God’s Big Story: From Egypt God His People saved, and at Sinai, the Law He gave (Exodus 7-14; 20:1-3)

God created all that is. Therefore, all that is is His (Genesis 1-2).

Adam and Eve wanted to be their own; Rebellion in their hearts was sown (Genesis 3:1-3).

Judgment to the snake God spoke, And hope in Adam’s heart awoke (Genesis 3:9; 14-19).

So, “mother of the living,” he named his wife, For her seed is the source of life (Genesis 3:20-24).

People never did do good, but God saved Noah at the flood (Genesis 6-9)

Land, Seed, and Blessing God promised to Abram, and the nations, also would be blessed in him (Genesis 12: 2-3; 15:5-6)

From Egypt God His People saved, and at Sinai, the Law He gave (Exodus 7-14; 20:1-3)

The Exodus story beautifully tells how God delivered his people, Israel, from the oppression of Egypt in order to fulfill his promise to give them land, seed, and blessing. It shows us God's incredible power to rescue His people from oppression and bondage. This story reminds us that God is a mighty deliverer who loves His people and provides them freedom and healing. It also highlights how vital faith and obedience are in our journey of deliverance.

This morning, I want to remind you that no matter how difficult your situation may seem, God has the power to bring salvation and liberation. I want to inspire you to know he loves his people, to hope and trust in His desire to use whatever hardship you may be experiencing as an opportunity to know His deep and profound goodness, which is most enjoyed in Jesus.

In the larger story of the Bible, the Exodus points to Christ's ultimate act of deliverance through His death and resurrection, where He frees sinners from sin and spiritual bondage, showing Jesus as the true Passover Lamb, and who is the demonstration of God’s love for you. In short, this morning, I want you to see that,

God's deliverance in Exodus shows His love for his people and power to save them, foreshadowing our greater salvation in Jesus Christ.

God demonstrates His love and power by confronting Pharoah (Exodus 7:1-13)

To understand God’s love for his people and his power to deliver them, we need to summarize the first seven chapters of Exodus. Keep in mind, when God promised Abram land, seed, and blessing, he also said

Genesis 15:13–14 ESV

13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

God told Abram his people would become oppressed and afflicted, but God would deliver them. The story of the Exodus is God delivering his oppressed people from the hand so Pharoah, king of Egypt. As you may know, when the book of Genesis ends, Joseph has moved his entire family to Egypt. And life is goof for them for a long time. The story of the Exodus picks up after Joseph and his brothers have been dead for a long time.

After Joseph's death, a new Pharaoh, unaware of Joseph's contributions, feared the increasing strength of the Israelites. To control them, he imposed harsh labor and slavery, forcing them to build store cities. Despite oppression, the Israelites continued to multiply, causing dread among the Egyptians. Pharaoh then ordered Hebrew midwives to kill newborn sons, but they disobeyed out of reverence for God, allowing the boys to live. Consequently, God blessed the midwives, and Pharaoh escalated his decree to kill all Hebrew male infants. God saved one infant in particular. His name was Moses.  Oddly enough, he grew up in Pharaoh’s house but later had to leave because he killed an Egyptian.  Moses eventually married and became a shepherd.

Moses, while tending Jethro’s (father-in-law) flock near Horeb, sees a burning bush that is not consumed by fire. Curious, he approaches, and God instructs him to remove his sandals because he is on holy ground. God reveals Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, stating He has seen the Israelites' suffering in Egypt. He plans to deliver them to a prosperous land and commissions Moses to confront Pharaoh. Doubting his ability, Moses seeks reassurance, and God promises His presence. When Moses asks for God's name, He responds, "I AM WHO I AM," instructing Moses to tell the Israelites that "I AM" has sent him. God pledges to deliver the Israelites and grant them favor with the Egyptians, ensuring they will leave with valuable possessions, fulfilling Genesis 15:13-14.

Moses returned to Egypt after Jethro's permission. God warned him that He would harden Pharaoh's heart, preventing the release of the Israelites, and told him to declare Israel as His firstborn son. Eventually, Aaron met Moses, and they told God's message to the elders of Israel. The people believed in the LORD and worshiped Him. 

Moses and Aaron asked Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave Egypt so they can worship the LORD, but he refused, saying, “Who is the Lord that I should listen to him.” Then Pharoah, in his anger, ordered that the Israelites gather their own straw for brick-making, but to not slack in their production. The taskmasters enforced this, forcing the Israelites to collect straw and meet quotas. Frustrated, they blamed Moses and Aaron for their suffering. In despair, Moses questioned the LORD about the people's suffering and if God is truly going to deliver his people.

God demonstrates his love for his people and power to save them by reassuring Moses of His promise to free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. God’s love for his people reminds him of his covenant promises and compels hims confront the king oppressing his people. God’s power is displayed when he promises to force Pharaoh, the most powerful king of all the nations at that time, to release them.

Ancient Egyptians, like the Greeks, were polytheistic, which means that believed in many gods and goddesses controlled the world. For example, Re was the sun God and Osiris was the god of the underworld. Pharaoh thought the Hebrew God was a weak god because the Hebrew people were his slaves. God was going to confront Pharoah and show him the He is the one true God and His name is the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.

When I was a little boy, I was a bit of a nervous nelly. I was easily scared or anxious about life. In many ways I felt a lot like Israel did being enslaved to Egypt. So, my grandmother, who loved Jesus very much, taught me a song to remind me that the Lord is God almighty.

My God is so great, so strong and so mighty

There's nothing my God cannot do

My God is so great, so strong and so mighty

There's nothing my God cannot do

The mountains are his

The rivers are his

The skies are his handy works too

My God is so great, so strong and so mighty

There's nothing my God cannot do

There's nothing my God cannot do

There's nothing my God cannot do

For you

God is about to show Israel there is nothing to fear. There is nothing my God cannot do. And Pharoah about to learn who is the Lord God almighty who loves his people and is powerful enough to save them.

God demonstrates his love and power by crushing the Egyptian false-gods (Exodus 7:14–10:29)

The Plagues begin: Blood, Frogs, Gnats (Ex 7:14-8:19)

God is so big, so strong, and so mighty, he is going to bring ten plagues against the land of Egypt. Through each plague, God demonstrates his power over Egyptian false gods. For example, by turning the Nile into blood, God defeats Hapi, Khnum, and the other river gods that the Egyptians depended on for their financial prosperity. Similarly, the plague of frogs demonstrates God’s power over Heqet, the goddess of fertility and rebirth, who was typically portrayed as a frog. Somehow Pharaoh’s magicians are able to replicate the miracles of the blood and the frogs (7:22; 8:7), but they are confounded by the gnats, which they freely acknowledge as an act of God (8:18–19). But Pharoah’s will not let God’s people go. Why? Because God has the power to harden Pharaoh’s heart.

Flies, Disease, Boils (Ex 8:20-9:12)

A pattern is starting to develop between Moses and Pharoah. Moses demands freedom for God’s people, Pharaoh refuses, God strikes Egypt with a plague, Pharaoh makes a false concession, Moses intercedes for the Egyptians, God relents, Pharaoh hardens his heart and refuses to let God’s people go. With the fourth and fifth plagues, however, God demonstrates his love for Israel when he begins to make a distinction between his people and the Egyptians. When God afflicts Egypt with flies (Ex 8:22-23) and a disease that afflicts their livestock, Israel is spared (Ex 9:4-6). Pharaoh tries to bargin with God, but God does not negotiate with terrorists. At the end of each plague, we see Pharoah hardening his own heart (Ex8:32). On the one hand God demonstrates his power to save his people by orchestrating plagues out of creation and hardening Pharaoh’s heart, and now Pharoah hardening his own heart. Furthermore, at this point, God is making it clear his loves his people be keeping them from the experiencing the plagues.

Hail, Locusts, Darkness (Ex 9:13-10:29)

God’s mercy is never to short to save. Some of the Egyptians are starting to believe God is the Lord almighty. God tells the Egyptians that hail is coming and he warns the Egyptians to get their servants and livestock out of the field. Some of the Egyptians believe Moses’ warning and shelter the animals and servants. Pharoah, however, is not a believer, and he suffers the consequences.

The eighth plague (locusts) begins with God’s reminding Moses why he is afflicting Egypt with all these plagues: for generations to come, his people will know that he is God (Ex 10:1–2). There are signs that Pharaoh is weakening. First, his servants plead with him to let God’s people go, he at least considers the possibility, until he discovers that the Israelites intend to take their women and children with them (Ex 10:7–11). Second, he is repenting at times after the plague make him suffer, but its always a false repentance. True repentance requires you to change the direction your are living, to turn away from sin and turn toward the Lord God almighty. Pharoah is not changing at all.

The ninth plague (three days of absolute darkness) held special horror for the Egyptians, whose supreme deities were the gods and goddesses of the sun (Aten, Re, Atum). For God to make the land of Egypt go dark for three days was to show Egypt that their greatest gods was in deed a slaves to the Lord God almighty. This stuck terror in the heart the Egyptians. My God is so big, so strong, and so mighty. There is nothing my God cannot do.

The last plague is the the most dreadful plague of all for the Egytians. God proves his love his love for his people and power to save them by killing the first born son of every family in Egypt. God wills end the angel of death to strike every first born child. The only escape from this plague is the spotless blood of a sacrificial lamb. When God sees the saving blood smeared on their doorposts as a sign of atonement, he will pass over them in safety. This will become a sacramental festival called the Passover.

At this point, Pharoah has had enough. He lost his first born son, and he is no ready to let God’s people go. Next week, we will see how it all turns out for God’s poeple. But you can know for sure, God loves his people and has the power to save them. You God is so big, so strong and so mighty, theres is nothing Your God cannot do.

God demonstrates His love and power by providing the Passover (Exodus 11:1-12:30)

Consider focusing on the instructions for the first Passover, symbolizing salvation through sacrifice. This point might connect the Passover lamb with Christ, the Lamb of God, whose sacrifice brings ultimate deliverance. Encouraging believers to see in Passover the foreshadowing of Jesus' work can deepen their understanding of salvation's cost and beauty.

God demonstrates His love and power by liberating His people (Exodus 12:31-14:31)

You could detail the Israelites' exodus as a moment of liberation and covenant. Highlighting this passage as God's faithfulness to His promises will encourage believers to see their journeys of deliverance as part of a divine covenant, reminding them of God's unwavering commitment to their personal liberation.

God demonstrates His love and power by giving them His law (Exodus 20:1-3)

Maybe revisit the dramatic crossing of the Red Sea as a testament to God’s power to make a way where there seems to be none. Demonstrating God’s deliverance here can inspire believers to trust in God’s paths even in seeming dead ends, reminding them of Christ’s ultimate pathway through death to life for us.