Subject: 400 years in Egypt. |
Bible Note: Greetings Thomas8! A few key passages help shed some light on this. For background: Genesis 15:13-16, Exodus 12:40-41, Acts 7:6, Acts 13:19. Key passages: Exodus 11:7, Exodus 19:5-6. You ask "What sin caused the captivity?" Looking back on history, we know that God foreknew and foretold to Abraham that his descendants would be strangers in a land that would not be theirs and afflicted for 400 years (Genesis 15:13). When the people of Israel (Jacob) entered Egypt, they were 70 people (Exodus 1:5). When they left Egypt, they were 600,000 plus men (Exodus 12:37) which is perhaps a very conservative estimate. If you are asking if Israel committed a sin to cause the 400 year bondage, then you are forgetting that God actually saved Israel from the severe famine by bringing them to Egypt in the first place (Genesis 47:11-12, 50:20). It was through fear, the passage of time, and the rising of a Pharoah "who did not know Joseph" that the affliction of the Israelites began (Exodus 1:8-11). But God in His sovereignty was taking a large family (70 people) and forming a nation out of them - a nation that would be so obviously distinguished from any other nation (Exodus 11:7), and one that would be "a special treasure" to God "above all people" (Exodus 19:5-6). The entire earth belongs to the only God, and of all the nations that He could of chosen, He chose Israel to be His one and only, His very own! What is unique about the Mosaic Covenant as compared to the Abrahamic, Davidic, or New Covenant is that the Mosiac Covenant was conditional on Israel's obedience towards Him (Exodus 19:5, Deut. 7:12 versus Gen. 12:1-3, 2 Sam. 7:12-16, Jer. 31:31-33). I have heard the assertion that Israel must have sinned in order to incur the Egyptian slavery, but I disagree with this assertion/assumption. I do not believe that Israel must have done anything aggrievous enough to warrant 400 years of bondage: what sin could they have committed as a people of 70 to warrant such a calamitous situation of bondage? The "sin" that God was dealing with here was the sin of the seven nations (Acts 13:19) who were currently inhabiting the land (Deut. 7:1-8) that God would use Israel to annihilate when their sin was "complete" (Gen. 15:16). So, perhaps God's judgment on these 7 nations was delayed, but it came at last when Israel was ready to rely on the one and only God to drive out those nations who were more numerous and appeared to be stronger (Numbers 14:6) then they were. It was not part of God's promise that they would not go through pain, slavery and persecution, but God would always walk WITH them (Psalm 23:4) through that same pain, slavery and persecution. In the same way, God has chosen those who put their faith in Christ to be that "chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people" that we "may proclaim the praises of Him who called" us out of darkness and into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9-10)! Blessings to you, Makarios |