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Exodus 1:7
“The people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.”
The opening verses of Exodus make it clear that the book is continuing the story of Abraham’s family, as we saw in our study of 1:1–6 and its list of the sons of Israel, who were the great-grandsons of Abraham. You will remember that Abraham began his life as Abram; he was the son of Terah and was born in Ur of the Chaldeans (modern-day Iraq) (Gen. 11:27–32). God called Abraham out of his land of origin, giving him many promises that were then handed on to his son Isaac, to his grandson Jacob (Israel), and to their descendants. Understanding these promises is necessary for understanding what happened next in Israel’s history (12:1–3; 26:1–5; 35:1–15).
God promised to give Abraham a good land, many descendants, a great name and promised that He would make Abraham’s family a blessing to “all the families of the earth” (12:1–3; 13:14–18; 15:1–6; 17:1–14; 22:15–19). By the time that the book of Exodus began, the descendants of Abraham—the Israelites—had seen many of these promises fulfilled, at least in part. For instance, the family already had a name in Egypt, the leading power of that day, and had blessed much of the known world through the wise leadership of Joseph, who rose to be second-in-command over all Egypt and saved many people from a famine (41; 47:13–26).
Today’s passage shows us the fulfillment of God’s promise that Abraham would have many descendants. In Egypt, the Israelites “multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them” (Ex. 1:7). Most likely, Moses refers specifically to the land of Goshen within Egypt, because that was where the Israelites had settled in the days of Joseph (Gen. 47:1–12). In any case, by the time of the exodus generation, Israel had grown far larger than the original seventy descendants of Abraham who were the first to take up residence in Egypt (Ex. 1:5). Note also that the language of Exodus 1:7 echoes the original commands given to Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth (Gen. 1:28). By using this wording, Moses shows his readers that God’s original plan for humanity will be fulfilled through Israel.
As Exodus begins, however, one promise has not yet been fulfilled: the Israelites are living in Egypt, not the promised land of Canaan. To inherit the land promised to Abraham, they must first leave Egypt, but that will not happen without much struggle.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
It took many hundreds of years for Israel to see the promise to Abraham of offspring start to see fulfillment. Matthew Henry notes that apparent delays in the fulfillment of God’s promises can try our faith. Yet that Israel grew so large shows that the Lord can be trusted to keep His covenant word to us even if it doesn’t happen immediately. Henry says, “Though the performance of God’s promises is sometimes slow, yet it is always sure.”
For Further Study
- Genesis 9:1
- Jeremiah 3:6–18
- Acts 5:12–16
- Revelation 7:9–12