In this month’s Mix looking at ‘Jesus in the Book’ Tom helps us see Jesus in Exodus. As we focus in on some of the most significant and well-known parts of the Exodus, Tom shows us how the scriptures point a neon arrow at Jesus as God with us, the great I AM, our Passover Lamb, and our High Priest.
Exodus 1:1 - 40:38
1:1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5 All the descendants of Jacob were seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt. 6 Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. 7 But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. 13 So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves 14 and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.
15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” 17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. 18 So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” 20 So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”
2:1 Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. 3 When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. 4 And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. 5 Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” 8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. 9 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”
11 One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. 12 He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” 14 He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” 15 When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well.
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and watered their flock. 18 When they came home to their father Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come home so soon today?” 19 They said, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and watered the flock.” 20 He said to his daughters, “Then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.” 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah. 22 She gave birth to a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.”
23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.
3:1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7 Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. 16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, 17 and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”’ 18 And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, 22 but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”
4:1 Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you.’” 2 The LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” 3 And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. 4 But the LORD said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand—5 “that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” 6 Again, the LORD said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. 7 Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. 8 “If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. 9 If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”
10 But Moses said to the LORD, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” 11 Then the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” 13 But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” 14 Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. 16 He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. 17 And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”
18 Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” 19 And the LORD said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand.
21 And the LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’”
24 At a lodging place on the way the LORD met him and sought to put him to death. 25 Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” 26 So he let him alone. It was then that she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.
27 The LORD said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD with which he had sent him to speak, and all the signs that he had commanded him to do. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. 30 Aaron spoke all the words that the LORD had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 And the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.
5:1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’” 2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.” 3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” 4 But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens.” 5 And Pharaoh said, “Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them rest from their burdens!” 6 The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, 7 “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.”
10 So the taskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said to the people, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I will not give you straw. 11 Go and get your straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced in the least.’” 12 So the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 The taskmasters were urgent, saying, “Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw.” 14 And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past?”
15 Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, “Why do you treat your servants like this? 16 No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people.” 17 But he said, “You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.’ 18 Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks.” 19 The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they said, “You shall by no means reduce your number of bricks, your daily task each day.” 20 They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh; 21 and they said to them, “The LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
22 Then Moses turned to the LORD and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? 23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.”
6:1 But the LORD said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”
2 God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the LORD. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. 6 Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the LORD.’” 9 Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.
10 So the LORD said to Moses, 11 “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land.” 12 But Moses said to the LORD, “Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?” 13 But the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
14 These are the heads of their fathers’ houses: the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these are the clans of Reuben. 15 The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the clans of Simeon. 16 These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, the years of the life of Levi being 137 years. 17 The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, by their clans. 18 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, the years of the life of Kohath being 133 years. 19 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites according to their generations. 20 Amram took as his wife Jochebed his father’s sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses, the years of the life of Amram being 137 years. 21 The sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. 22 The sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri. 23 Aaron took as his wife Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 24 The sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these are the clans of the Korahites. 25 Eleazar, Aaron’s son, took as his wife one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites by their clans.
26 These are the Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said: “Bring out the people of Israel from the land of Egypt by their hosts.” 27 It was they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing out the people of Israel from Egypt, this Moses and this Aaron.
28 On the day when the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 the LORD said to Moses, “I am the LORD; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.” 30 But Moses said to the LORD, “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips. How will Pharaoh listen to me?”
7:1 And the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. 2 You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, 4 Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. 5 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.” 6 Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the LORD commanded them. 7 Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Prove yourselves by working a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.’” 10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. 11 Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. 12 For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.
14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water, and stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him. Take in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent. 16 And you shall say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But so far, you have not obeyed. 17 Thus says the LORD, “By this you shall know that I am the LORD: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood. 18 The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.”’” 19 And the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”
20 Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood. 21 And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. 22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said. 23 Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart. 24 And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile.
25 Seven full days passed after the LORD had struck the Nile.
8:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2 But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with frogs. 3 The Nile shall swarm with frogs that shall come up into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls. 4 The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.”’” 5 And the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt!’” 6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 But the magicians did the same by their secret arts and made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
8 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the LORD to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.” 9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “Be pleased to command me when I am to plead for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be cut off from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.” 10 And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God. 11 The frogs shall go away from you and your houses and your servants and your people. They shall be left only in the Nile.” 12 So Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the LORD about the frogs, as he had agreed with Pharaoh. 13 And the LORD did according to the word of Moses. The frogs died out in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields. 14 And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.
16 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.’” 17 And they did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats in all the land of Egypt. 18 The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast. 19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.
20 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 21 Or else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. 22 But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. 23 Thus I will put a division between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall happen.”’” 24 And the LORD did so. There came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants’ houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by the swarms of flies.
25 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.” 26 But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so, for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the LORD our God are an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? 27 We must go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as he tells us.” 28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away. Plead for me.” 29 Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going out from you and I will plead with the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh cheat again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.” 30 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD. 31 And the LORD did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. 32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and did not let the people go.
9:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2 For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, 3 behold, the hand of the LORD will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks. 4 But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die.”’” 5 And the LORD set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing in the land.” 6 And the next day the LORD did this thing. All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one of the livestock of the people of Israel died. 7 And Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.
8 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” 10 So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh. And Moses threw it in the air, and it became boils breaking out in sores on man and beast. 11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians. 12 But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had spoken to Moses.
13 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 14 For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. 16 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. 17 You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go. 18 Behold, about this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. 19 Now therefore send, get your livestock and all that you have in the field into safe shelter, for every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home will die when the hail falls on them.”’” 20 Then whoever feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, 21 but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the LORD left his slaves and his livestock in the field.
22 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt.” 23 Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. 24 There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And the hail struck down every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail.
27 Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “This time I have sinned; the LORD is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Plead with the LORD, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” 29 Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the LORD. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the LORD’s. 30 But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the LORD God.” 31 (The flax and the barley were struck down, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the emmer were not struck down, for they are late in coming up.) 33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and stretched out his hands to the LORD, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured upon the earth. 34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people of Israel go, just as the LORD had spoken through Moses.
10:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, 2 and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD.”
3 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me. 4 For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country, 5 and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall eat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field, 6 and they shall fill your houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.’” Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.
7 Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?” 8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, “Go, serve the LORD your God. But which ones are to go?” 9 Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the LORD.” 10 But he said to them, “The LORD be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind. 11 No! Go, the men among you, and serve the LORD, for that is what you are asking.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
12 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.” 13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind had brought the locusts. 14 The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again. 15 They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt. 16 Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. 17 Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and plead with the LORD your God only to remove this death from me.” 18 So he went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the LORD. 19 And the LORD turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. 20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.
21 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23 They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived. 24 Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, “Go, serve the LORD; your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.” 25 But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. 26 Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the LORD our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the LORD until we arrive there.” 27 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.” 29 Moses said, “As you say! I will not see your face again.”
11:1 The LORD said to Moses, “Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely. 2 Speak now in the hearing of the people, that they ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry.” 3 And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.
4 So Moses said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, 5 and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. 6 There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. 7 But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’ 8 And all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, you and all the people who follow you.’ And after that I will go out.” And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger. 9 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”
10 Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.
12:1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.
7 “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.
14 “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. 15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. 17 And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. 18 In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.”
21 Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. 23 For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. 24 You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. 25 And when you come to the land that the LORD will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. 26 And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the LORD’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.
28 Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
29 At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. 30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. 31 Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as you have said. 32 Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!”
33 The Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders. 35 The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. 36 And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.
37 And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. 38 A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds. 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.
40 The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years. 41 At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It was a night of watching by the LORD, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the LORD by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.
43 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, 44 but every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. 45 No foreigner or hired worker may eat of it. 46 It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. 47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. 49 There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.”
50 All the people of Israel did just as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day the LORD brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.
13:1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.”
3 Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. 4 Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out. 5 And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month. 6 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD. 7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory. 8 You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9 And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt. 10 You shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.
11 “When the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, 12 you shall set apart to the LORD all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the LORD’s. 13 Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 14 And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 15 For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16 It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” 18 But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. 19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.” 20 And they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. 21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.
14:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ 4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.” And they did so.
5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” 6 So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, 7 and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. 8 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly. 9 The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
15 The LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. 16 Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. 17 And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
19 Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, 20 coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 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. 23 The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 And in the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, 25 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.”
26 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. 29 But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.
15:1 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying,
“I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. 2 The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. 3 The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name. 4 “Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea. 5 The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone. 6 Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy. 7 In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble. 8 At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up; the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea. 9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’ 10 You blew with your wind; the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters. 11 “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? 12 You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them. 13 “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode. 14 The peoples have heard; they tremble; pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia. 15 Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed; trembling seizes the leaders of Moab; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. 16 Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone, till your people, O LORD, pass by, till the people pass by whom you have purchased. 17 You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O LORD, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established. 18 The LORD will reign forever and ever.”
19 For when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. 20 Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. 21 And Miriam sang to them:
“Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”
22 Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. 24 And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 And he cried to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.
There the LORD made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, 26 saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer.”
27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water.
16:1 They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. 2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3 and the people of Israel said to them, “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 this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against the LORD. For what are we, that you grumble against us?” 8 And Moses said, “When the LORD gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the LORD has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the LORD.”
9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, ‘Come near before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.’” 10 And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. 11 And the LORD said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’”
13 In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. 14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’” 17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. 18 But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. 19 And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” 20 But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.
22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, 23 he said to them, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’” 24 So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. 25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.”
27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. 28 And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? 29 See! The LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” 33 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the LORD to be kept throughout your generations.” 34 As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the testimony to be kept. 35 The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 (An omer is the tenth part of an ephah.)
17:1 All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried to the LORD, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 And the LORD said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”
8 Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.
14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD Is My Banner, 16 saying, “A hand upon the throne of the LORD! The LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
18:1 Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 Now Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her home, 3 along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land”), 4 and the name of the other, Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”). 5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the mountain of God. 6 And when he sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her,” 7 Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. 8 Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the LORD had delivered them. 9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the LORD had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.
10 Jethro said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods, because in this affair they dealt arrogantly with the people.” 12 And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.
13 The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. 14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” 15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God; 16 when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” 17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. 19 Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, 20 and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. 21 Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 22 And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. 23 If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”
24 So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. 25 Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 26 And they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves. 27 Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went away to his own country.
19:1 On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain, 3 while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
This transcript has been automatically generated, and therefore may not be 100% accurate.
This is the mix.
We are looking together at Jesus in every book of the Bible, and we saw last time in the book of Genesis or rather in our introduction to Genesis that the Lord Jesus really is in every book of the Bible. You might remember we had a key and a lock as our opening illustration. And we were reminded that Jesus is the key which unlocks all of scripture to us. So whichever Bible book we're in, in the Old Testament or the New, it is in some way foreshadowing, pointing us to, or pointing us back to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we saw last month in the book of Genesis, that Genesis is full of Jesus.
And today in the book of Exodus, we're going to see that that book too is full of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we're going to begin before our youngest ones go out. We're all going to stay together for this first section. And I want to show you on the next slide four pictures and what you've got to do, particularly our youngest ones here, but everyone's involved. What you've got to do is to decide which one of these pictures is the odd one out.
So if you're a little bit older and you've ever watched the game show, have I got news for you? You'll know that in a picture round, they show four pictures. Three of them are related. One doesn't fit. It's the same idea here.
You've got to decide which of these four images doesn't belong with the others. So I'll give you just a little bit of time with the person next to you. We're starting obvious or are we? Which one doesn't fit? Okay.
Let's come back together. Who thinks they know which the odd one out is? Ruben here on the front row. I saw his hand first. Ruben, which is the odd one out?
The And why? It's a reptile. Yeah. That's right. And what are the others?
Anybody else? Yes, Emily? It's mammals. There we go. There you are, Emily.
There you are, Ruben. So the odd one out here is the lizard because it's a reptile and the others are mammals. I want you to do the same thing now with these images on the screen. Okay? Same thing.
Which of these is the odd one out and why? Okay? Okay. Who thinks they know which is the odd one out and why Ben Castellan or Noah? Okay.
All the others are object and the head isn't. I mean, you could argue that the head is an object of sorts. Can you sit down Castellan's great effort? Not what I was looking for. Yes.
The person is alive. Yeah. So one is a sentient being. The others are not. That's true.
Not what I was looking for. You can have this though. Now the answer is the wallet, the keys, the phone are all things which can be lost. And maybe if you're a young one here, your mom and dad has said something to the effect of you'd lose your head if it wasn't screwed on. Yeah.
If you're prone to losing things. The head is something that cannot be lost, but the wallet, the keys, and the phone can be easily lost. And what's more, these are precious things that it's very annoying to lose. Right? You will all know the feeling.
You've been trying to go out the house or you've got an important meeting or you're off to work perhaps and you cannot find your wallet, keys or phone and it's really annoying. And if you don't recover them for the rest of the day, you've lost a sense of peace. Where where is that precious thing that I've lost? Now I begin there because our first big idea this morning is this. Exodus won't make sense unless we remember that in Genesis, something very precious was lost.
Exodus won't make sense unless we remember that in Genesis something very precious was lost. Let me take you to the last chapter of the book of Exodus. We're starting at the end. Exodus chapter 40 And the book of Exodus ends with a tent. Okay?
Here it is. The book of Exodus ends with a tent. Now admittedly, it's a... It's upside down. It wasn't upside down.
Admittedly, it was far more glorious than this tent, and it certainly did not pop up in quite the same way. But know this, the book of Exodus ends with a tent. That's where it's going. Okay? Let me show you Exodus chapter 40, some of the last words from the book.
Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle tent. Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle, the tent. And so four times in the last verses, we get this idea of a tent, a tabernacle, which is a tent, a tent of meeting and a tabernacle. And you think, well, what is so exciting about that? What's the big deal with the tent?
But, of course, it ain't the tent that is most exciting. It's the person who has come to live within the tent to be among God's people. You notice it there right at the end? The glory of the Lord filled the tent. Friends, last month in the book of Genesis, something very precious was lost.
Adam and Eve were walking in the garden with God and they were enjoying the presence of God. He lived with them and was among them. But after they sinned, Adam and Eve were sent away from the garden and from the presence of God. And you remember that angel with a flaming sword was barring their way back into the presence of God. They had it.
It was precious. And they lost it. But now, possibly, and I don't know, it's hard to say, possibly, fat three thousand years after Genesis three, God is back with his people. The book of Exodus is full of exciting things. There are rivers of blood.
There are hailstones the size of transit vans. There are oceans carved into two. There are mountains of fire. There are rivers flowing from rocks. There are golden calves ground to dust and drunk.
But most exciting of all is the tent and the one who lives in the tent. It's the glory of God coming back to live among his people. That's why the tent is so exciting because God is back with his people. And you know, in that, we see our first picture of the Lord Jesus. Now kids, if you've got a worksheet, you'll notice that your first puzzle is based around this next verse.
Have a look at this verse from John one. The word became flesh. It's talking about Jesus and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory. The glory of the one and only son who came from the father, full of grace and truth.
Now that phrase made his dwelling among us literally means to put up a tent. So think about that. The word became flesh and put up his tent among us. What are we being told? We're being told, remember Exodus 40.
When God the Son became a man, he put up a tent on earth, not one of fabric and poles, but one of flesh and blood. Jesus Christ is the glory of God living in this world and living especially among his people. And so on the screen, I'm gonna read the bit that's not in bold, and I want you to shout back at me the bit in bold. Okay? Where do we see Jesus in Exodus?
Jesus is God with us. The tent and the one who live in the tent point us to the man who became a tent for us. He was the glory of God on earth. And you know, still today, the most exciting thing about being a Christian is that God comes to live within his people. Is it is it good to go to heaven one day?
Yes. It's good to go to heaven one day. And are we happy to have our sins forgiven by Jesus? We are happy to have our sins forgiven. And does Jesus show us the best way for us to live?
He does show us the best way for us to live. But best of all, Christian, is that when you trust in Jesus Christ, God comes to live within you, within us, within these tents. And that's what Exodus is saying. There's loads of exciting stuff in the book and getting out of Egypt is amazing, but getting God is better. That's why it doesn't end with the Red Sea.
It ends with the tent because God is better than getting out of Egypt. Okay? So where do we see Jesus in Exodus? Jesus is us. God He is.
Now here's the question. In order for that to happen, what did God's people need to go through for them to get to the point at the tent? And that's what we're gonna have a think about in our next section, and that's what our mini mixers are gonna go out to in just a minute. So let's remind ourselves of what we've seen. Again, I'll say the bit not in bold.
You reply with the bold bit. Where do we see Jesus in Exodus? Jesus is God with us. Jesus is God with us. The book ends with a tent because God is back with his people.
But now we do need to rewind the story because although it ends in a great place, the glory of the Lord filling the tent, the story begins not with a tent but with chains. So at the start of the book, God's people are about 70 in number. The sons of Jacob and the wives and the children are down in Egypt. And as time goes by, that family of 70 gets bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger, which was fine right up until the point that it wasn't fine anymore. So in chapter one, a new king of Egypt comes to the throne and he is not happy with God's people and the way that they're growing.
He does not know them in the same way the previous king knew them, and he does not like the way they're expanding because what if this growing group of people decide to turn against him? What if they're not willing to put his agenda to work? What if they start to rebel? He doesn't like the thought of what might be if these people are allowed to continue to grow. And so he decides that it's time to enslave them, to put them in chains and to get them to do his work.
So it's a bit of a problem in Exodus chapter one. Things have been going pretty well for God's people for a number of years, but now things are going very not well. And the question is, where is God when things get painful for his church? Where is God when things get painful for his church? Well, the book of Exodus tells us that God is still there.
I'm gonna read the bits in black, and I want you to loudly read the bits in red. Okay? Here's what God is doing when things get tough for his people. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard.
They're groaning and God remembered. His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. So God looked. On the Israelites and God was concerned. About them.
God heard, God remembered, God looked, and God was concerned. His people were now undergoing a painful trial, and maybe they were asking to themselves, where is God in the midst of this difficulty? And Exodus two tells us that when things get tough for the church, God hears, and God remembers, and God sees, and God cares. Let us never think when things get hard for the church that God no longer sees, remembers, looks, or cares. He does and he hears.
And this emotion, these feelings that God has for his suffering people now draw him down into the most dramatic rescue mission that the world has ever seen apart from just one other. And it begins with this man called Moses. Now there's loads that I cannot fill in here, but in the plan of God, Moses is born and the baby Moses escapes this brutal plan to kill all of the Israelite boys. And then he grows up in the palace of Egypt and then he leaves behind the palace of Egypt and then he ends up as a shepherd in a place called Midian. Now there's loads of like important details in between those big points, but that's what happened.
Grows up in Egypt, leaves Egypt, becomes a shepherd in Midian, and there something unforgettable happens to Moses. Let's have a look up on the screen. This is our longest reading, but such an important milestone in the book of Exodus. Here we are, Exodus chapter three. 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 would go over and see this strange sight. And many of us would have done the same, I think. 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. The cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now go, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt. Moses said to God, suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you, And they ask me, what is his name? Then what shall I tell them?
God said to Moses, I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites, I am has sent you. You'd never forget that, would you? One day you're out looking after the flocks and an angel of the Lord appears to you in flames of fire from within a bush. And the bush is clearly a flame, but it is not burning.
It's a strange sight which Moses is drawn to. And it would be strange. Just think of the spectacle. It's a bit like if you were to go to a fireworks display on bonfire night, just about a month away. And you go with family or friends and you watch the fireworks and there's that very big and impressive fire.
And you stand around it competing for a spot closest to it and you marvel at the heat and the light that it gives off and it's very impressive on that evening. Well, suppose you were then to go back to the same site the next morning And at dawn, as you approach where the bonfire was last night, you still see it as bright and majestic as it was the night before, still burning with all the heat and light of yesterday evening. And then you look at the fuel, maybe it's wood or pallets, and you notice that they haven't been consumed at all. This thing is burning, but it's not being burned up. Moses sees a strange sight.
And then he hears a mysterious voice speaking to him. Who is this? We're told that it's an angel of God in verse two, who is also God in verse four, an angel of God who is God, one who invites him in but says not too close. One who says, Moses, I'm with you now, but I have been also with Abraham and with Isaac and with Jacob, who shall I say this is? Moses asks.
It's a good question, isn't it? Who is this? God says, I am who I am. And from that phrase, we get the ancient name for God, Yahweh. This is where we see it in Moses three...
In Exodus chapter three and in the Hebrew language of the Old Testament, that name Yahweh simply means to exist. God is the one who is. I am the existing one. I am the one who is with you now and I am the one who was and I am the one who will be with you. I am who I am.
The form of the word simply means to be or to exist. And so Moses says, who is this? Who shall I say has sent me? And God says, tell them that the existing one has sent you. The one who lives now and forever has sent you.
It's an amazing thing, isn't it? Who is God? God is the living one, and it's this I am, this one who exists, who is now coming to the rescue of his people. And here again, before we go on to the rescue, we see another very clear picture of our Lord Jesus Christ in the book of Exodus. On the screen, I'm gonna show you a number of sayings from our Lord Jesus Christ.
And we're gonna read these all together in this way. So what I want to do is to have this, these two blocks of chairs. You can read the stuff in white. And I want these two blocks to respond by reading in red. Now you have to pay attention because the first and the last one reverse the order a little bit.
Okay? So keep an eye on that. But these two, I want you to say as clearly as you can the things in white. Forget the bible verses. That's just to show you where they are.
And you say the ones in red. Okay? So white. Let's start off. There we go.
Brilliant. And I like the way that was rising to a crescendo there. You see? So here is the Lord Jesus in John's gospel taking this name many times. You couldn't call it a slip of the tongue, could you?
If he just did it once by accident, you might be able to chalk it off as a mistake, but consistently he takes the name I am for himself. And this last reference, although out of order in terms of number, is so amazing because here Jesus is with the religious leaders of the day, these people who loved the Old Testament and were so familiar with the Old Testament. And this story from Exodus three would have just been in their minds and able to be repeated without any notes. They knew it. Here's what Jesus says.
Very truly I tell you, Jesus answered to these leaders, before Abraham was born, I am. At this, they picked up stones to stone him. Now why did they do that? Because they knew exactly what he was claiming. This wasn't just a handful of gravel that you might find on the average driveway.
These were brick size, brick weight stones that they have found and are hurling at Jesus in order to kill him because what he has just said is highly triggering. For these religious leaders, if that's not true of a person, it's unspeakable blasphemy. And Jesus has said it crystal clear. Who am I? I am.
The Lord Jesus Christ is God the Son become a man. And as God, he is the I am. The ever living, ever existing, all powerful one who is with us this morning and who will be with us always. And so what a connection, Who shall I say has sent me? Tell them that I AM has sent you.
And thousands of years later, Jesus says, I AM the I AM. I AM God. And so where do we see Jesus in the book of Exodus? Let's say it together. Again, you do the bold bits.
Where do we see Jesus in Exodus? Jesus is God with us. Jesus is the great I am. He is. Jesus Christ is the great I am.
Now kids, if you're working through those sheets, you'll notice that the boxes in red are these key sentences. So as we go through, you can fill them in. Jesus is God with us. Jesus is the great I am. Amen?
Amen. Jesus in Exodus. Now after our next song, we're gonna come back and see another sight of our Lord Jesus. So let's stand and we're gonna sing together all we need. So Moses has had an amazing encounter with the great I am, who is our Lord Jesus Christ.
And after that, he goes back to Egypt with the I am and with the great plan of the I am and with his brother Aaron to help out as well. But standing in their way is a man called Pharaoh. And he is not so ready to hear the voice of the I am, and he is not so ready to release his workforce. And so here is the moment when the I am speaks to Pharaoh through Moses. Exodus chapter five, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says, let my people go so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.
And just interesting there to note, isn't it? That the festival in the wilderness is the reason for the letting go. It's not just let them go so they may go into the world and do as they please, but let them go so they end up at the tent. Let them go to the tent so I can be with them and they with me. Pharaoh said, who is the Lord that I should obey him and let Israel go?
I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go. And in context, look at what we've just seen, that is a much bigger claim than it might appear. I do not know the Lord. I will not let Israel go. This is my land.
These are my workers, and I am the I am to them. I am the one who exists in Egypt. The living one is me. I am who I am. Pharaoh says, I will hear no such thing.
I will not tolerate a rival I am. I am the I am in Egypt. And why would he live to regret that? Because what follows are 10 of the most traumatic judgments the world has ever, ever seen. And the purpose of these judgments is both to bring judgment upon Pharaoh and Egypt, but also upon the gods of Egypt to show who is the I AM in Egypt and in all the world.
Now we'll come to some of those plagues, those judgments in just a moment. But before we do, and without wishing to detract from the seriousness of them, I'm gonna show you on the screen the 10 plagues in the wrong order. And what I would like you to do with the person next to you is to see whether... Now this is going to be impossible to police from the front. So if you're going to get your phone out or your bible out, that's have that sitting on your conscience as you will.
Okay? But if you would like to take part in a more serious way, I'm gonna put them on and see with the person next to you whether you can. And anyone who can or the first three I see will win a chocolate frog. Okay. Here we go.
With the person next to you, see if you can put them in the right order. And kids on your worksheet, can do this too. Does anyone feel like they are 95% sure they know, but they're not quite sure of one or two? Nobody? Abby Kimberly, was that a handout?
Do you know the order? Okay. Abby knows everybody. Right. Abby, come to the front.
Come up, and you... I'll put the correct order up in a minute. So you... Tell us. Oh, Lydia as well.
Do you know? Okay. Alright. Alright. Go for it.
There's an acronym. Okay. Best boils football game flies... Frogs frogs for flies. Age is animals livestock.
Age is but... Best football game for ages but... Blood was first, boils next. But Harry Hale let's Down. Lie lie lie lie lie lie lie lie lie lie lie no lie lie no is it but best of all game?
Frogs? No. I don't know what that is. Nats? Nats?
No. Lucas. Lucas. Dude. Let Dave...
Darkness, dribble, death. Death of the firstborn. Yes. Yeah. Yes.
Okay. Let's have a look. Here we go. Alright. Stay up here.
Was that good enough, everybody? It was good ever. No. No. Hold on.
Okay. I think Lydia. So... No. But for bravely coming up here in front of everyone, she'll have a chocolate frog.
And Abby, there you go. This is good for your bravery as well. Okay. Here we are. Blood, frogs, gnats, flies, livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, firstborn.
These are the order of the judgments that fell upon Egypt. And I know we have had a bit of fun there, but when you pause to imagine that, any one of those would have been unbearable to live through. You might have seen if you're on the WhatsApp announcement channel this morning that some of the water here at Tiffin coming out of the taps is not as clean as it could be. But imagine infinitely worse than that, you turn on your tap and it's not just no water or dirty water, it's running blood out of the tap. There's blood in the taps, blood in the sink, there's blood in the shower, there's blood, blood, the sight and the smell of a land full of blood water would be unbearable.
Flies. Think about it. We we all know how irritating just a small handful of them can be in the summer. Imagine millions upon millions of flies filling all of your habitable spaces in your... I mean, it's dreadful.
And so one after the other, these judgments are falling upon Pharaoh for his hard heart and upon his people. And here we see the I AM showing who is the I AM. I've got no time to show you, but it's quite interesting if you read around these plagues, lots of people think that each plague was actually a direct challenge to one of Pharaoh's gods, gods of Egypt. And so God with these judgments is saying to him, who is God of the Nile, Pharaoh? I AM is God of the Nile.
Who is God of the creation and the crawling and the creeping things? I am is God of the crawling and the creeping things. Who is the God of the heavens and the hailstones? I am is the God of the hailstones. Who is God over life and death, Pharaoh?
It's not you. You are not the I am over life and death. The Lord God is the I am over life and death. And so one after the other, these plagues fall upon Pharaoh to show him who is God. Amazing, isn't it?
He asks in chapter five, who is God that I should listen to him? God responds by showing Pharaoh that God is I am and he is Lord over all. But in judgment, there is going to be salvation for the people of God. It's very often the pattern in the Bible that on the day judgment for enemies comes, liberation for the people comes. And that's what we see in the book of Exodus.
And so what I wanna do is to take you now to the final, the night of the final plague, where God spells out a way of rescue for his people. Here's Exodus chapter 12. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month, each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the door frames of the houses where they eat the lambs.
On that same night, I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. And so can you try to imagine being there on that evening?
And the Lord has spoken to you and your family and given you a very clear way in which you can be saved from the judgment of death. You see, in this... On this night, in every home in Egypt, there would be a death. Either the lamb would die in the place of the family or the firstborn would die as judgment comes into the home. There would be a death in every home, either the sacrifice for the people or the people.
Either the blood of the lamb would be shed for the home or the blood of the firstborn would be shed in the home. There would be a death everywhere. And God says to his people, here's what you must do. Take the blood of a lamb who will die for your home and put it around your doorposts and over the top so that when the judgment of death comes, it will see the blood shed for the home, and it will pass over and fall into the homes in which no sacrifice is present. Do you see?
Death in every home, the lamb or in the home. And in this, that the New Testament says with such clarity that Christ is our Passover lamb. Paul says it in one Corinthians five, just as plainly as that, Christ our Passover lamb. In one Peter one, we read it unpacked for us here. You know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
Why is it that we do not have to sacrifice animals anymore? It is because our Lord Jesus Christ was the full and final sacrifice for his people who died on a cross in our place, shed his blood, the angel of death fell upon him so that when we trust in Jesus, his blood is applied to our lives so that we do not have to face the consequence for our sin and the death that it deserves because the blood of Jesus was shed for sinners. And so it's gotta be asked then, hasn't it? Are you are you trusting in the blood? Are you trusting in the blood of Christ?
On that day when the angel of judgment falls again, what will he find over your life? Will he find one who has sheltered in the blood of Jesus shed at the cross by faith? Or will he find no sacrifice and bring only death? Are you trusting in the blood? And so when we connect these things, we've got an awesome gospel, haven't we?
God, the ever living existing one, puts up his tent among us in order to give his life for us so that when you and I say, Jesus, my sin deserves death. I don't wanna face the death I deserve. Put the blood of Jesus over my life. Help me to shelter in it that we will never have to taste the judgment and the severity of God, but only the kindness and the rescue. Friends, are you try...
Do you really... Have you really trusted in the blood of... Have you said words to the effect of Jesus, your blood over my life? That's my only hope. It's the only way to be saved from the angel of death.
Jesus is our Passover lamb. Amen? Jesus is our Passover lamb. Let's read it together. Where do we see Jesus in Exodus?
Jesus is God with us. Jesus is the great I am. Jesus is our Passover lamb. Let's trust him, the great I am who shed his blood for sinners. We're gonna sing of that sacrifice right now.
This is man of sorrows, which reminds us that God the I am died for his people. So let's stand and sing of that sacrifice together. So we're coming now to our last section, Jesus in the book of Exodus. Let's remind ourselves again of what we've learned. Where do we see Jesus in Exodus?
Jesus is the great I am. And Jesus is the Passover lamb. Now in the time we have left, it really is a question of what to leave out, really, because there there are so many other ways in which the book of Exodus points to Jesus. We could go to chapter 20 and that most important moment where God gives his rescued people a law to live by. It's a beautiful law summarized in 10 commandments that is gonna help God's people live God's way.
But ultimately, the New Testament tells us that the law points beyond itself to a greater revelation of God. The law points us to Jesus who is the word made flesh. We could go to those wilderness moments where God's people are grumbling constantly. They've just seen him perform such wonders on their behalf and they're grumbling against him, wanting to go back to slavery. Can you believe it?
And God provides for that grumbling people bread to sustain them and water to quench their thirst. The New Testament tells us that Jesus is the bread of life for God's people and that Jesus is the water of life in a wilderness world. All of those places we could go. But we're gonna finish by looking at Jesus Christ, our great high priest. I told you right at the beginning that this book ends with a tent.
There's perhaps what it may have looked like, the tabernacle, the tent where God is living with his people. But we learn in the book of Exodus that if God's people are going to enjoy the presence of God safely, then they need one who can represent them and who can stand before them in the presence of God. They cannot just walk into the tent whenever they feel like it, go into God's presence, pray as they like, treat him as they like. No, no. He's...
This is the I am. Remember, they need one who can make it safe for them to live with God. And that is the role of the high priest. Now in the book of Exodus, it's Aaron. Aaron is the one who's gonna go in and he's gonna make offerings on behalf of the people and he's gonna burn incense for the people and he's gonna pray for the people.
Aaron was the first to do that job. But today, I need another high priest who is just gonna show us one other aspect of the high priest's work. James Thatcher is in my eyeline. Would you be willing to be our high priest? James.
Should we give James a round of applause? Here's James. Now James, I would like you first to put on your linen undergarment. Okay? Not not your under undergarment, but your linen under overgarment.
Okay? So do you wanna put put that on for us? Okay. So the priest... Oh, no.
I think we're gonna have to. Yes. Here we go. We're gonna have to go from the bottom, I think. There we go.
Alright. It would have gone exactly like this in the days of Exodus. There we go. Well done. There you are.
K. Thank you, James. So there we are. Do you want the belt as well? No, friend.
Yeah. You want a belt? Okay. There's your belt. So here is James.
He's our Aaron. He's our high priest. He is the one who can go into the presence of God into the tent where we can't go. And one of the things that he would also have to wear was this breastplate. Okay?
It would have looked very much like this one here. This is the breastplate he would have worn. This was made by Abby Kimberly, my lovely assistant with a little bit of help from Imogen as well. And he would have had to wear the breastplate. There we go.
Do you wanna just... Yeah. Can everyone see that? Do you think that looks pretty good? Now on this breastplate here, there were 12 precious stones, four rows of three, and each stone represented one of the tribes of Israel.
So we might think of it today like each stone representing a church, a church of God's people. And the high priest would go into the presence of God wearing the names of God's people over his heart and on his chest. We can see the text in Exodus 28. There are to be 12 stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the 12 tribes. Whenever Aaron enters the holy place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart.
So that's quite a special thing, isn't it? The Aaron, the priest, when he goes into the presence of God will have the names of God's people as these stones over his heart. In other words, this priest is carrying with him God's people into the presence of God so he can represent them and he can make it safe for God to live among them. There we are. Should we give James a round of applause as our high priest?
Thank you, James. There we are. You can keep that on if you like or it's up to you, really. Do you like that, Esther? Do you like that look?
No. She doesn't. Just steely eyed. Don't don't send him back to the chairs looking like that. We go.
So this is one of the things the high priest would do. And again, in this, we do see a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. The book of Hebrews tells us that the Lord Jesus is the high priest who died for us on the cross as the Passover lamb, but who now represents us in the presence of God. And that's quite an image to have in mind, isn't it? If we imagine the Lord Jesus now in his resurrected glory, ascended to the right hand of the father and over his heart as it were, are all the names of the churches that he has saved and that he represents.
And so we can imagine him there, can't we? With a breastplate of sorts. And maybe there's a stone on the robes of the Lord Jesus with the name Cornerstone Church inscribed into that stone. And if we could kind of zoom into that stone, we would see within it every Christian person in Cornerstone who trusts the Lord Jesus. Within the Cornerstone stone are all the members represented by him in the presence of God.
What a wonderful high priest we have who has gone before us, who prays for us, who worships the father in our name, who pleads his blood for us there, making it safe for us to be with God and God to be with us, foreshadowing the day when he will actually bring us as resurrected redeemed people into the presence of God. Jesus Christ is our living high priest. And so we can say together as we finish. Where do we see Jesus in Exodus? Jesus is the great I am.
Jesus is our Passover lamb. Jesus is our high priest. Can we have one more go? As loud as we can. Yeah.
Please. Where do we see Jesus in Exodus? Jesus is with us. Is the great I am. Jesus is our Passover lamb.
Jesus is our high priest. Let's pray, and then we're gonna sing our last song before the throne of God. We have a perfect plea. Who is it? It's Jesus, our high priest.
Before the throne of God. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for the way in which this book so clearly points us to the Lord Jesus. We thank you that he is none other than the great I am, the ever living God. We thank you that at the first Christmas, he pitched his tent among us, that he came to live amongst the people that he had made, and thank you that he lives within us, the church, in an even more special way.
Thank you for Jesus, the Passover lamb, whose blood was shed for the church so that when we trust in him, death is something we do not have to face. No judgment for those who are sheltered behind the blood. Help us to trust him. And thank you for Jesus, our high priest, who's in your presence now with the name Cornerstone Church upon his heart and all the Christian people who belong to him. Thank you very much for our great savior in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Preached by Tom Sweatman
Tom is an Assistant Pastor at Cornerstone and lives in Kingston with his wife Laura and their two children.
The Mix: Jesus in Exodus
11 sermons
