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Answer
God is omnipotent—He possesses all power. Whatever He wills comes to pass, and sometimes the way He does things tells us something about Him. The exodus from Egypt is the story of one of these times. The way God interacts with man to bring about the exodus of the Jews from Egypt shows us something about God.
The story of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt begins with the birth of Moses and his unusual upbringing in Egypt (Exodus 2) and, later, a command from God to Pharaoh, delivered to the Egyptian ruler by Moses and Aaron: “Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness” «And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. », (Exodus 5:1). Pharaoh refused. Israel was valuable to Pharaoh because they provided slave labor for his kingdom.
From a human perspective, it makes sense that Pharaoh would refuse to comply with these two Israelites. It would be a bit like two small-town pastors walking into the White House and telling a pro-choice President to end abortion now because God says so. The President would dismiss them. He isn’t going to make policy decisions based on what he sees as the whim of a couple of politically insignificant, powerless cranks.
Pharaoh was angered by Moses and Aaron’s demand, and he accused them of trying to stop the Israelites’ labor. As a punishment, Pharaoh cruelly made the slaves’ work more difficult: “Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies” «Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words. », (Exodus 5:9).
God was rightlyUnhappy with Pharaoh, God tells Moses what will happen next: “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’” «Then the LORD said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. », (Exodus 6:1, ESV).
Essentially, God was telling Moses that, when He’s done with Pharaoh, not only will Pharaoh allow the Israelites to leave, but he will forcefully drive them out of the land of Egypt. God also gave Moses a message for the Israelites, telling them that He will deliver them from slavery and redeem them with “an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment” «Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: », (Exodus 6:6, ESV). But the people didn’t listen to what Moses said “because of their discouragement and harsh labor” (verse 9).
At this point in the events leading to the exodus, neither the oppressor nor the oppressed are listening to God. The Israelites aren’t listening because they are broken and miserable and unable to believe that anything good can happen to them. Pharaoh isn’t listening because he trusts in his own power and thinks nothing bad can happen to him. These two perspectives are corrected over the next few chapters.
What follows is a succession of plagues sent by God upon the Egyptians. At first, Pharaoh doesn’t believe the plagues are coming from God. He thinks Moses and Aaron are somehow creating the trouble, because his own magicians can use dark arts or trickery to dTo similar events (Exodus 10:10-11, 21-22;ESV). However, when the third plague arrived (the plague of gnats), the pagan magicians acknowledged, “This is the finger of God,” as they were unable to replicate the gnats “And the magicians tried with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast.” (Exodus 8:18).
In the subsequent chapters of Exodus, God continued to send dreadful plagues upon Egypt. Despite the systematic destruction of his land, Pharaoh still refused to obey God and release the Israelites. As the plagues intensified, Pharaoh begged Moses to ask God for forgiveness, promising compliance if the plagues ceased. However, each time God removed a plague, Pharaoh hardened his heart once more and persisted in refusing to release the Israelites.
Not only did Pharaoh harden his heart, but the Bible states that God also hardened Pharaoh’s heart “And Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh: and the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel depart from his land.” (Exodus 11:10). It may appear perplexing that God held Pharaoh accountable for his actions while simultaneously hardening his heart to disobedience. The crucial point to remember is that Pharaoh’s initial response was to reject God and oppress God’s people cruelly, actions he took independently without God’s intervention. Perhaps as a consequence of Pharaoh’s obstinacy, God further hardened his heart, leading to the final plagues and the full manifestation of God’s glory (Exodus 9:12; Exodus 10:20, 27). The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart served as a judgment for his initial defiance of God’s command.
Moreover, it is God’s prerogative to have mercy on or to harden whomever He wills: “For Scripture says to Pharaoh: ‘I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’ Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden” (Romans 9:17-18).
Finally, God told Moses that there was one more plague to come, after which Pharaoh would relent and drive out the nation of Israel from his land “And the LORD said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether.”, (Exodus 11:1). And that is exactly what happened. Moses prophesied to Pharaoh that the next plague would be the death of all the firstborn of Egypt. Pharaoh again stubbornly persisted in disobedience. So God initiated the Passover and told the Israelites to mark the lintels and posts of their doorways with lamb’s blood. Every door marked with the blood would be “passed over” when the Lord came to take the firstborn of every household in Egypt (Exodus 12:23-27).
Everything happened as God said it would. On the night of the exodus, the marked houses of the Israelites were spared, but the firstborn of Egypt died in every Egyptian household, from Pharaoh’s household to that of the lowest, poorest Egyptian. And this time, just as God had said, Pharaoh relented and drove the Egyptians out. In fact, they were made to leave so quickly that “the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders” “And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading troughs being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders”.
Others bore the burden of the Egyptians’ wealth upon their shoulders.” (Exodus 12:34, ESV). This detail is intriguing because prior to the final plague, God had instructed Moses that the Passover would always be commemorated with a feast of unleavened bread (verses 17–18). Additionally, as “the Egyptians urged the people to hasten and depart from the land” (verse 33), the Israelites “asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, . . . and they granted their request; thus they plundered the Egyptians” (verses 35–36).
After leading the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses was pursued by Pharaoh, ultimately sealing his own fate. In one of the most remarkable miracles, God divided the Red Sea to facilitate His people’s escape from the Egyptians, allowing them to cross to the other side on dry ground (Exodus 14). Subsequently, when Pharaoh and his army endeavored to pursue them, God closed the sea, and the oppressors of Israel perished. “And when the Israelites witnessed the powerful hand of the Lord unleashed against the Egyptians, they revered the Lord and placed their trust in Him and in Moses His servant” (verse 31).
The narrative of the exodus assures us that what God declares will indeed come to pass. At times, individuals resemble Pharaoh, exhibiting such pride and obstinacy that they defy God until the bitter end, disregarding the evidence that His will always prevails. Conversely, there are those who resemble the Israelites, so downtrodden in spirit and weary that they struggle to believe God will bestow blessings upon them. Nevertheless, as exemplified by the exodus from Egypt, God retains the power to fulfill precisely what He promises.
The significance and relevance of the exodus from Egypt are encapsulated in the annual observance of Passover. The deliverance of His people from bondage by God and the revelation of His mighty power are recurring themes in Scripture, with the exodus referenced in numerous passages .3BPsalm+105%3A26%3BIsaiah+63%3A11%3BMicah+6%3A4%3BActs+7%3A36″>(e.g., Deuteronomy 5:6; 1 Samuel 12:6; Psalm 77:20; Psalm 78:13; Psalm 105:26; Isaiah 63:11; Micah 6:4; Acts 7:36). Because of the Exodus, the Israelites could always see themselves as redeemed by God, rescued from slavery, and blessed with God’s favor.
The significance of the Exodus is evident in the church as well. The Lord Jesus, like Moses, set His people free. Similar to Moses, Jesus confronted a slave owner (Satan) and through the manifest power of God compelled him to relent. Like Moses, Jesus leads His people through the wilderness of this world, intercedes for them, and provides for their needs. Through both Moses and Jesus, a holy covenant between God and His people was established: the covenant of Moses was temporary and could not ultimately save, but the covenant of Christ is eternal and “superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises” «But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. », (Hebrews 8:6). The New Covenant leads to salvation for all who trust in Christ (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 9:15). Jesus is the one “worthy of greater honor than Moses” «For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. », (Hebrews 3:3).
