Chapter 5, Delivering His People

The Set Up: Exodus 1:6-22
With Joseph the vice president of Egypt, the entire Israelite family enjoy the perks of being in with the Pharaoh. But as the book of Exodus begins, the Israelites have grown into a large group of people and the new Pharaoh feels threatened. He enslaves the Jewish people, forcing them to build the cities of Rameses and Pithom. Pharaoh then orders all male Israelites to be thrown into the Nile when they are born. Altogether the Israelites are enslaved for 400 years, and begin to wonder whether God had forgotten them. Where was His promises? Where was His protection?

Moses: Exodus 2:1-10
God told Abraham hundreds of years earlier that the Jewish people would be enslaved for 400 years (Genesis 15:13-14) but that He would deliver them. A boy is born, placed in a basket in the Nile, later to be found by the Pharaoh's daughter. She names him Moses and he is raised in Pharaoh's house.

God is Calling: Exodus 3:1-10
Years and years after being saved from the Nile, Moses has fled to the desert after killing an Egyptian. While tending the flocks, God speaks to him from within a burning bush. God calls Moses for the purpose of delivering the Israelite people from the bondage of slavery. Moses complains and begs for God to send someone else because he doesn't have confidence that he is good enough or has the skills required to follow the purpose. But when God calls, He always supplies what is needed to get the job done. What is God calling you to do in your life? What gifts, talents, passions are pulling you? Spend time listening for God's voice this week as to where He might want to use you to make a difference for His Kingdom.

God is Holy
God tells Moses to take off his sandals for he is standing on holy ground. From the beginning we've looked at how God is pure, perfect, and the greatest good. Interacting with God is an amazing opportunity because we are so far from those things. But He invites us to be in His presence if we will take the time to do so. Play the video below, allowing yourself to be quiet. Close your eyes and listen to the words. Let God speak to you and be in His Holy presence.



God is Delivering: The Passover
To the Israelites, it seemed like God had forgotten them. Many times in life, we can feel the same way. Abandoned or forgotten. Exodus 6:1-5 reminds us that God always remembers, and He is always faithful:

Then the Lord said to Moses,
"Now you'll see what I'm going to do with Pharaoh. It will be My mighty hand that will free My people. It will be My mighty hand will force Pharaoh to let them go.
I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as God Almighty, but to you, I have revealed Myself by My Holy Name. I have established a covenant with the Israelite people to give them the land of Canaan, where they used to live as strangers.

I have heard the cries of the Israelites as they have been enslaved by the Egyptians, and I have remembered My covenant.

God did not forget His people, and He does not forget you. He hears your cries for help. God sends 10 plagues on Egypt to prove His power and His covenant with His people. Pharaoh continues to refuse them freedom until the 10th plague. The final plague is the death of every firstborn male in Egypt: From Pharaoh to the servants to the livestock, everyone except for the Israelites.

You can read the full story in Exodus 12:1-29. God commands His people to sacrifice a lamb and spread the blood of the lamb across the door posts. At midnight, the angel of death walks through all of Egypt, leaving the first born dead in every household except for the homes marked with the blood of the lamb. The tradition continues today with the Passover holiday, a celebration meal of when God passed over the homes of His people, and delivered His people from the slavery in Egypt.

This Passover Meal or Seder Meal, is an important part of the Israelite heritage, continuing through today. There is great symbolism and meaning in the elements, many of which point us to the coming sacrifice of Christ.