17. The Exodus Series

[IN GOD’S IMAGE – 17 – THE EXODUS]

This message is part of a series of 90 sermons based on the title, “In God’s Image – God’s Purpose for humanity.” This series of free sermons or the equivalent free book format is designed to take the reader through an amazing process beginning with God in prehistory and finishing with humanity joining God in eternity as His loving sons and daughters. It is at times, a painful yet fascinating story, not only for humanity, but also for God. As the sermons follow a chronological view of the story of salvation, it is highly recommend they be presented in numerical order rather than jumping to the more “interesting” or “controversial” subjects as the material builds on what is presented earlier. We also recommend reading the introduction prior to using the material. The free book version along with any graphics or figures mentioned in this series can be downloaded at www.ingodsimage.site - Gary Regazzoli

Now we come to another important step in God ‘s plan of redemption for mankind.

• Last time we looked at the covenants God established with Noah and Abraham.

• Up to this point in the story God has been dealing with select individuals, Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

• Now He chooses to expand His plan to include a nation.

• His choice of a nation is interesting, as it was not one of great power and influence, but rather an oppressed people living as slaves under the domination of one of the major powers of the time, Egypt.

• Exodus 3:7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.

• God, as he promised to Abraham earlier, was going to make this poor oppressed nation into a mighty nation that reached its zenith during the later rule of King David and Solomon.

• But this verse also gives us another insight into God’s character.

• What we see here is a God who hears the suffering of those who are oppressed (Psalms 9:9).

• He doesn’t always intervene to stop this oppression as he did in this case. Rather He is a God who joins people in their suffering.

• It is faith in a God who suffers with them that has given hope to many oppressed people down through the ages.

• So we can take heart from the fact God does hears our cries and although He may not directly intervene to change a situation, He will join with us to help us cope with our distress.

• But there was also a dark side to Israel’s nature, as Jesus would go on to say, both Nineveh, Sodom and Gomorrah would have repented in dust and ashes long ago if the same message had been performed in there cities (Matthew 12:41).

• God chose Israel despite their stiff-necked, recalcitrant and rebellious nature in order to demonstrate what He had planned for all humanity with His future covenant of love and grace.

God’s choice to lead the rescue of His chosen nation was also an interesting decision.

• He chose an 80-year-old criminal on the run hiding in the desert.

• He had a promising career in Pharaoh’s palace before he decided to kill an Egyptian who was beating up on a Hebrew slave.

• God’s “Hall of Fame” is littered with dubious characters of similar background to Moses.

• Again this is testimony to God’s mercy towards sinners and His ability to work with those who are willing to put their faith and trust in His hands.

• After some reluctance on Moses’ part and God’s concession to allow Moses’ brother Aaron to accompany him, God sets about delivering His chosen people from the oppression of the Egyptians.

• Exodus 3:8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites

• God unleashed a series of ten plagues on the Egyptians before Pharaoh allowed Moses to lead God’s people out of Egypt.

• The use of supernatural plagues was indicative of the superstitious nature of peoples at that time.

• The fact that Egyptian magicians were able to imitate Aaron’s miracles shows the forces of darkness were very much a part of pagan worship (Exodus 7:8-13).

• The Israelites were also infected with this obsession with the supernatural as was evident later by them demanding Aaron build them a golden calf (Exodus 32:1-4).

• It was because of this superstitious culture that God employed supernatural means to free his people.