Abraham’s descendants had been slaves in Egypt 400 years. God told Abraham this would happen and that they would be brought out of slavery with great possessions. Now, God was preparing Moses to lead His people out. God came to Moses at the burning bush and told him, “Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people out of Egypt,” (Exodus 3:10).
When God wants to have fellowship with His people, He will take extra-ordinary steps to bring them to the place of meeting.
God had taken careful attention to prepare for the time a Savior would come. Certain things had to take place before redemption and salvation could be purchased for the whole earth. Jesus was telling His disciples about His coming sufferings and death, and Peter took the Lord aside and began to rebuke Him. It is important for us to hear the heart and mind of God. Sometimes we are not prepared to hear what God is saying and is prepared to do.
Mark 8:33 NKJV But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
Jesus knew things about God’s plan that the disciples did not know. The Savior for the sins of mankind must go to the cross to provide redemption and cleansing for sins. The disciples could not understand God’s plan.
When we learn the mind and heart of God, we must move with Him.
This is one of the reasons we seek God’s face. In the face of God, we find direction, purpose, forgiveness, and healing. We must anticipate that God is ready right now to intervene in our lives and our situations. God has provided the remedy, power and solution for your need. We should say, “God is the remedy for all of our situations.”
Exodus 19:1-5 NKJV1In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. 2For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain. 3And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 4‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 5Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.
God was ready to recover, reconcile, and redeem His people. God made the promise to Abraham.
God is revealing His sovereignty in two ways.
First, God is in control.
God told Abraham exactly what was going to happen to his descendants and when it would happen. God had promised to give Abraham’s descendants the land and inheritance. When the time was right, God was ready and nothing could stand in the way of it being done. Don’t forget what God has promised.
Psalm 105:42 NKJV For He remembered His holy promise, and Abraham His servant.
What God has said will happen. We need to remember God’s promises. Four hundred years did not destroy the promise that God made to Abraham. We need to remember that God’s Word will never fail.
If you cannot remember His promise, you need to know the nature and character of God. Never question the fact that God is in control.
All of God’s promises find substance and certainty in His name and character. Since God does not lie, His promises will come to pass.
We know it will happen because God is in control.
He does not leave His promises to the whims of man or the whiles of the devil.
God’s promises impact our lives and situations.
Isaiah 59:20 NKJV “The Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” Says the Lord.
We see the fulfillment of this by what the Redeemer suffered.
Isaiah 53:4-5 NKJV 4Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
Since these promises are from God, we expect the Redeemer to come and these things to happen because God is faithful. The Lord our God is sovereignly in control. God demonstrates His control over many areas of His creation. Who is in control of the weather and seasons?
Genesis 8:22 NKJV While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, And day and night shall not cease.
What God promised in Isaiah is provided through Christ.
Romans 5:8 NKJVBut God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
God reveals His sovereignty in two ways.
Second, God is in charge.
People have more problems with God being in charge. God has made a promise that depends on human response.
Exodus 19:5 NKJV Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.
Many promises in the Bible are like this.
God says, “I have guaranteed these results, if you will obey My voice.” We have to hear, believe and take a stand on God’s Word. If we do not act, things will turn out differently.
2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
God will do these things when His people take the appropriate action. God wants to forgive sin and heal.
God had a plan for Abraham’s descendants.
God told Abraham what he would do. Part of what God told Abraham was totally under God’s control.
God knew and controlled the time and place of their deliverance.
Nothing they could do would change that. He would bring them out.
God said they would come out with great possessions.
They did not own that wealth in Egypt. God turned the hearts of their captors to make them rich.
God said He would make them great in number and make them a blessing.
Pharaoh was not able to destroy or hold them back. Even when Pharaoh plotted to kill their babies, God protected and multiplied their numbers.
God was in control when they came to the Red Sea.
Moses did not part the Red Sea, God did. It was God, not Moses, who brought them over on dry ground. Moses stood in obedience and God parted the water.
Pharaoh and his armies could not stop God’s deliverance and plan.
God was going to meet with His people and Pharaoh’s armies could not stop what God planned. All of Pharaoh’s mighty army would be destroyed.
The people did not know everything that God was going to do for them.
If they heard the promise to Abraham, they would have known that God had a plan for them. They did not know the power of God. God told Moses, “When they come out, I will multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt.”
When Pharaoh came after them, God knew what He was going to do.
God had a plan.God had already claimed them as His own people hundreds of years before. God had a plan.
When God does anything for you, there is a reason.
They did not get out of Egypt because they wanted out. God had claimed the seed of Abraham.
Deuteronomy 7:7-8 NKJV The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; 8but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
God does good because He is a good God.
Remember God’s nature and character. He recovered, reconciled, and redeemed because He is good.
By blessing you, God will bring glory to His Own name.
God will show you that He is your Savior, Redeemer, and Healer. You can trust God’s nature and character.
God pulled them out from Egypt’s bondage.
They were afflicted, abused and enslaved in Egypt. In their afflictions, they cried out to God.
They remembered stories of the invisible God.
They had been told of Adam and Eve. They rehearsed stories of the God of their fathers before the flood. They remembered the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Deuteronomy 26:7–8 NKJV 7Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. 8So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. (Exodus 2:23-25; Exodus 3:9; Exodus 4:31)
In their distress they cried out to the Lord God of their fathers and He heard them.
Even though they called out for help, they did not have open access to worship Jehovah in Egypt. They could not offer a sacrifice and worship God in Egypt. God had to get them out of Egypt so they could worship Him.
The reason and the method that God brought them out was so they would know Who He is.
When it was the right time, God pulled them out of Egypt. God had a plan. Four hundred years of captivity had passed, and it was God’s time to call them out. God wanted to draw people unto Himself.
Nine times Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said: “The God of Israel says: “Let My People go that they may serve me.”
God told Moses exactly what would happen.
God said He would be glorified over Egypt. He told Moses that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart. He said He would multiply His miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt. (Exodus 7:3) God said when He brought them out, Egypt will know that the Lord is God.
God said: “Let My people go!”
Pharaoh resisted what God wanted to do.
You don’t want to get in God’s way when He is ready. God was ready and the time was right.The time of their deliverance came and “God brought them out on eagle’s wings.”
Nothing could hinder God’s plan and promise.
Pharaoh couldn’t stop God’s plan. The Red Sea couldn’t get in the way. The wilderness couldn’t hinder God’s plan. God was ready to do whatever it took. He stepped in to redeem unto Himself the people He claimed. Nothing could stand in the way of what God’s plan.
They are going out to meet with God and serve Him.
God is coming down to show Himself strong.
If God knows that you will serve Him, He will take you out of anything. It does not matter what holds you captive, God is able to set you free.
These people became known by the God they served. They were known by their faith that they walked with God. They were the people of the presence of God.
God said: “You shall be a special treasure to Me above all people, for all the earth is Mine.” Exodus 19:5.
This is God’s purpose when He is dealing with people.
God will make a difference in you.
If you will walk with God and obey His voice, He will be your God and bring you into His victory. He will pull you out of the world and make you His special people.
For 400 years, their religion was not powerful.
They heard stories about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
God is not content being the God of a previous generation.
What Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob knew brought this people to this point, but God is the God of the living. They did not know God’s voice, power, or presence. They had no powerful relationship with God. They did not know His way or His character. They remembered stories of the God of the past, but they did not have a living faith or relationship with God.
Now, God made a change in them.
He brought them to a place where they would fellowship with the invisible and almighty God. God pulled them out of Egypt to bring them close to Him in worship. They would have contact with the living God. They would be exposed to the power of His presence.
He would dry up the Red Sea for them. He would feed them manna from heaven. He would give them water from a rock in the wilderness. God will speak to them face to face. They will witness His glory, and feel the impact of God’s presence and power. God’s glory will cover them as He leads them through the wilderness.
From the tabernacle, they will learn about God.
That tabernacle, designed by God, will be a revelation of God’s throne and mercy. It will reveal their Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Exodus 19:5-6 NKJV Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.
God is ready to respond to His promises. He will bless people who will walk in obedience to His word and will.
