CLASH OF THE TITANS

There are a couple movies out right now that have mythological gods fighting each other and fighting humans. Admittedly, I think these movies look pretty entertaining, but it would also be frightening to find yourself mixed up in all of that.

Well, this storyline is essentially what we see playing out between Moses and Pharaoh with the ten plagues that God brings upon the Egyptians.

The Egyptian people worshiped dozens of gods. In the way that God brings His people out of Egypt, God is showing His people, and really the whole world at the time, that He alone is the one true God.

OFF TO A ROUGH START

After 40 years, Moses returns to Egypt with his brother Aaron at his side. They show the Israelites the miraculous signs; they are convinced and worship God.

They are ecstatic that God is going to set them free!

Then Moses and Aaron go and talk to Pharaoh. This does not go as well.

The man who is now Pharaoh is quite possibly someone who grew up at the same time as Moses did in Pharaoh’s house. It is possible that Moses and this man were at one time friends; it is very likely that they were at least acquaintances.

A RELUCTANT HERO

God has chosen Moses to be His point person to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. But Moses is not very gung ho about this. In fact, he comes up with 5 questions and excuses why this is a bad idea.

Exodus 3:11-12

11 But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”

12 God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”

THE PRINCE OF EGYPT

Drawn Out

Exodus 2:1-10

About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married. 2 The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a special baby and kept him hidden for three months. 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River. 4 The baby’s sister then stood at a distance, watching to see what would happen to him.

FROM RICHES TO RAGS

Before we’re introduced to Moses, we need to check out the back story from Joseph to Moses, which is told in Exodus 1.

For a long time, the children of Jacob/Israel and their families were honored guests in the land of Egypt. They lived in the region of Goshen, a fruitful land where they were safe and able to prosper in possessions and in size.

But as the years went by, what Joseph had done for the nation of Egypt was forgotten, and a new king looked at these Israelites and was afraid of them. So he decided that for the preservation of his own people, these honored guests must be forced to become lowly slaves.

And God’s chosen people were slaves in another country for 400 years…

THOSE DREAMS COME TRUE

The famine is bad and everywhere. It is bad where Jacob lives with his eleven sons and their families. Word comes to Jacob that food can be purchased in Egypt, so he sends ten of his sons to go and bring back food.

He does not let Benjamin, his youngest son, go because he can’t bear the thought of losing him. Benjamin is Joseph’s full brother, the daughter of Rachel, Jacob’s favored wife.

In Egypt, Joseph recognizes his brothers, but they do not recognize him. Joseph takes out his father Jacob’s playbook and uses a little trickery to play mind games with his brothers.

Long story short, he makes them bring Benjamin back with them, and then makes it look like Benjamin has stolen from him and must become his prisoner. And that is where we’ll pick up the story…

FROM ZERO TO HERO

Genesis 41:1-57

Two full years later, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing on the bank of the Nile River. 2 In his dream he saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river and begin grazing in the marsh grass. 3 Then he saw seven more cows come up behind them from the Nile, but these were scrawny and thin. These cows stood beside the fat cows on the riverbank. 4 Then the scrawny, thin cows ate the seven healthy, fat cows! At this point in the dream, Pharaoh woke up.

JAIL TIME

Joseph’s stuck in jail. We don’t know how many years he was in jail, but we know it was more than two.

God was with Joseph as He had been at Potiphar’s house. The warden of the prison, seeing that Joseph is responsible and trustworthy, puts him in charge of everything including the other prisoners.

Because of his position in the jail, Joseph gets to know two prisoners who used to work directly for Pharoah. And then it starts to get interesting…

THAT DARN COAT

Genesis 39:1-23

When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.

2 The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. 3 Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. 4 This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned. 5 From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the Lord began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake. All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished. 6 So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat!

THREE STRIKES AND YOU’RE OUT

Genesis 37:2-11

2 This is the account of Jacob and his family. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father’s flocks. He worked for his half brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing.

3 Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe. 4 But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him.