govern point

The story of the Jews’ Exodus from Egypt is definitely an exciting one. I mean you couldn’t write a script that was more exciting.

• A baby is found in a basket adrift in the Egyptian Nile and is adopted into the pharaoh’s household.
• Moses rediscovers his roots and finds slavery to suck
• God sends down 10 plagues against Egypt
• Moses leads his enslaved Israelite brethren from bondage
• Moses parts the Red Sea to allow them to escape.

It doesn’t stop there, but that the action part. They continue to wander for 40 years in the wilderness and, under the leadership of Joshua, conquer the land of Canaan to enter their promised land It has dramatic triumphs, but what does it mean to me today? What relevance does the story of the Exodus have for me in my daily life?

So lets drill into the back story details.  The Exodus takes place around 1445 B.C. The Israelites are captives in Egypt and the time of Joseph, the Jew who became Prime Minister in Egypt are long forgotten. The Israelites are now slaves to Egypt and the ruling Pharaoh fears the strength of their numbers. They are now an estimated two million in number. Moses, who had been raised in Pharaoh’s court, is now living as a shepherd in the desert.

God instructs Moses, “Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.” (Exodus 11:2) God opened the hearts of the Egyptians, and they gave their belongings to the Israelites. God was providing His people with wealth to take with them to the Promised Land. Then the Lord told Moses that He would take the first born of every Egyptian and the first born of all the Egyptians animals. If the Israelites obeyed God’s instructions and sacrificed a lamb, prepared a special meal and marked their doorposts with the blood of the lamb, their firstborn would be spared; the angel of death would pass over their houses. Sure enough the first borns were killed and the Jews were soon out of there.

They assembled in groups to eat the roasted paschal lamb and the unleavened bread. After the sun rose on the 15th day of Hebrew month of Nissan, the Jewish nation rose together to leave the land of Egypt. The Egptians actaully told them to leave and gave them so stuff to enable them to leave.

After 3 days, Pharaoh started to regret that he had permitted the Israelites to leave. He mobilized his army in hot pursuit of his former slaves. He reached them near the banks of the Red Sea.

Moses led the Israelites onwards until they came to the very borders of the Red Sea.  Next God spoke to Moshe:

Lift up your rod, stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it; and the children shall go into the midst of the sea on dry ground.

So Moshe did as God ordered. Then a strong east wind blew all night, and the waters of the Red Sea divided. The Jews marched along a dry path through the Red Sea until they reached the opposite side in safety.

The Egyptians continued their pursuit, but the waters of the Red Sea closed over them and drowned Pharaoh’s army. Then you are on to the 40 years thing.

So what is the importance is how I started this out. Well, it’s the metaphor that if you trust and believe in God good, miraculous and awe inspiring things can and do happen.