The Great Expectation

Sometimes it’s hard to understand God’s plan. Oftentimes, He gives us the dream; never the route He’s going to take us by to get there.

Using Moses to free the Israelites from Egypt is a great example.

Great dream. Great promise. Long journey.

There are about 32 years per generation, and approximately 14 generations occur in 430 years.

That’s how many years the Israelites lived in Egypt.

Exodus 12:40 (NIV)

“Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years.”

If you start the clock when God made Abraham the promise that He would make Abram into a great nation (Genesis 12:2-3), Abraham was 75 years old (Genesis 12:4). Abraham was the father of Isaac (Genesis 21:3-4), Isaac the father of Jacob (Genesis 25:26), and Jacob the father of Joseph (Genesis 30:22-24).

About the 206th year of this promise, we learn in Genesis 41:46 that Joseph (age 30) was made second in command by Pharaoh.

Genesis 41:46 (NIV)

“Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt....”

For the next 80 years, Israel was at peace with Egypt, bringing the total year count to 286. How else could you explain Genesis 47:11?

Genesis 47:11 (NIV)

“So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh directed.”

Would a Pharaoh, who despised and oppressed the Israelites, freely welcome Joseph’s father and brothers?

One might interpret that sixty-four years after Joseph’s death, Moses was born (Exodus 7:7), bringing us to the year 350. It would be 80 more years before Moses would breach the steps of Pharaoh’s palace and begin the exodus of the people of Israel from Egypt (Exodus 7:1).

That timeline helps illustrate how the Israelites’ journey unfolded across generations. However, the 430 years mentioned in Exodus 12:40 likely refer to the entire sojourn of Israel from Abraham to the Exodus, not just to slavery in Egypt (Galatians 3:17).

So, if Israel was put in slavery for the 64 years between Joseph’s death and Moses’ birth, plus the 80 years it took Moses to approach Pharaoh, simple math says that’s 144 years of excruciating slavery, which is about four and a half generations.

Exodus 1 begins with the oppression of the Israelites; it tells of their slavery and the hardship the new Pharaoh, who did not know Joseph, inflicted on Israel because the Israelites had become too numerous.

The new Pharaoh saw the Israelites as a threat, and he enslaved them.

Exodus 1:12-13 (NIV)

“But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly.”

The Pharaoh even tried to control their population by infanticide. It’s here we find God’s chosen people suffering and broken in spirit (Exodus 6:9).

Could the Israelites even fathom freedom? What did that word even mean to them? What did they think when Moses came on the scene? Did they believe it was real? Did they have faith? Did they laugh? Did they dream? Did they cry in desperation? Did they lash out in anger as they continued to experience one more day of oppression?

I wonder when it clicked in their minds that God was really in their situation?

Was it the swarming locust? Was it the Nile turning into blood? Or was it the tragic death of every firstborn not covered by the blood? Maybe for some, it wasn’t until they walked out of Egypt that they believed their freedom was really at hand.

No matter where their faith was on the scale, they got a front row seat to watching God command ten powerful plagues that brought the Pharaoh of Egypt to his knees.

But even then, it’s hard to walk away from 144 years of slavery.

You don’t just forget the past. You don’t just all of a sudden remember how to be a free person and live life when all you and your parents and grandparents and great-grandparents have ever known is slavery.

It’s hard to leave it behind. You may no longer want it, but the past is still part of who you are. Slavery had been their identity for over four generations; they couldn’t just forget that.

And God understood that. He knew He needed to move His chosen people from slavery to victory, in mind, body, and spirit. And their exodus from Egypt would only be the beginning of their deliverance.

I once read, “God got the Israelites out of Egypt in one day. It took Him forty years to get Egypt out of the Israelites”.

Sometimes the physical aspect of our journey is only part of it.

Physically, we are transformed, but mentally, spiritually, and emotionally, we are still enslaved. So before we can experience the promise or the plan God has for us, there has to be a more profound change; otherwise, we will not be able to handle or steward the promises of God. Therefore, God may deem it necessary to take us the long way.

Exodus 13:17-18 (NIV)

“When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, ‘If they face war they might change their minds and return to Egypt. So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea....’“

The Israelites were weak in all aspects. God knew they were not ready to fight the Philistine armies. Remember Goliath? That’s where he comes from. These people were ruthless and powerful.

In theory, when Moses arrived on the scene, the Israelites had not touched a weapon or fought a battle in 144 years. In no way were they prepared for battle. That’s why we see them freaking out when they get cornered at the Red Sea because they did not know how to fight against Pharaoh.

The same people who watched God perform those insane ten plagues are the same people who, just three weeks later, cried out:

Exodus 14:11-12 (NIV)

“Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”

These are the cries of a weak people. This is the mentality of broken people. And in no possible way could they have survived the “short” journey.

How many times have we asked, begged God for a sign, and if He gives us that “sign, then we will do what we think He’s saying.

The Israelites had ten! Ten miraculous signs that God was real and working in their situation, and the first time their faith is tested, they remind Moses that they think being slaves is easier. Now, they are angry with the very man who freed them.

The Israelites didn’t know, as we often don’t, God’s whole plan.

Yes, God wanted to free His people physically from cruel circumstances, but He also wanted to free them mentally by eviscerating the Egyptians. And God did that in such a way that His people, whom He knew were not ready for battle, didn’t have to lift a finger. And then we see God part the Red Sea.

God knows where you are. He knows what you can handle. He knows what you’re ready for. There is a time to fight. There is a time to rest. There is a time to let God do what He does best.

In all of this, God is patient. He gets it. I mean, He’s not altogether happy His kids whine and complain, but that’s 144 years of slavery ingrained in them. Three months to the day of leaving Egypt, Israel arrives at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:1). It’s here that God begins to outline how Israel is supposed to live. He gives them laws, boundaries, and guidelines to follow, all designed to cleanse Egypt of their souls; it’s preparation for the promise.

After two years of watching God perform ten plagues, split the Red Sea, daily provide food for them, lead them by a pillar of cloud and fire, the Lord instructs Moses to begin the journey to Canaan (Numbers 10:11-13), their promised land.

Considering God took them the long way through the desert in the very beginning because He knew they weren’t ready to fight, I’m inclined to believe God knew the Israelites were prepared for the promise. The problem was, Israel didn’t believe they were ready.

And so when the 12 spies spent 40 days exploring Canaan and only two returned fully confident they could possess the promise, God became angry (Numbers 13-14).

How many times does God call us to do something, and we don’t feel ready? How many times do we run from something because we don’t think we can do it? How many times will He have to prove Himself before we have faith?

When will it be enough for us?

It did not matter that they had watched the Lord provide and prove Himself for over two solid years; Israel still did not believe in God’s faithfulness, and this was the last straw for God.

Abraham had far less proof when God promised him he’d be the father of many nations, yet he believed, and it was counted to him as righteousness.

Genesis 15:5-6 (NIV)

“He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.”

God was patient with Israel. He all but held their hand as they walked out to their freedom, and yet it was not enough for them.

God is fully aware that there is a process, but at some point, He will require us to have faith in Him. And if we cannot take that step of faith, we will lose out on the promise just as Israel did.

Ultimately, that is His great expectation of us. To have great faith.

The first delay Israel experienced was because God was protecting them. It was only a few extra days.

The second delay Israel experienced was because God disciplined them for their unbelief, and that delay cost them dearly.

Sometimes God delays not out of punishment, but because we refuse to move in faith.

The fact is, God is in every single one of our situations.

It’s His promise, His guarantee, that He will guide us down the path that leads to the purpose He has personally predestined for us. We need to remember there is power in walking out His will; there is also protection in doing so.

Every place God brought the Israelites to, He provided for them. God faithfully protected them in their journey. It wasn’t perfect; it wasn’t necessarily easy, but God’s power and protection backed every instruction He gave Israel.

God never would have led Israel to Canaan if He didn’t believe they could take control of the land. In the same way, He won’t lead you to something He doesn’t believe you can’t conquer.

God will never leave you nor forsake you.

Deuteronomy 31:6

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

He leads you beside still waters.

Psalm 23:2

“He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters.”

He restores your soul.

Psalm 23:3

“He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”

He plans to prosper you, not harm you.

Jeremiah 29:11:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

He redeems you from the curse of the enemy.

Galatians 3:13

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.’”

He gives you power and dominion over all principalities and powers of darkness.

Luke 10:19:

“I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.”

He loves you with an everlasting love.

Jeremiah 31:3

"The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.’”

He gives you the Holy Spirit so you can experience peace.

John 14:26-27

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

And that same God, the one who raised Christ Jesus from the dead, lives in you.

So don’t let your lack of faith keep you from experiencing all that God has planned for you. Because He has chosen you, He has equipped you. His Spirit lives in you.

God doesn’t expect perfection; He expects you to have great faith in Him.

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