Exodus 1-3: A God Who Remembers

"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. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew." Exodus 2:23-25

When approaching the Old Testament, many people (even Christians!) believe that it is not important, at least not as important as the New Testament. However, this simply cannot be so. God's Word claims for itself that all scripture is God-breathed (that is, inspired by God) and useful (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Here this morning, we find one of the great purposes of the Old Testament, that is, how is shows us God's character. As we see look at Genesis 1-3 this morning, let us observe God's salvific nature, which will continue to unfold as we look at this great book.

As we open the book of Exodus, let us remember our context. Joseph has rescued his family from famine, and they now dwell in the land of Egypt. However, the Pharoah that had let them into the land is now gone, and there is a new one on the throne. This Pharoah did not remember Joseph and his family, and thus instead of giving them favor, he brings them to slavery as he is threatened by their great numbers. In fact, he gets so paranoid that he commands the Israelites to drown their sons in the river, that they might not become great and overtake the Egyptians. This is certainly an awful time for the Israelites, yet amidst it all, God had a plan.

In chapter 2, we find the famous character you all know as the man named Moses. His mother, seeking to save her child from Pharoah's decree, hides Moses for three months, but knowing she could not do so forever, she puts him in a basket and lets him float away in the river. By God's own providence, Pharoah's daughter finds the baby in the basket, and has pity on the child. Moses' sister, who saw Pharoah's daughter pick up the basket, asked if she wanted her to get a Hebrew to nurse the baby. Pharoah's daughter complied, and Moses' sister went to get his mother, who took care of him in Pharoah's household until he grew old.

Next, we find Moses growing up and murdering an Egyptian who was oppressing one of his fellow Hebrews (which we will get back to later). Next, Moses find a wife and has a son, and then we find the great narrative comment that is posted above. Go ahead and scroll up to read it. I'll wait.

In these verses, we find that God does not forget his people and the covenant that he made to them, and thus he enters into the life of Moses through the burning bush. To paraphrase God's words from the bush, he calls Moses to be a leader who would bring his people--the Hebrews--out of the land and deliver them out of slavery, all because of the great Abrahamic Covenant that the Lord had promised to Abraham's line in years past (see, I told you that Abrahamic Covenant thing would come up again!). However, Moses is afraid of such a task, but the Lord comforts him by telling him that he is the "I AM." Now, this great name of God is a complicated one, and it certainly takes way more than two sentences to describe. However, let us note here that with this title describes God's self-existence, creativeness, and eternality.* When God said that he was the "I AM," he was, in essence, telling Moses, "Hey, you might not think you can do this, but I can. You might think that you're weak, broken, unqualified, and mortal, but I'm not. You may not be strong. You may not be enough. You may not be wise. You may not be great...but guess what: I AM." Likewise is the same in all of our situations as well. We are not good enough for what God calls us to, but he is.

In response to this morning, let us note that God is the same God, both in the Old and New Testaments. Although many will say that God is more just or wrathful in the Old Testament and more loving and merciful in the New, to say so is to read our Bibles incorrectly. Let us notice that the God of the New Testament is also the God of the Old. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8), and no matter where we look within his scriptures, we find of his great nature, a nature that is salvific even at its very core. We may see it clearer in the New Testament, but we see it here in Exodus as well, as God remembers his promise and sovereignly appoints Moses to be a Christ-figure who would lead God's chosen people out of slavery. So, let us praise God, thank him, and take comfort in him today, as we realize that he is a God who saves his people, including the Israelites, and including you and me. Amen!

*I'd simply like to state that this information is taken from the ESV Study Bible, and is a great example of how a $15 study Bible can aid greatly in biblical study.