Kings and Captives
Abraham and the Egyptian Empire
When God made a covenant with Abraham, He promised that Abraham’s descendants would inherit the Promised
Land. However, it wasn’t to be immediate, but delayed by 400 years.

The reason for the delay was that the sins of the existing inhabitants of the Promised Land had not yet reached theirfull measure.

During the 430 years from the covenant with Abraham until the covenant with Moses, the Israelites were migrant
refugees, occupying a land not their own. Even when they were governing lower Egypt, during the time of theHyksos, they were not the native rulers and were eventually dispossessed, driven out or enslaved. They werestrangers in a land not their own. And certainly Ahmose, the Pharoah who expelled the Hyksos, would agree thatEgypt did not belong to the Israelites and they should have no part in it.
During this long period of 430 years Egypt and Canaan appear to have been on trial. God was withholding his hand
until their sin had reached its full measure.
At the end of the 430 years, the Israelites departed from Egypt and received the Law (Mosaic Covenant).

David and the Kingdom of Israel
After the Israelites departed from Egypt, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before entering the PromisedLand.
It took until the reign of King David (1055 B.C.) for the Israelites to finally gain control of the Promised Land andestablish an empire of their own – a union of the 12 tribes – the Kingdom of Israel. David reigned for 40 years.
At this point God made a covenant with David (the Davidic Covenant) that his descendants would continue to ruleand occupy the Promised Land if they kept His commandments. This covenant came into effect with David’s
descendant Solomon (1015 B.C.) However Solomon and his successors failed to obey God, consequently 430 years
later they were taken into captivity by the Babylonians, and removed from the Promised Land.

A Pattern ?
There might be a pattern here ••••••Israel in a land not their own (occupying Egypt and Canaan)
Israel in the wilderness
Israel enters the Promised Land
Israel finally gains control over the Promised Land (King David)
Apostasy of kings of Israel
Israel is removed from the Promised Land→→for 430 years
for 40 years→→

for 40 years
for 430 years

One can’t help feeling that these numbers are more than a coincidence. The time spans don’t seem arbitrary. The
rise of Israel seems reflected in its fall.
••

The Israelites escaped captivity after 430 years.
The Israelites entered captivity after 430 years.

Its like the clock only starts ticking when a nation turns away from God.
At the time of the Babylonian Captivity, God showed Ezekiel that the siege of Jerusalem would last 430 days – a day
for each year that Israel had sinned which amounted to all the years from Solomon until the Babylonian Captivity(1015 B.C. – 585 B.C.)
This shows that the apostasy of the kings of Israel had lasted 430 years, and was the reason given for their return tocaptivity.

This timing suggests that God brought to an end an empire and a kingdom – Egypt or Israel. He sets people free, He
raises them up, He sends them back into captivity.
Kingdom or captivity are conditional upon obedience to His commands – and it’s likely that the same principle
applies at a personal level.
Foreign or Israelite, the people were given equal time to repent – suggesting impartiality – as seen in the quote
below where Joshua meets the commander of the army of the Lord -God respects free choice, so every evil empire is allowed to persist for a period. But a time of judgement and finality
is always set, and the persecuted are set free.

Summary
The timing of the rise and fall of Israel are suggestive but not conclusive that God was involved in the genesis anddemise of that nation.
God demonstrated His power by taking a captive race and making them a kingdom, then taking a kingdom andmaking it captive – and timing both events.
However we find additional evidence indicating that God was instrumental in returning the Israelites to captivity - theprophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Daniel, as referenced below. The timing of the rise and fall of Israel lends support
to the evidence of the prophets.

References
Davidic Covenant
Prophecies of Daniel
A Chronology of the Old Testament

Postscript
The numbers 40 and 43 play a part in the passion of Christ. See Sign of the Son of Man. 43 days is the period from
Passover to Ascension, and includes the 40 days during which Christ appeared to the apostles.