Last week, we caught up with the Israelites from where we left off in Genesis. Four hundred years had gone by and much of what Joseph did was forgotten. For a refresher on his story, take a listen to episodes 41-50.
Anyway….The new Pharaoh in charge now, feared the Israelites because of how fruitful they had become, so he oppressed them and made their lives miserable. But this didn’t surprise God – and it shouldn’t have surprised his people – because God told Abraham in Genesis 15 verses 13 and 14 that his descendants would be strangers in a foreign land where they would be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. After 400 years, God would punish the nation that enslaved them and in the end they would come away with great wealth.
Monday and Tuesday’s episodes last week found us smack in the middle of that prophecy. It had been 400 years and God’s people were, indeed, being oppressed just as He promised. But the promise of Genesis 15 didn’t end with oppression, and that is where Moses’s journey begins.
Moses escaped death as a baby because his mother hid him away in a tiny baby ark in some reeds. Found and adopted by Pharaohs’ daughter, Moses was brought up in a place where he saw those like Him being beaten and mistreated. Even at a young age, Moses was compelled to set his people free, but his time had not yet come, and he ended up fleeing to the wilderness after killing a man. But God still had plans to use Moses to rescue his people, and that plan was laid out in Friday’s episode.
Let’s continue with the story in Exodus chapter 6.
Reflection Questions
- Recap the passage in your own words.
- What stood out to you today?
- What was God doing in the midst of the doubts? What was His response?
- I’m going to re-read God’s message to Moses and Israel. If you’re discouraged or broken, if the enemy is coming after you, or if you are weary, hold on to these words:
“I am the Lord. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment. 7 I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God who has freed you from your oppression in Egypt.”