God Delivered His People (5/21/23)
Exodus 5-12
Session Notes:
God’s heart is for His people. When the Israelites cried out to the Lord, He heard them and had a plan to rescue them from their suffering.
That’s why God called Moses back to Egypt. Though Moses had been raised among the royal household in Egypt, his heart was for his own people too. God chose Moses to deliver the enslaved Israelites after a series of plagues.
God’s purpose in sending the plagues was not only to get His people out of Egypt; the plagues would put God’s power on display and stand as acts of judgment against the Egyptians. (See Ex. 7:4-5.) The plagues made life in Egypt uncomfortable. In some instances, the people suffered terribly.
The plagues did convince some of Pharaoh’s officials to take God’s word seriously, but other Egyptians—including Pharaoh—refused to humble themselves. It was the tenth plague, the death of the firstborn, that finally got Pharaoh to send the Israelites out of his land.
The heart of the gospel is found in the story of the Passover. The Israelite people were sinful; they deserved death just as much as the Egyptians did, but God graciously provided a way out to keep the promises He made to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 and to Abraham in Genesis 12 and 15.
At the Passover, the Israelites killed a lamb instead. By marking their doorposts with the blood of a lamb, the Israelites were spared from the judgment and death they deserved.
God kept His promise to rescue His people from the power of the Egyptians. Each year, the Israelites remembered this miraculous event by observing the Passover festival.
Jesus never sinned, but He was crucified for our sins. We too are deserving of death, but the blood of Jesus—the Lamb of God—covers all who trust in Him and sets us free from sin and death.
God is faithful to keep His promises. He calls us to remember that Jesus has freed us from slavery to sin so we are free to live for His glory.
BIG IDEAS
CHRIST CONNECTION:
By His grace, God spared the Israelites from judgment by requiring the blood of a lamb. Jesus is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. His death was the ultimate sacrifice, and those who trust in Jesus are under His saving blood and will be passed over in the final judgment.
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BIG PICTURE QUESTION:
Does God keep His promises? Yes, God always keeps His promises because He is faithful.