Egyptian Slavery a Type of Christ and His People

Have you ever wondered why God told Abraham in advance that his descendants would be slaves for four hundred years in Egypt, even before Abraham had a son?  

Although God had promised Abraham that he and his descendants after him would possess the land of Canaan, he did not give him personally any inheritance there, not even a foot of ground, as Stephen said (Ac 7:5). In fact, he lived in tents.

The apostle says, "By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise." (Heb 11:9).

“God spoke to him in this way: 'For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,' God said, 'and afterward they will come out of that country [with great possessions] and worship me in this place.'” (Act 7:6-7). These events were determined by God before Abraham even had a son.

God told Abraham that he would live to a good old age, die in peace, and rest with his ancestors (Ge 15:15). He said, “In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure." (Gen 15:16).

That was one reason the Israelites had to spend four hundred years in Egypt, because the sin of the Amorites had not yet reached full measure, so it was not yet time for God to drive them out in judgment, and give their land to Abraham’s descendants. Another reason is that Abraham’s descendant’s had to go through many hardships before they could enter the Promised Land, which is a type of Christ and His people. We must suffer through many hardships in order to enter the kingdom of God (Ac 14:22). They all had to become slaves and be oppressed, so that God could have mercy on them all. This, too, was a type of sin. “For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.” (Rom 11:32). 

“The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt; with mighty power he led them out of that country.” (Act 13:17). It was an impossible situation that needed to happen, so that God alone would receive all the glory for delivering them. Then He endured their conduct for forty years in the desert, testing and refining them, before bringing them into the Promised Land. At that time “He overthrew seven nations in Canaan, giving their land to his people as their inheritance.” (Act 13:19). 

Before the Lord could do that through them, He first had to allow them to go through the harsh conditions of Egypt that would serve as a refining process for them, in order to develop their character. That is why He later told them that He brought them out of the iron smelting furnace, out of Egypt (Dt 4:20; Jer 11:4). 

Consider the fact that if God knew the sin of the Amorites had not yet reached its full measure, He could have waited until it had reached its full measure before calling Abraham to go to Canaan. God could have changed the timing of Abraham's entire life and sojourn in Canaan in order to coincide with the point when the sin of the Amorites would have reached its full measure four hundred years later. 

But if He had done that, and did not allow them to become slaves in Egypt for four hundred years, then the offspring of Abraham would have simply become amalgamated into the polytheistic Canaanite society, adopting their customs and intermarrying with him, which were all things that they later did anyway. But if they had done so at the beginning, then they never would have become a separate, homogenous nation of their own.

By allowing them to become slaves in Egypt, He gave them the chance to multiply as a people into a great nation. Scripture says that the Hebrews multiplied during their time in Egypt, even though they were oppressed. It says that they were fruitful and increased abundantly. They multiplied in numbers and became very, very strong (Ex 1:7-22). And since they lived separately in the land of Goshen in Egypt, they were a distinct people from the Egyptians. 

Those are some of the high, macro-level reasons why God allowed them to become enslaved in Egypt for four hundred years. But at the micro level, the impetus for their going into Egypt was the jealousy of Joseph's brothers, who sold him into Egypt. God knew all of this before their grandfather Isaac was even born. They were jealous, because Joseph was their father's favorite, he was from another mother -- Rachel, whom their father loved more than their mother Leah, and God had given him dreams of his future greatness. They thought they could get rid of him this way, but that only set things up so that he could save them from famine later on. Their jealously led them to do something to him that they meant for evil, but that God meant for good, the saving of many lives.

Putting it All Together

This historical series of events is a type or pattern of the life of those who follow Jesus, and it is also a type of Christ Himself. Let me explain.

It is a type of Christ being called out of Egypt as a child, as it is written, "Out of Egypt I called my Son." (Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:15). He and his parents suffered oppression even during his infancy, which is why they fled to Egypt, and later were called out of that country back to the land of Israel. Yet even in Israel, Jesus suffered at the hands of sinful men, was crucified, and died on the cross for us all. Then He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, the true Promised Land, where He is seated at the right hand of God.

But this is also a type of us, the saints who follow Christ, being delivered from sin by God, then tested and tried during our lives here on earth, often even while He makes us prosper, before He finally brings us into our promised eternal inheritance in heaven. 

Let this be an encouragement to you in your walk of faith to press on, stay the course, and not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering through that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. "But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed."  (1Pe 4:13)

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible NIV. Image of Israelites in Egyptian bondage may be subject to copyright Sunday School Zone, used per Fair Use Act for educational and commentary purposes.

Author's note:  Also see The Israelites as a Type of the Church, Israel as a Type of Christ, What Does it Mean to be Hebrew?, The High Priest as a Type of Christ, The Temple as a Type of Christ, Manna as a Type of Christ, Moses as a Type of Christ, Adam as a Type of Christ, Noah's Ark a Type of Christ, Hagar and Sarah as Types, and The Mysteries of the Faith. You can access the Main Directory for Biblical Typology, or my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."  Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.