Moses: Deliverance

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. (Exodus 3:1-6 NIV)

In the grand story of redemption, God had raised up a nation from one couple - Abraham and Sarah. Through Joseph, their family had come to live in Egypt because of a seven-year famine. They remained there 400 years, and flourished into a nation. A new Pharaoh arose in Egypt who did not know Joseph, and who feared that the Hebrew people would rebel against Egypt and seek to overthrow them. This Pharaoh not only enslaved the Israelites, he sought to annihilate them.

The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” (Exodus 1:15-16 NIV)

But the Hebrew midwives feared God more than they feared Pharaoh, and they refused to put the newborn boys to death. The Living God was not surprised by this turn of events. In fact, He had revealed it was going to happen to Abraham, centuries before:

As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the LORD said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. (Genesis 15:12-14 NIV)

God used the oppression of the Egyptians as an opportunity to reveal Himself. His Upper Story plan would not be thwarted by the events in the Lower Story of human history. And so God revealed Himself to Moses in a burning bush and tasked Moses with going to Pharaoh to command that he release God's people to leave Egypt and worship Him.

First, God revealed His name to Moses. Moses was tending his father-in-law's sheep, when he saw a bush that was burning with fire, but not being consumed. When he approached it to see this wondrous thing, God spoke to him. The pillar of fire appeared to Moses in the bush of fire. Generations later, the fire of the Holy Spirit would fall on the church, imbuing them with power from on high.

Moses asked for God's name, should the Hebrews want to know which god sent him. God's answer was peculiar and profound.

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:14 NIV)

God's name is I AM WHO I AM. The Hebrew is YHWH, which is the root for both Yahweh and Jehovah. God's answer was, "I am the self-existent One." It was "I am the God who exists." The implication of God's name is that He is God and there is no other. All other gods are not Gods at all.

Moses argued with God at the burning bush, telling the Lord he was not qualified and suggesting God should send someone else. But Moses was chosen, and Moses was sent on this mission of deliverance. God's simple answer to all Moses' claiming that he was not up to the mission was, "I will be with you."

Next, God revealed His power in sending ten plagues on Egypt to demonstrate His superiority over Egypt's gods. Each plague showed mastery over another Egyptian god. People in Egypt were polytheists. They believed in many gods. The key question was not "Is there a God?" The key question for them was, "Which god is most powerful?" Yahweh answered that question with no room for doubt as He turned water to blood, sent hail and frogs and gnats and locusts and darkness upon Egypt.

But throughout the first nine plagues, Pharaoh's heart was hardened. In the face of the power of God, Pharaoh became more and more obstinate, refusing to let the people go. Finally, God sent the most terrible plague, the tenth. An angel of death went throughout Egypt, claiming the lives of the first-born sons of everyone in the land. This plague broke Pharaoh's resolve, and he finally released the Israelites from their slavery.

In the tenth plague, God revealed His greater plan for redemption. That plan required the shedding of the blood of a lamb for each household among the Hebrews, with the blood being applied to the doorposts of the house so the death angel would pass over that house and spare the first-born sons. God was pointing to the greater deliverance from sin and death that would also require the death of a Lamb.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29 NIV)

Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. John the Baptist was referring to the Passover Lamb here.

Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. (1 Corinthians 5:7 NIV)

Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. The blood on the doorposts points to the blood on the cross. In a powerful way, the deliverance in Exodus points to the ultimate deliverance of Calvary. God does what we cannot do so we may experience deliverance we cannot make for ourselves. Jesus paid a debt He did not owe because we owed a debt we could not pay.

The way to deliverance from sin and death is through faith in Jesus Christ. What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. We need the blood of the Lamb, just as the Hebrews did. We are reminded of this great truth every time we receive the Lord's Supper (Holy Communion), which was instituted by Jesus at a Passover seder, which celebrated Israel's deliverance from slavery and pointed to the Cross.

Jesus laid down His life for you. Will you give your life to Him in gratitude and awe?