Readings for today: Exodus 5-9
At first glance, the theme of the Book of Exodus seems to be deliverance. Freedom. The end of slavery. The poor and powerless overcoming the rich and powerful. The defeat of empire. And while all those themes are certainly present in the book, they are not the main point. They are byproducts of a much greater, much grander theme and that is God making Himself known. The Book of Exodus is ultimately a book about God. It reveals His divine nature and character. It is God re-introducing Himself to the world and to His people after hundreds of years of seeming silence.
For those who may not be familiar with Egyptian history and mythology, Pharaoh was considered a god. A living embodiment of Horus and Ra. As such, he was worshipped. He was considered supreme. It’s why the Pharaoh’s built elaborate monuments to themselves and massive tombs we can still see today. It’s why they were buried with all of their riches and many of their servants would also be killed and buried with them so they could continue serving them in the afterlife. Is it any wonder then, when Moses and Aaron first show up, that Pharaoh rejects their demand to release Israel? He doesn’t know God. He doesn’t recognize God. In fact, he considered himself to be the greater god. “But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey him by releasing Israel? I do not know the Lord, and I will not release Israel!” (Exodus 5:2 NET) And what we see unfold in succeeding chapters is God demonstrating his power and authority over all of creation while utterly humiliating and exposing Pharaoh’s powerlessness in the process.
Who is the Lord? Pharaoh wasn’t the only one asking this question. The people of Israel had forgotten the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. They had forgotten who He was and what He had promised. They too needed to be introduced to Him. They too needed to see His power and authority on display so their faith in Him might be restored. This is why they initially responded to Moses and Aaron the way they did. They didn’t understand Him and they didn’t trust His promises. “And they said to them, “May the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the opinion of Pharaoh and his servants, so that you have given them an excuse to kill us!” (Exodus 5:21 NET)
Who is the Lord? Even Moses was asking this question on some level. He too needed to see God’s power and authority on display so he might believe in the One who had sent him. The One who appeared to Him at the burning bush. The One who would meet him again on Mount Sinai. The One who would talk to him face to face like a friend. Moses himself was on a journey to get to know this God. “Moses returned to the Lord, and said, “Lord, why have you caused trouble for this people? Why did you ever send me?” (Exodus 5:22 NET)
So who then is the Lord? Listen to how God describes Himself in His own words. “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for compelled by my strong hand he will release them, and by my strong hand he will drive them out of his land.” God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name ‘the Lord’ I was not known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they were living as resident foreigners. I have also heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant. Therefore, tell the Israelites, ‘I am the Lord. I will bring you out from your enslavement to the Egyptians, I will rescue you from the hard labor they impose, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you to myself for a people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from your enslavement to the Egyptians. I will bring you to the land I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob – and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord!’” (Exodus 6:1-8 NET)
Who is the Lord? It’s the most important question you will ever have to answer. Who is the Lord? Who is God? And do you believe in Him? Have you accepted God’s revelation of Himself in Jesus Christ?
Readings for tomorrow: Exodus 10-13