Text: Exodus 1:1-22, Exodus 2:1-22, Acts 7:23-29
A malicious villain, an endearing protagonist, an impossible circumstance, and an unsuspecting hero—these are some of the elements we’ve come to expect from a good story. But for me, the best part of a story is a great rescue—because in every great rescue, there’s a moment of great faith. It’s the moment when it seems there’s no way out, like the villain is going to have his way.
Of course, I also dread those moments because they’re suspenseful, terrifying, and sometimes brutal. The protagonist comes to a point where she has to depend on something greater than herself, to have faith that a deliverer will come to her rescue.
The Israelites had reached that point. Enslaved by the Egyptians for 400 years, they had been subjected to harsh labor and treated ruthlessly. And if that wasn’t enough, their children were being murdered! The darkness and oppression surrounding Israel during their time in Egypt is unfathomable.
God had promised to make them into a great nation and to bless all the nations of the world through them (Genesis 12:1-3). But how was this going to happen when they were enslaved?
Enter Moses, a man whose life was marked by the Lord from birth (Exodus 2:1-10). God chose this man to deliver Israel, and He gave him a desire to protect them. But Moses was a complicated, imperfect, temperamental man who once killed an Egyptian he saw beating an Israelite. In a panic, he fled the scene and headed for Midian, where he saved seven young women from some ill-intended shepherds. See? Complicated. When God opened Moses’ eyes to the oppression of his people, his heart was moved to defend them, however imperfectly (Exodus 2:11-17).”
Moses was God’s chosen deliverer, born to save the Israelites. In him, God continued to fulfill His promise to bless all nations of the world through Abraham’s offspring. Israel’s deliverance through Moses pointed directly to our coming deliverance through Christ.
Both Moses and Jesus were born under an edict of death, as both Pharaoh and Herod ordered the murder of all male children under two (Exodus 1:22, Matthew 2:16). God called Moses and the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, and He called Jesus up out of Egypt after Herod’s death (Exodus 3,14; Matthew 2:19-21). The Israelites did not initially recognize Moses as their deliverer, just as the people didn’t understand that Christ had come to deliver them from sin and death (Acts 7:25, Matthew 12:38-40).
Every deliverer in the Old Testament, including Moses, foreshadowed our ultimate Deliverer, Jesus Christ. And every act of deliverance in our past is a promise from the Lord to also deliver our future.
Friends, our deliverance—from whatever it may be—is already in the works. Just as the Lord had a greater purpose for Israel’s oppression (Genesis 15:13-16), He has a greater purpose for our suffering, too. Deliverance might not look like we expect, and might not come exactly when we hope, but it is coming. Even when we can’t see God working, when we feel like He no longer sees us, He’s working for our deliverance (Isaiah 64:1-4).
As we study the life of Moses together, let us be reminded of the deliverance we already have in Christ Jesus. May our eyes be opened to the way the Lord is working on our behalf, right now, in whatever our circumstances may be.
Let’s trust His past faithfulness for our future deliverance. May this be for us a moment of great faith in our own rescue story.
In my bible study right now we are going through the series When Life Gets Hard by James MacDonald. The series is on trails and suffering. I love how that ties in so well with today’s reading on deliverance! God is good
That sounds like a good study; I’ll have to look into it
Sometimes I feel like God is silent and all I can see are my present circumstances. But God is faithful and just like this lesson reminds us that God will deliver us, God has in his own way shown me that He is working in the stillness and the quiet. “Be still and know that I am God; and I will be exalted among the nations.” The second half of that verse promises his deliverance and that he will be glorified through us and our circumstances
I love the reminder this lesson gives us– that God chose Moses. It wasn’t an accident, or just another person he directed him and gave him specific orders to free the people. Moses, was a complicated man and we are complicated people that need to be delivered from our sins every single day. This helps me realize in my everyday struggles that God will deliver me because he CHOSE me for the road he needs me on.
Israel’s deliverance foreshadowed Christ deliverance for us and this helps me remember that there is always something to look forward to in the end. Regardless of how sucky your day is, week or co-workers can be Jesus is the prize at the end.
Praise Jesus, for Moses and his great reminder for us!
I have to say today was ordained by God and I am so thankful for this website. Recently my 16 year old daughter has been having such a hard time. She has had a rough growing up in her earlier years. Because of my decisions she has suffered and now has to work through those memories. I thank God for forgiveness and that He grabbed ahold of me when He did. He saved me but more importantly He rescued my children from my decisions. She is at a point in life that I think we all come to eventually of “who am I” and she is beginning to play with the ideas of good and bad and right and wrong. She is frustrated and hurt but trying so hard to stuff it down and not care. It is very hard for me to see her go through this. I know that the Lord is reaching out to her but if it can be difficult for us as adults to see the Lord through our difficult times, I think ‘how much harder must it be for her’. This morning I was up early and thought it would be nice to do a devo with her today. We happened to stumble upon this one, by no coincidence. ALL about DELIVERANCE! I’m not sure if she picked up on the Lord telling her that there is already a plan of deliverance for her in the works but I did and I needed that to have peace… I know my daughter is in His hands and that I can trust Him to deliver her. Thank You Jesus! He is Mighty to Save
thank you for sharing this understanding of this story. God is great and delivers us even now.
no matter what happens to us: a plot against us, someone betrays you, and or endless attacks, God is only a breath away…He has a plan and will rescue you. In the meantime, stay connected with God all the time. God will heal my scattered broken heart. he sees me and hears me
Sometimes God uses something painful in your present to heal wounds from your past. We do not go alone as we go back to painful memories.. But I AM goes with us, as He did for Moses.
Love that every deliverer in the OT is a foreshadowing of Jesus. He is our Redeemer. In the past, now, and forever.