JUL 14

Exodus 3:7-10
Memorise Exodus 20:2
“unto a land flowing with milk and honey”

From the end of the book of Genesis till the beginning of Exodus, a period of about 400 years has elapsed. At the end of Genesis, it was just a family of 75; Jacob, his children and their families. They had arrived in Egypt and settled comfortably in the land of Goshen. Now, instead of being special guests of Pharaoh, they had been reduced to slaves who were cruelly ill-treated by their masters. What had happened? Did God make a mistake in sending the family of Israel down to Egypt? Did not God promise Abraham Isaac and Jacob abundant blessings?

As the account of Exodus unfolds, we begin to realize the wonderful wisdom and providence of God. Nothing happens by chance, and nothing ever happens outside the control of God. It was all in the direct will of God that Jacob and his 12 sons would settle inside Egypt, where they would be shunned and isolated in the land of Goshen and allowed to prosper and multiply. As shepherds, they were an abomination to the Egyptians (Genesis 46:34) and thus they did not run any risk of mingling with the locals and falling into idolatry, which they might have had if they had stayed in Canaan. Thus, they remained pure descendants of Israel, about 2 million strong by the time God decided that it was time for them to depart, and allowed them to be so oppressed that they would want to leave.

It was at this juncture that God heard their cries. God knows and hears our every thought, our every fear. He told Moses out of that famous burning bush that He has seen their affliction and heard their cry, and had chosen him to be the one to bring them out of Egypt and into a land flowing with milk and honey. Moses was to stand before Pharaoh to plead for the freedom of his people. Moses did not know it yet at that point of time, but God would use him to bring about 10 plagues upon the nation of Egypt, each one getting progressively more terrible, finally culminating in the death of the firstborn of every household. God’s purpose was to perform a miracle so great that it would be forever etched in the minds of Israel. In time to come, God would always reference these events in Exodus, reminding them that He is the God who with a mighty hand brought them out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Thought: The same God that brought Israel out of Egypt has also delivered me from the bondage of sin!
Prayer: Lord, help me to always remember my salvation.