Exodus 1-5

Exodus is the second book of the Torah. It tells the story of Israel's deliverance from Egypt, and it focuses on one man. Moses. Moses' importance cannot be over-exaggerated. Moses wrote Genesis, and he also wrote the next three books of the Bible as well, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Here is where we see the origins of this incredible man. Without Moses, there would be no record of Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob. There would be no Judaism. There would be no Christianity. 

Why was Exodus written? Exodus was written so that nobody would ever forget what God had done for them. The traditions contained in Exodus is the central story of Judeo-Christianity. So much of the Bible relates back to Exodus. In the Hebrew Bible, God delivering Israel from Egypt, and the events in the Exodus, are alluded to in almost every book, and in the New Testament, oftentimes salvation is framed in such a way that Exodus is in view. Again, there is no over-exaggerating the importance and centrality of Moses and the Exodus narrative to the Judeo-Christian faith.

Now, Exodus doesn't just end with Moses and Israel coming out of Egypt. Exodus isn't just a narrative about being saved. But Exodus also deals with what it means to be delivered. It teaches what is expected of the people of God. It, along with the rest of the Torah, deals with the question, "how then should I live?"

"[Exodus] asserts that Israel exists as God's people only because of the gracious actions of the God who delivered them from oppression. And it also insists that their response to salvation be faithful obedience in the service of God's wider mission to bless all humanity." - The Wesley Study Bible.

The Story begins with a bad omen. A new King rises, and he doesn't know Joseph, and what Joseph did for Israel. All he sees is a great gathering of people, mightier than Egypt. He fears that one day, they'll figure out that they could revolt, and they could take Egypt. so he begins to oppress them, and force hard slavery on them, harder than it had ever been before. And still, the Israelites flourish. He then makes a command of such high atrocity, that it is unbearable to imagine. He commissions the midwives for a most unholy task. To murder all the male children as they are coming out of the womb. But the midwives fear God, and lie to Pharaoh, in essence saying "We never get there in time!" So he chooses to throw all these babies into the Nile River. But one woman who trusts God, sends her baby down a river in a basket.

This child is intercepted, and becomes a Prince of Egypt. But he also remembers his mother, and his people, and defends them when he can. One day, things go a little too far. He murders a man, and burries him in the sand when nobody is watching, because he was beating a Hebrew slave. When he is discovered, he runs away and starts a new life in Midian.

This is where he encounters God, in a fiery bush. God says that he has not forgotten Israel. Though they are going through a miserable time, he still remembers them, and it is now time for them to be delivered. He has heard their groaning, their crying, and he is going to take action, and Moses will be His mediator.

Moses is not so sure he likes God's idea. Moses feels unable to do what God wants him to do. Moses has more faith in his inability, than he does in God's ability. But God sets him straight. God makes the blind, and the seeing. God makes the deaf, and the mute, and the hearing and the speaking. God is the sovereign one who gives everybody their place in life, and God has called and created Moses for this role.

It's easy to tell God every reason why we don't qualify. It's easier for God to tell us why we don't qualify. But our being called has nothing to do with our abilities, but on God's desire to equip us for His will. And in this case, God equipped Moses with a partner. Aaron. God is an accommodating God.

God tells Moses that He is going to deliver Israel from Egypt with a "strong hand" and basically says "by the time I'm done with them, they'll be begging you to leave!" God was going to strike Egypt with all of his wonders. "Now Go!" He says "Tell Pharaoh to let my people go."

Moses delivers the message to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh does not appreciate God's message. He doesn't know Yahweh, and he doesn't care about His opinion, or His people. Instead, to spite Yahweh, he pushes even more work onto the Israelites. They suffer even more, and Moses ends this chapter with a stinging accusation.

"Since I first came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has mistreated this people, and you have done nothing at all to deliver your people."