Exodus 1:1-6
1 Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob.
2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,
3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,
4 Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
5 And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.
6 And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.
The deep need for redemption is made clear in this passage in at least three ways. First, a careful reading of our passage reveals that the entire redemptive line of Jacob (the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham) is now in Egypt. Notice verse 5:
5 And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.
It was never God’s plan that His eternal redemptive purposes would be initiated in a pagan land, but in the land which He had given to Abraham and his descendants.[1] For this underlying reason it was imperative that God redeem Israel from Egyptian bondage. The fulfillment of His great worldwide redemptive purposes demanded it.
Second, God’s direct promise relevant to this enslavement in Egypt, could not go unfulfilled, or God could not be trusted. Recall once again these verses from Genesis 15:
13 And he said unto Abram, 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 four hundred years;
14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
So then, it was essential that God redeem Israel from Egyptian slavery because He had plainly said, centuries ago, that He would do so. The very character of God was at stake.
Third, Israel’s own deep personal neediness is graphically revealed in verse 6:
6 And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.
They went the way of all flesh in this decaying, dying world. Left to themselves, dying was all they could accomplish. This is the ironbound destiny of all sons and daughters of Adam. It is the best any of us has to offer. If our lives are going to rise above this terrible destiny, God is going to have to intervene. So it was for them. So it is for all of us in our own day.
[1] Genesis 13:14-17.