MOSES: Part 3 – The Exodus
INTRODUCTION
Moses, born a slave, but destined to rule over Egypt’s empire. Rescued from the river, adopted by a princess, and raised to be Pharaoh. Instead, leads a nation of slaves to freedom and changes the world forever. Moses – a hero for our time!
The chariots raced forward in a billowing plume of dust. War cries, wild enough to curdle blood, echoed from the army as they raised their weapons, and charged towards the helpless crowd of slaves huddled along the narrow shores of the Red Sea.
The Hebrews had thought they were safe. At long last, after an onslaught of deadly plagues, Pharaoh had been forced to acknowledge the sovereignty of Yahweh, the Hebrew’s God, and let His people go.
In the wake of one of the most significant manifestations of God’s power the Hebrew’s joyfully prepared themselves to leave the land of their bondage and turn their faces towards the one thing that mattered most to them; freedom.
Now set free and no longer slaves, the Hebrews moved out from Egypt to claim the land that God had given them – the Promised Land. Their hearts were filled with equal parts of gratitude and wonder.
They had witnessed and experienced God’s salvation through the blood of the lamb on their doorposts. When the firstborn of Egypt had died, the Hebrews had witnessed the power of God to keep their children alive.
As they headed out of Egypt their hearts thrilled with the excitement of witnessing yet another one of God’s miracles. They were free. Despite years of despair and sinking hopes, they were finally free!
God led them down to the shores of the Red Sea. Egypt was behind them, the sea before them, and for the moment they were too deliriously happy to ask questions about how they would get across the wide expanse of shimmering water before them.
And then disaster struck. Pharaoh had a swift and sudden change of heart. He could not let his slaves go. He could not acknowledge their God. He would reclaim not only his slaves but salvage his pride in the process.
And so gathering together a large part of his army, six hundred chariots and countless footmen, Pharaoh pursued the Hebrews, delighted to find that they had made a tactical error in choosing their escape route.
With their backs to the sea and Pharaoh’s army blocking their only other exit, it looked certain that the Hebrews would be destroyed by the might of Egypt before they had even begun their journey of freedom. They were doomed.
As the chariots of Pharaoh raced towards them, an unstoppable wall of brute force, the terrified screams of the Hebrews mingled with the triumphant battle cries of the Egyptians.
When all hope seemed lost, a miraculous display of God’s power saved the Hebrews from the murderous designs of their former taskmasters.
Join us this week as we look at the final, awe-inspiring episode on the life of Moses, from the time of the Exodus to the moment he stood on Mount Nebo overlooking the Promised Land.
LIFE OF A SLAVE
When Moses returned to Egypt to save his people from bondage, the Hebrews or Israelites had been enslaved for 400 years. Freedom was a strange and exciting concept, one they longed for but had never experienced. They knew only hard labour and the lash of the taskmaster.
Archaeological findings about the builders of the ancient royal tombs and the pyramids of Egypt shed some light on what working conditions in Egypt would have been like.
While the Israelites didn’t build the pyramids, the lives of those who did give us a rough idea of what life would have been like for workers and slaves in Egypt.
Deir el-Medina is an ancient Egyptian workmen’s village which was home to the workers who built the royal tombs found in the Valley of the Kings. Forensic studies on the skeletons of these builders of the royal tombs, and also from the cemetery of the pyramid builders near Giza, reveal not only shortened life expectancy but considerable wear and tear due to heavy labour as well. Their bones tell the story of hard and heavy work.
When the Israelites were finally set free, they didn’t begin their journey alone. God pledged himself to lead and guide them all the way to the land he had promised them.
PROTECTION AND DELIVERANCE
In the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, God went before the Israelites, not just to show them the path they were meant to take but also to provide protection and comfort.
On the shores of the Red Sea when the Israelites faced the charging Egyptian army the pillar of cloud rose up and formed a defensive barrier between them, preventing the Egyptians from reaching them.
Regardless of this protective measure the Israelites were terrified and their faith in God’s ability to fully deliver them from their oppressors wilted in the face of this devastating new challenge and crushing setback.
Panic stricken they wished themselves back in slavery, accusing Moses of delivering them only to die in the wilderness. But God had already delivered them once from the Egyptians and now, caught between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea, he would deliver them again.
The Bible says,
“The Lord said to Moses…tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.” (Exodus 14: 15-16)
Well, Moses did as God commanded. He held out his staff over the sea and while the terrified Israelites watched, God miraculously parted the sea before them, providing a pathway oo escape between the walls of water either side.
Exodus 14:22 tells us,
“And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.”
As the Israelites crossed the sea on dry ground the pillar of cloud that had stood between them and the Egyptians lifted. When the Egyptians saw that their slaves were escaping, they charged after them right into the middle of the sea.
But God had not brought the Israelites out of slavery only to allow the Egyptians to destroy them on the shores of the Red Sea. The Bible describes how God delivered the Israelites once and for all,
“And in the morning watch the Lord…looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.” (Exodus 14:24-25)
But it was too late. The walls of water on either side of the Egyptian army collapsed over them, rushing in to drown them as the stunned Israelites watched from the safety of the far shore.
It was a decisive victory over an oppressor that had enslaved them for 400 years. The level of joy that washed over the Israelites was as overwhelming as the wall of water that took their enemies down to a watery grave.
LONGING FOR FREEDOM
The acclaimed poet Maya Angelou described the plight of the enslaved in her poem The Caged Bird. One verse in particular is especially poignant and haunting.
She writes,
“The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
of things unknown but longed for still
and his tune is heard on a distant hill
for the caged bird sings of freedom”
In a sense, we’re all enslaved and longing for freedom, like the Israelites. Their plight is ours as well. You see, the Bible tells us that the entire human race has been enslaved by a fearsome and tyrannical adversary. The Bible names that adversary Satan, and he is described as both a dragon, eager to inflict pain, and a serpent, equally ready to wield deception.
Either way Satan, or Lucifer, as he was originally known in heaven, is described in the Bible as a fallen angel bent on seeking the destruction of those God loves. His reign of oppression spilled onto the earth as a result of Adam and Eve’s sin, and since then, in every successive generation he has found men and women who have been enslaved by his lies and deception.
Surrounded by the results of Satan’s reign of terror, we are caged by hopelessness, despair, suffering and death. And we all feel it personally in one way or another, because sin keeps us trapped in a cycle of anger, envy, greed, sexual immorality, broken relationships, unforgiveness, and selfishness.
We long for a better world. A world free of the war, disaster, death and suffering we see all around us. We desperately want true freedom that sets us free from fear, guilt, worry, and bitterness.
Like caged birds, we sing of things unknown but longed for still. No more tears. No more heartache. No more strife. We long for freedom and God hears our song. In fact, even before we knew the tune, he had already provided us with a solution.
This means that God had a plan for our rescue in place even before Adam and Eve sinned.
OUR OWN RESCUE
Jesus left heaven and came to this earth to rescue us. He came so that he could pay the penalty for our sins and mistakes. he came to die for us. And in dying for us he not only paid the price for our sins, but he also secured our freedom from slavery to sin.
Matthew 1:21 tells us,
“…and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Jesus came to deliver us from the bondage of sin. Through his death on the cross Jesus saved us and bound the power of Satan, so that he could set his captives free and offer them the joys of freedom, with all its promises and possibilities.
Through Jesus we can have freedom. Because he lives, you can have eternity. You might not see Him, but He sees you. You might not yet have chosen Him, but He chose you when he died for you on a Roman cross.
If, like the caged bird, you are singing of things unknown but longed for still, you can have the assurance that Jesus holds the key to unlock your cage of hopelessness and despair.
Now, after being delivered and safely crossing the Red Sea, Moses and the Israelites sang a song of celebration and triumph, expressing their gratitude and faith in God. Exodus 15 records this song and it begins with these beautiful words:
“I will sing unto the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider has he thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation” (Exodus 15:1-2)
No longer did they need to sing of freedom. Now they were experiencing it! Now their song was one of joy at acquiring the one thing they had desired for so long, and gratitude to the God who had given them that gift – the gift of freedom.
THE DIVINE VIEWPOINT
In Exodus 7:4-5 God explained to Moses the reasons behind the ten plagues, and by extension his miraculous deliverance at the Red Sea, which brought the Egyptian army to its knees.
God said,
“Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my host, my people, the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them”
God’s acts of judgment against Egypt were designed to turn the Egyptians away from a system of religion that was empty and deceptive. It was designed to show them that their gods were powerless, and their ideological framework flawed.
For example, the Nile River was considered to be the centre of ancient Egyptian existence. In fact, the river was worshiped as a god and was considered to be the force that bound upper and lower Egypt into a united kingdom.
When God turned the Nile into blood, he turned the lifeline of Egypt into a stagnant pool of death that struck at the very heart of Egyptian religion. He was letting the Egyptians know that He was the life-giver, and not their gods.
Then there was the plague of frogs. Egyptians worshiped frogs in the form of their goddess Heqet, who had the face of a frog. She was the goddess of birth and fertility.
When the God of the Israelites sent a plague of frogs it was another clear message that he was in charge of the cycle of life, and not the gods of the Egyptians.
Over and over again, God showed the Egyptians the futility of their religious ideology by demonstrating to them that what He had to offer them was so much better.
GOD’S PROVISION FOR ISRAEL
From the shores of the Red Sea the Israelites moved forward into the wilderness, where God provided for them yet again in a remarkable way. Biblical scholars estimate that the Israelites numbered between 2.5 and 3 million men, women and children.
Now, such a massive group of people couldn’t be supported by the meagre resources available in the wilderness. The people realized this, and it wasn’t long before they began to allow their fears for the future to overwhelm them.
Turning on Moses and Aaron they cried out,
“Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into the wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger” (Exodus 16:3)
Food was running low, and parents began to worry over how they would provide food for their little ones. In the midst of their stress and panic they forgot how God had led them in the past.
It had been about 8 to 10 weeks since the Israelites had left Egypt. During that period of time, they had seen God providing for their needs, the most amazing manifestation of God’s power being the defeat of the Egyptians at the Red Sea.
But now, faced with a potential food shortage they began to wish themselves back in bondage because, according to their reasoning, at least as slaves they had food. Their faith in God was waning in the face of an unknown future.
But instead of rebuking them, God treated them with love and patience. He provided food for them in the desert by raining bread from heaven. Woven into this miracle was a special lesson.
MANNA AND SABBATH
Communicating through Moses, God instructed the Israelites to gather bread daily for five days. And then on the sixth day of the week they were to gather a double portion of food. Why? Well, God explained his reasons to them in Exodus 16:22-26:
“Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord…six days you shall gather it [bread] but in the seventh day, which is the sabbath there will be none.”
The Israelites called the bread Manna, and God used the Manna and the Sabbath to teach them three very important lessons.
First, God was reminding them of the Sabbath rest which he had created and established way back at Creation in the Garden of Eden. Right back at the beginning of the world, Genesis 2:2-3 says,
“and on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work which he had done in creation”
Second, God used the Sabbath to remind the Israelites that He would supply their needs. The Sabbath is a sign of God’s power as Creator, and so re-establishing the Sabbath within the context of the manna was a reminder that God was able to meet the needs of all those who relied on him.
And the third lesson: the Sabbath provided the Israelites with an opportunity to renew their relationships with God and with each other. For 400 years they had been enslaved by the Egyptians.
Slaves, especially in the ancient world, didn’t have the luxury of a day off. The Israelites would have worked seven days a week and the constant round of gruelling labour would have taken its toll on their physical, mental and spiritual well-being.
The reintroduction of the Sabbath into their weekly routine was a means of providing them with much needed time to build their relationship with God, and with each other.
THE LAW OF GOD
From the great wilderness that was named Sin, the Israelites moved into the Sinai Desert, and set up their tents in the shadow of Mt. Sinai. It was here that God himself came down onto the mountain and gave them His law.
God invited Moses to come up to the summit of the mountain in order to receive the law – the 10 Commandments. This was one of the most significant events in Moses’ life, and set him apart as one of the greatest prophets in history.
God himself wrote the ten commandments with his own finger on two tablets of stone, and when He gave them to Moses, He introduced them by saying,
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” (Exodus 20:1)
In saying this, God reminded Moses and the children of Israel that the very purpose of the Ten Commandments was to make people free and keep them free. God wanted them to understand that these 10 principles are the foundation of a solid, safe, peaceful and productive society.
And that’s because they’re all about relationships. The first four of the Ten Commandments deal with our relationship to God, while the other six deal with our relationships with people. But all ten are about relationships. You see, God’s law is a revelation of His heart. It teaches us how to love Him and how to love other people.
The law of God reveals the foundational principles we need to build healthy human relationships, as well as a thriving spiritual relationship with God.
FURTHER CHALLENGES FOR MOSES
From Sinai God continued to lead the Israelites through the wilderness on their journey toward Canaan. Throughout their journey God allowed them to experience challenges and trials.
Every challenge they faced was meant to strengthen their faith in God, but instead it only served to produce complaining and strife. And they took out the brunt of the frustration on Moses!
As their visible leader, Moses was the easy target. Whenever the Israelites were faced with a challenge, they accused Moses of rescuing them from slavery in Egypt in order to kill them in the wilderness.
There was mutiny against his leadership, jealousy and backbiting spearheaded by his own siblings, and even the occasional threat to kill him or appoint a new leader, and head back into Egypt and slavery.
Through it all, Moses displayed an unprecedented amount of patience. Despite their ingratitude, complaining and threats, Moses was their biggest advocate and champion.
After forty years of wandering in the wilderness caring for the needs of a ragtag group of ex-slaves who struggled, bickered and complained, Moses finally led them to the borders of the Promised Land.
ENDING ON A HIGH NOTE
And his story and earthly journey end on a high note. He died atop Mt. Nebo when he was 120 years old, overlooking the Promised Land. And as we look back over his life, I think we can safely say, that few human beings have experienced God on this earth to the extent that Moses did.
From meeting God in the burning bush, to parting the Red Sea, to watching manna fall from heaven, to meeting God on top of Mt. Sinai in a thick cloud, Moses spent a lot of time in God’s presence. He developed a close relationship with God.
His life may have been marked by challenge and sacrifice, but more importantly, it was shaped by an intimate relationship with God. When a new obstacle would arise, Moses turned first to God for guidance and provision. His hardships challenged his trust in himself and strengthened his faith in the Lord. His problems and hardships drew him closer to God.
And that’s true for us today as well. The Bible teaches that our trials and troubles can also produce a closer and stronger relationship with God – we can lean on Him and grow closer to Him. As Moses grew closer to God, he transformed from a privileged son of Pharaoh to a humble man leading God’s people out of Egypt.
Moses chose to commit his life and future into the hands of God and lived a life of patient obedience to God’s will. There are times in life when following God is the last thing we want to do.
We could rather forge our own path. Go our own way. But Moses’ life demonstrates that a life of obedience to God’s will is a life well lived. And not only is it a life well lived, but it is also a life that receives an eternal reward.
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Be sure to join us again next week, when we will share another of life’s journeys together. Until then, let’s pray to the great God of Moses, and ask for His blessing and guidance in our lives.
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for the life and experience of Moses, and the encouragement he brings us. We pray that you will lead and guide in our lives too. Please bless us and our families, we ask in Jesus name, Amen.
