What is the meaning of Numbers 20:15? Our fathers went down to Egypt – “Our fathers went down to Egypt” (Numbers 20:15) recalls Genesis 46:1-7, where Jacob obeys God’s call to leave Canaan during famine. • God’s promise to Abraham—“I will make you into a great nation” (Genesis 12:2)—continued through this move, showing the Lord’s hand guiding even unexpected relocations (cf. Psalm 105:16-22). • By referencing “our fathers,” Moses reminds Edom that Israel and Edom share ancestry through Isaac (Genesis 25:23), appealing to kinship rather than hostility. • Acts 7:15 affirms the historicity: “Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our fathers died,” underscoring that this is factual family history, not legend. • The descent was deliberate obedience, not exile; God used a temporary shift to preserve His covenant people (Genesis 45:7-11). where we lived many years – Israel “lived in Egypt a long time.” Exodus 12:40-41 states the sojourn lasted 430 years. • During that span, God multiplied the family into a nation (Exodus 1:7), fulfilling Genesis 46:3: “I will make you into a great nation there.” • Long residence did not cancel the covenant promise of Canaan (Genesis 50:24-25; Hebrews 11:22). Their stay was lengthy but never permanent. • The extended period highlights God’s patience and timing; Galatians 4:4 echoes the principle that God acts “when the fullness of time had come.” • Edom is reminded that Israel had no claim on Edomite land during those centuries; their roots remained elsewhere, reducing any perceived threat. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers – Oppression fulfills Genesis 15:13, where God told Abram, “Your descendants will be strangers in a land not their own; they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.” • Exodus 1:8-14 details forced labor; “The Egyptians appointed taskmasters… to oppress them.” • Exodus 2:23-25 records Israel’s groaning, and Exodus 3:7 quotes God: “I have seen the affliction of My people.” The mistreatment is real history that moved the Lord to redemptive action (Deuteronomy 26:6-9). • Acts 7:19 notes Pharaoh “treated our people with cunning,” tying New Testament testimony to Old Testament fact. • Mentioning the suffering reminds Edom that Israel seeks passage, not conquest; a people once oppressed now request mercy, echoing Exodus 22:21’s command not to mistreat the sojourner. summary Numbers 20:15 is a concise, three-part testimony of Israel’s journey: God-directed descent into Egypt, prolonged residence that produced a nation, and harsh oppression that necessitated divine deliverance. Moses rehearses these facts to appeal to Edom’s shared heritage and to underscore God’s faithful sovereignty from patriarchal promise to present need. |
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