The Multiplication of His Death

Exodus tells us of the unstoppable and unimaginable growth of the nation of Israel in Egypt in the first chapter alone. This 400 year period turns a band of 70 into 600,000 men over 20 and much more in total. The estimates could be a nation of over 2 million including the other members of Israel's society. They are growing fast enough to alarm Pharaoh and move him to drastic measures to impede this phenomenon.

Exodus 1:9–10 (ESV) And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.”

Pharaoh tries three things to impede the growth of the nation of God:
1. Make them slaves with bitter forced labor.
This makes them grow even faster.


Exodus 1:12 (ESV) But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel.

2. Abort their sons.
But there are women in the service of Pharaoh's schemes who fear God more than he. These women are rewarded with families of their own.

3. Toss the boys into the Nile.
Yet Moses himself was placed in the Nile (albeit safely by his mother) and would become the person through which ultimate escape from Egypt to the Promised land would come.

The more Pharaoh tries to destroy the nation of Israel, the more they multiplied, spread and strengthened. Ultimately even Pharaoh's own attacks created the man who would topple him by the power of God. 

Truth: Nothing will stop God's promise of a great nation from Abraham's seed.

But if we remember that the Bible is revealing the truth of the work of Jesus and His Church, let us consider this fact: The nation of Israel was 70 people while Joseph lived. Upon Joseph's death, it grew rapidly, spread widely, and developed strongly. What a picture of the Church from the time of the death (and resurrection) of Christ! For at the time of Jesus' death few believed. Yet after His resurrection, the church explodes with growth.

It is no wonder Jesus said:
John 12:24 (ESV) Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

Look at the record of the book of Acts:
3,000 saved at the preaching of Peter in Acts 2. That's 120 to 3000 in one sermon.
2,000 more by Acts 4:4.
Then as the "kingdom of this world" persecutes the new nation, they spread fast and furiously!


Acts 8:1 (ESV) And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
Then Paul is converted and spends most of Acts being persecuted for the name of Christ chased from town to town yet to every town he enters, more people come to Christ. 

The death of Joseph in the beginning of Exodus typifies for us the death of Christ in the last days. The more oppressed the Church is, the more it grows, spreads and strengthens. Church Father Tertullian said, "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church."

We often look to church growth techniques for growing our Church. I wonder if we just decided to preach Jesus and His once-for-all death and triumphant resurrection - what would happen? The world needs to hear the work has been finished and we are accepted into the family of God because of Jesus! Come all who hear and respond! There is no stopping what Christ's death accomplished.

We would also do well to note: Pharaoh's main attacks against Israel were against it's young male children. What a precious commodity in the church are our young men. Yet I see too many Churches catering to women simply because women show up more often. We need to be diligent to build churches that find, strengthen and develop young men in the house of God. We need to invest in our teenage boys, letting them be wild for Christ! We need to honor our older men in the faith. The final words of the Old Testament make clear that God's curse comes upon a land when the hearts of the fathers are not turned to the hearts of their children.

In Christ the death of death is accomplished.
The Kingdom will come.
May God give us MEN full of the Spirit to see it happen in our generation.