFSAME DAY it came to
pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night to be much observed unto the
Lord” (Exod. xii. 40-42).
The “sojourning” of the children of Israel
dates back beyond the birth of Jacob’s twelve sons, and includes the pilgrimage
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. From the
call of Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees he became a “sojourner”, and all his
children were sojourners too. Incidentally
Exodus xii. says that they “dwelt
in Egypt”, but this did not alter the fact that they were sojourners and away
from the land of promise. Galatian iii.
17 gives the same period of time, namely
430 years, as covering the time that elapsed from the promise given to Abraham
in Genesis xv. until the giving of the law from Mount Sinai,
which took place soon after the exodus from Egypt.
There is another period connected with the
same event (the exodus) that starts from another point, and covers a period of
400 years. This prophetic utterance is
given in Gen. xv. 13-16, and it will be seen that not only did God speak
of a definite period of time, but of the chief features that led up to the
exodus. Let us enumerate them:--
“Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a
stranger in a land that is not theirs (and shall serve them and they shall
afflict them) 400 years.
And also that nation, whom
they shall serve, will I judge:
And afterward shall they
come out with great substance.
In the fourth generation
they shall come hither again,
For the iniquity of the
Amorites is not yet full.”
How are we to account for the fact
that Genesis xv. speak of a period of 400 years, whereas Gal.iii.17
speaks of the same events as occupying 430 years? At the time of writing this article, the
writer endorsed the explanation of The
Companion Bible which makes the 400 years commence with the recognition of Isaac as the seed when
Isaac was 5 years old. Since writing,
however, a beloved fellow-helper has suggested a much simpler explanation which
we gladly give in his own words.
"This explanation (referring to that
of The Companion Bible and also our
own), i have always personally regarded as unsatisfactory. Surely Isaac was ‘recognized as the Seed’
before his birth — ‘In Isaac shall thy seed be called’. Surely the point is that Gen. xii. 4
tells us that Abraham was seventy-five when he left Haran (not Ur), where he
had remained till the death of Terah.
But Stephen (Acts vii. 1) says that the glorious God appeared to Abraham
while he was still in Ur, before he went to live in Haran. If we reckon that the sojourning began (as
Stephen implies) when Abraham left Ur,
the five years are accounted for by the sojourn in Haran. Thus:--
We are grateful for this explanation and
commend it to our readers.
The Scripture tells us that at the end of
the 430 years, even the selfsame day,
the children of Israel went out of Egypt.
Such is the way that God keeps His word, and carries out His purpose.
We believe it to be a fundamental of
dispensational truth that prophecy shall be fulfilled literally. The prophetic
statements of Scripture concerning the Messiah which have found their
fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ at His first coming have been fulfilled
literally. His place of birth, His
manner of life, His ministry, His death, burial and resurrection, have all been
literal fulfillments of prophecy. These
Scriptures which concern Him that await their fulfillment at His second coming,
these too, we most surely believe shall be likewise fulfilled to the very
letter. How comforting it is to realize
that “all are in the hand of God”!
Habakkuk (ii. 2) was assured that in spite of apparent delay:--
“The vision is yet for an appointed time,
but at the end it shall speak, and not lie:
though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not
tarry.”
Job seemed to perceive this grand
fundamental, when he said:--
“If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I
wait, till my change come. Thou shalt
call, and I will answer Thee; Thou wilt
have a desire to the work of thine hands” (Job xiv. 14, 15).
To the one who looks upon the Bible as a
collection of "texts", this article may not mean much, but to
everyone who has learned to look upon the Word as the unfolding of the purpose
of the ages, every confirmation of the faithfulness of God in the fulfillment
of His word is a source of joy and peace:--
“Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and
read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want
here mate” (Isa. xxxiv. 16).
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