Exodus – The Escape

And then there was Moses. He thought he had escaped his past and hidden well in his new hometown of Midian. Life back in Egypt had been both hard and good. Good in that Moses enjoyed the privileges and education of royalty as an adopted son in Pharaoh’s kingdom. Hard, because he never forgot his true heritage. He was an Israelite by birth, and it had pained him terribly to see his own people so badly abused. In their defense, one day he killed a cruel Egyptian taskmaster who was tormenting a fellow Hebrew. The loyalty cost him his royal position and he fled to Midian to start a new life—an easier one. The sheep he tended there never argued or fought. They simply followed his lead, and life became good again.

Then God showed up, blazing in a bush along Moses’ path, his life flaming with God’s passion. “Go set my people free,” God commanded. Fear attacked from all sides. How could Moses say no to a holy God? But how could an ordinary shepherd deliver a nation?

“Send someone else,” he countered. But God would not have it. He had chosen Moses from before birth for this task, equipped him in ways he hadn’t even understood. Eventually, Moses began to see. The great I AM would be everything he could need, his own inadequacies insignificant in light of God—powerful, just, and compassionate— leading through him.

So Moses obeyed, step by step, and Israel’s history changed forever. Through ten disastrous plagues, God demonstrated His supremacy over worthless Egyptian idols. Then leading His people on dry land through a parted Red Sea, he sealed Egypt’s attempt to recapture the Israelites by drowning all who pursued them.

The Israelites slowly realized they were a people again—God’s people, freed from former bondage to worship the One who delivered them. Moses as mediator received God’s commands for holy living, instructions for the Tabernacle. He explained to God’s people what it meant to have fellowship with a righteous God…what it looked like for their relationship to be restored, to be one again.

At Exodus’ conclusion, they built the Tabernacle, and God’s glory descended to fill it. God had come to dwell with His people, to love and lead them through life. His cloud by day and fire by night reminded Moses and all God’s people: The great I AM always has been and forever will be the one you need.

Who was Moses and why did God choose him?

When you learn about Moses, how does he relate to your life? Read Exodus 1-14.

What did you learn about Aaron, Miriam, Pharaoh and the Israelites?

How does the Passover Lamb point to Jesus?

How does your life relate to the Israelites?