Disclaimer: Everything presented here is in Bible Study format. Please understand that I do not have any formal theology instruction. I ask that you pray first, and read the verses for yourself. Should God ever convict me of errors in my understanding, I will add a note.
Verses: Exodus 2, Exodus 3, Exodus 4, Exodus 7-11, Exodus 18 (NIV)
Passages: “Moses Flees to Midian” “Moses and the Burning Bush” “Moses Returns to Egypt” “The Plague(s)” “Jethro Visits Moses”
Intro:
I’ve been reading the Bible from the beginning – though, admittedly, pretty slow. I’ve had so much time to sit with some of the things I’ve gleaned and it’s helped me so much in my personal life. I love the fact that when you understand your true purpose – which is to spread the Gospel of Jesus – and when you read Scripture with that in mind, it still manages to eventually unfold on such a personal level.
For this Bible Study, I want to highlight three key things about Israel’s deliverance from Egypt:
1) God’s concern
2) God’s words to Moses
3) Moses’ post-deliverance conversation with Jethro (his father-in-law)
GOSPEL RENDERING
Gospel Rendering:
Verse
Exodus 2:23-25
The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.
Extract
On this site, I’ve previously mentioned common grace blessings vs. covenant blessings. (It’s something that I just learned about this year.) I think that concept applies here.
When it comes to our trials here on earth – whether they be “simple” or super traumatic – God can deliver whomever He chooses. There are plenty of people who have been spared from things, and they may never realize or note that it was God who saved them.
But when it says here, “God heard their groaning and He remembered His covenant with Abraham,” that is a really important detail. He remembered His covenant and was then concerned. It was a covenantal concern. Here, God wouldn’t be delivering them from their trial simply to alleviate their hardship or trauma. It would be for a purpose.
•••
Verse (Bolded!)
Exodus 3:7-8
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. 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.
Exodus 3:11-12
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you[b] will worship God on this mountain.”
Exodus 4:21-23
The Lord said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, and I told you, “Let my son go, so he may worship me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’”
Exodus 7:15-16
Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river. Confront him on the bank of the Nile, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. Then say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness.
Exodus 8:1
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.
Exodus 8:20
20 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.
Exodus 9:1
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, so that they may worship me.”
Exodus 9:13
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me,
Exodus 10:1-3
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs of mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord.”
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me.
Exodus 10:25-26
But Moses said, “You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the Lord our God. Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping the Lord our God, and until we get there we will not know what we are to use to worship the Lord.”
Exodus 12:31-32
During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested. Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.”
Extract
The first thing God gives Moses, after calling Him, is a promise: That He will deliver the Israelites into “a good and spacious land.” (Exodus 3) This is not a new promise. It is a reiteration of the covenant He first made with Abraham.
The second thing God gives Moses is an instruction: Moses is to deliver the Lord’s message to Pharaoh, and that is, “Let my people go so they may worship me.” Every instance of this statement emphasizes this.
Throughout Exodus 7-11, Egypt experiences plague after plague due to Pharaoh’s refusal to let the LORD’s people go. Through Moses and Aaron, God would always first send a warning to Pharaoh. (ie. Let my people go so they may worship me or I will [insert plague here].) Whenever the effect of the plague became too severe, Pharaoh would beg Moses and Aaron to ask God to stop. And, He would. Therefore, it was always clear who was in charge. Yet, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened.
In Exodus 10, God reveals His reason for having hardened Pharaoh’s heart: “I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs of mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord.“
Pharaoh had no power over God. The resistance experienced by the Israelites was God’s way of showing everyone – perhaps, most importantly, the Israelites – that He is the Lord. He allowed the Israelites to have a personal experience with Him before beginning their trek to the Promised Land.
•••
Verse
Exodus 18:1
Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.
Exodus 18:8-12
Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved them.
Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. He said, “Praise be to the Lord, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.” Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.
Extract
When Jethro visited, Moses delivered his testimony, placing the focus on God and all that He’d done. Even when recounting the Israelite’s hardships, he followed up by talking about how God saved them.
Jethro became convicted that Moses’ God was in fact the one true God. He offered his sacrifice to God and communed with Moses, “Aaron and the elders of Israel, in the presence of God.”
Moses’ testimony left no room for Jethro to believe that the Israelites deliverance was accomplished by anyone other than God.
Bible Study Questions:
How is the enemy present in this passage? The enemy is represented by Pharaoh. The Israelites were enslaved by Pharaoh and the Egyptians, they were treated brutally, and Pharaoh did not want to let them go.
How did God respond? Though the Israelites were physically under Egypt’s jurisdiction, they were under God’s covenant, as His chosen people. God responded to Israel’s suffering by selecting and calling Moses; whom He would use to deliver His people from Egypt.
How is Jesus foreshadowed? God used Moses to deliver His message, and to deliver and save the Israelites. God showcased His power through both Moses and Aaron. (Because of Moses’ hesitancy, God also used Aaron in this way.)
Example from Exodus 8:1-2 and Exodus 8:5
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 2 If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs on your whole country.
5 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the streams and canals and ponds, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’”
Operating in the name of the Lord, Moses served as the Israelites connection to the Father; just as Jesus does for us.
How are Believers foreshadowed? In Exodus 12:37-38, we learn just how many Israelites were delivered from Egypt: “There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. Many other people went up with them…” As you can see, there were also Egyptians who came to believe in God during this time.
The Israelites were given a promise: That they would be brought to a land flowing with milk and honey. Likewise, through Christ, Believers are given the promise of reconciliation with God, eternal life and an eventual residence in Heaven.
Other Parallels or Gems:
I know that there are so many parallels that can be pulled from these passages, but I’m going to focus on one that is overarching. In church, we’ve been studying Acts. (Yes, CHURCH! I’ve started attending a new church! Blog post, loading.)
I want to showcase some of the parallels between the Israelite’s exodus from Egypt and the story found in Acts 3-4. But first, I’ll give you my point up front:
PERSONAL DELIVERANCE IS ALWAYS TIED TO SALVATION – YOURS OR SOMEONE ELSE’S.
•••
In Acts 3, Peter heals a lame beggar, stating: “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” The man – who had “been lame from birth” – was instantly healed and began “walking, and jumping and praising the Lord.” The people who saw this, recognized him and “were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.”
•••
Peter then addresses the crowd of onlookers, Acts 3:12-16:
“When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.“
•••
Peter and John were arrested in Acts 4:
The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4 But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.
•••
Once they were released Peter – filled with the Holy Spirit – gave this speech before the Sanhedrin in Acts 4:
It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is
“‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.’Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
•••
Acts 4:13 and Acts 4:21 speak of the Sanhedrin’s reaction: “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” (4:13) “After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened.” (4:21)
•••
So, now, the parallel:
In Exodus: God used Moses to deliver His children out of bondage, so that they may worship Him. Many Egyptians came to know God as well. Later, Moses shared his testimony with Jethro and he came to accept God; believing and offering sacrifices to Him.
In Acts: Through Christ – and operating in the Holy Spirit – Peter healed a man in Jesus’ name. Once healed, the man began praising God. Many others experienced salvation through accepting Jesus.
Our personal healing and deliverance is always tied to salvation – ours or someone else’s.
It is amazing to know that God is concerned with our suffering. But the deliverance He wants to offer us in not one that is fleeting. It is not a temporary fix, or small relief, that He desires for us. It is an eternal one.
He invites us into a covenantal blessing; one where we are now seen as His children, reconciled with Him and promised eternal life.
We are so blessed that we can experience His saving grace in this way; a way without burnt offerings and sacrifices. This is the new covenant – only experienced by believing and receiving His Son, the Messiah: Jesus of Nazareth.
Lexzie in Christ 
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