Tell Me Your Story: Exodus

Chad Richard Bresson

Exodus 14:15-31
The Story of the Bible

Introduction
Israel has been in Egypt for more than 400 years. In picking up the story from last
week, Abraham and Sarah do have a miracle son… a son born to Abraham when
he was 100 and she was 90. They name him Isaac. Isaac has a son named Jacob,
and Jacob has 12 sons, one of which was Joseph… who became the administrative
leader of the land of Egypt. Jacob and his entire family end up in Egypt during a
famine, and Pharaoh gives them a large piece of real estate… and over the course
of the next few hundred years, they grow into a significant people group occupying
an entire region of Egypt… slightly northeast of where Cairo is now… on the East
Delta of the Nile. 430 years, to be exact. They go into Egypt in desperation for food…
430 years later, they are a significant people group occupying the best of Egypt’s
fertile land. God has made good on his promise to Abraham that night when the
torch and firepot moved through the pieces of carved up cattle as a Promise. The
son is now hundreds of thousands of people… a significant people living in a land
that is not their home.

But 430 years also brings with it a bit of amnesia. People forget what brought them
together. What was once a great relationship between the host country and its alien
residents has turned hostile, and genocidal. Egypt isn’t content to simply enslave the
Israelites… they are throwing the firstborn males into the Nile River. Living in Egypt has
become a matter of survival. In 430 years, Israel has not forgotten the God of their
forefathers. And when Egypt begins its campaign of genocide, the people cry out to
God… and the Torch and the Firepot that showed up for Abraham that night now
shows up again… as a burning bush. God has heard their cry. And again, a promise is
made. God promises to deliver his people from the Egyptians. Completely. And
again, he is going to make good on his promise to Abraham… after they have been
in a foreign land… I will bring them back to the land of Canaan, the Promised Land.

God appears in the burning bush and appoints a guy named Moses to lead his
people out of Egypt. Over the course of time, the big night comes. The very last night
that Israel is in Egypt will be the first night that will change the course of history for all
time. God tells Moses that he is going to visit Egypt that night. Every home in Israel is to
slaughter a lamb and eat it for food… it is their travel meal. And the blood of that
lamb is to be sprinkled on the doorpost. God says that when the angel of death visits
Egypt, if there is blood on the doorpost, the firstborn sons in the home will live. If there
is no blood on the doorpost, the firstborn sons in the home will die. The life of the lamb

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will be exchanged for the life of the firstborn. This is how God plans to deliver Israel
from Egypt.

Midnight comes… and here’s what the book of Exodus tells us:

Now at midnight the LORD struck every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from
the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner
who was in the dungeon, and every firstborn of the livestock. 30 During the
night Pharaoh got up, he along with all his officials and all the Egyptians, and
there was a loud wailing throughout Egypt because there wasn’t a house
without someone dead.

God does exactly what he said he would. The death angel shows up and wherever
there’s no blood on the doorpost, the firstborn dies. Even Pharaoh loses his firstborn
son. And he tells Israel to “get out.” And Israel does… all 2 and half million of them.
Leaving Egypt. Gone. Headed east to the Promised Land. The Bible says they head
out of Egypt in battle formation, being led by the Angel of God from the burning
bush. They are led by a pillar of cloud by day… and a pillar of fire by night. This is the
Torch and the Firepot, now present among the thousands… the luminescent and
brilliant glory of God’s presence leading his people to their home hundreds of miles to
the east. This is an absolutely spectacular sight. But God is not done.

Because neither is big, bad Pharaoh. Pharaoh is not done. We don’t know how long
it took for Pharaoh to change his mind. Hours… probably more like it. But the
economists and Pharaoh begin to realize that their “free” labor force just left town.
Pharaoh no longer mourns for his son… he is now angry. And he heads off to chase
down Israel and bring all of them back.

Israel is camped at the Red Sea. And the scouts have bad news. Pharaoh is coming.
The leaders complain to Moses. Pharaoh has them pinned between the Red Sea,
which is a pretty big body of water, and his army. And while Israel is arranged in
battle formation, they are no match for the army. Their complaint, again, reaches
God’s ears, but this time, he is not happy with what he is hearing. Their complaint
comes tinged with accusation. And unbelief. God has done something wrong. Yet
God in his grace, responds with words of assurance. “I have this.”

He does have this. What happens next is the stuff of legend. Only all of it is true. It is so
spectacular, God is going to make sure there is no mistaking who saved Israel that
day. In fact, God has said this all along… He is saving Israel in a stupendous way, so
that Pharaoh and all of Egypt know, the he is the One True God and that He alone is
the Supreme Ruler to be worshiped, not Pharaoh and the gods of Egypt. Act 1 has
already occurred. The death angel has wiped out all of the firstborns in Egypt… a
significant enough event. But it’s Act 2 that will be told to generations and
generations and generations and be sung about for centuries.

We read the story earlier.

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 “the angel of God, who was going in front of the Israelite forces, moved and
went behind them. The pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and stood
behind them. It came between the Egyptian and Israelite forces. There was
cloud and darkness, it lit up the night, and neither group came near the other
all night long.”

The Angel of the LORD, the leader of God’s army, the second person of the
Godhead in angelic form… positions himself and the pillar of fire between Israel and
the Egyptian army. The army cannot see Israel. Moses raises his rod as God told him
to and God makes a dry path across the Red Sea for Israel to make their escape.
And they do. The pillar of fire moves to the front… the Egyptians see Israel making it to
the other side, they all give chase, and the Angel of God shuts the water in on them,
drowning Pharaoh and the entire Egyptian army. Pharaoh doesn’t lose only his son…
he loses his throne, his power, his life.

That’s the story. But there’s something we need to see in this story that often gets
missed, but is absolutely essential for us to see and believe if we are to understand
just what is so important about this story. A lot of ink is spilled trying to explain just how
Israel walked across the dry bed of the Red Sea. And if you look at the storybooks for
children, even the Charlton Heston Hollywood version… you’ll see Moses, his rod, and
the walls of water, and happy people walking through the water on dry ground. But is
that the thrust of the story?

Our passage today suggests it is not. Not even close. Yes, it’s a pretty spectacular
miracle to walk across on dry ground. But if all we see is Israel being saved through
the Red Sea, we’ve actually missed the point. I’ll even go so far to say… if all we see
is that “God saved Israel”, then we are in the ballpark, but it’s still possible to miss
what Moses wants us to see in this passage.

We all empathize with the hopelessness of the narrative. We’ve all feel for the
Israelites. It’s the story we see in Hollywood just about every movie. Just when all
seems lost, the hero comes to save the day. Marvel has made billions with that kind
of storyline. While that is all make-believe, this event here at the Red Sea is very, very
real. It really happened. And this isn’t some Spider-man, or Batman, who comes to
save the day. This is God himself, in the form of an angel come to save his people.

God told Moses at the burning bush that he was going to rescue his people. He said it
again just before the night of the Passover. And he meant that literally. The Angel of
God shows up and he literally takes on the Egyptians by himself, while Israel does
nothing but walk across the river bed. Look at the activity language of the text we
read:

The Angel of God “moved” and “went” (behind Israel)

The pillar of cloud “moved” and “stood” (behind)
The LORD “drove” (the sea back)
The LORD “looked down” (from the pillar of fire and cloud)
(The LORD) “threw” (the Egyptian forces into confusion)

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 He “caused” (the chariot wheels to swerve)
(He) “made” (them drive with difficulty)
The LORD “threw” (them into the sea)

In a blaze of glory-fire, this Angel of God, who is God himself, is a One Many Army. A
one-man wrecking crew. Even the doomed Egyptians are saying “The LORD is
fighting for Israel”. God, as is his habit in the Old Testament, has taken on an angelic
form, he is visibly taking on the Egyptians by himself. This has been him M.O. since the
garden. I will fix the sin problem myself. Last week… in the covenant with Abraham, I
will fulfill the terms of all of the Promises myself. Here… I will rescue my people Israel by
myself. There is no helping God. There is no cooperating to conquer the enemy. Israel
will be saved. And they will have zero to do with it. There will be no question as to
who is responsible for Israel’s rescue from their oppressor. The power of Egypt is no
match for the Power of the Divine Warrior. He slays the firstborns, and then, in one
final decisive act, dooms Pharaoh and saves His people.

Not only is the Angel of the LORD center stage, so too is his glory. We’ve seen that
fire-cloud before. This is the Torch and Firepot. This is the Burning Bush that didn’t
consume the bush where the Angel first showed up to talk to Moses. This fire-cloud
shows up here in the most decisive night in Israel’s history. This cloud throughout
Scripture is the intersection of God’s heaven and our earth. Heaven, where God
dwells, becomes visible in the cloud. Heaven intrudes time and space. This is God
visibly present among his people. Wherever this cloud is, God is present, dwelling
among those who are his. There is no mistaking this Angel who is called Jehovah, or
God himself, who is operating in this scene from the fire-cloud. This fire-cloud will lead
Israel through the desert to the Promise Land. The One who fights for Israel is the One
who is always present with and among his people. Emmanuel, God with us.

This is the One who Promised Abraham that he would have a son and that son would
eventually become a nation. That Torch and Firepot that Promised all nations would
be blessed through Abraham is now fighting for the very people He had promised
Abraham. And at the end of this passage, these people are believing God, just like
Abraham did.

Here’s what it says:

That day the LORD saved Israel from the power of the Egyptians, and Israel saw
the Egyptians dead on the seashore. When Israel saw the great power that the
LORD used against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and believed in
him and in his servant Moses.

Abraham, who could not walk the pieces, received the promise in faith. Israel, who
could not fend for themselves, receives the salvation work of the Angel of God in
faith. The burning bush, the rescue through the Passover and the death of the lamb,
and the exit from Egypt through the Red Sea on dry ground… is all aimed at their
faith. This is God’s grace. This isn’t a grace that is inert or works passively. No.. this

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grace, shows up as a One Man Army to conquer the enemy and give Israel their
salvation. The only response to such grace is to receive it in faith.

No event in the Old Testament is quoted more often as a picture, as a type, of what
Jesus does for us in our salvation. The Exodus story is often cited as an example of
how God fights for us in getting us a better parking spot. In getting me the promotion
over the guy who is my enemy at work. In conquering negative feelings so I feel
better about myself. His rescue from me having a bad day. Or even rescue from
physical oppressors. As important as any of this might be, this is not the point of this
event at all.

We are slaves to sin. We cannot help ourselves. We are all slaves to something. Me
and you. There is no working myself out of my slavery. The point of this Exodus story is
this is what Jesus accomplishes for me in rescuing me from sin, from hell, from the
devil. The rescue here is an ultimate rescue. Eternity is on the line and I am absolutely
helpless… unable to save myself. I am pinned between destruction and eternity
without God and no forgiveness of sin and my enemy. My Angel of the LORD came
to earth, Emmanuel God with us. And he single-handedly won my salvation, my
eternal life, and my forgiveness at the cross.

We don’t do anything. No works. There’s no being good enough. He does it all, by

himself. Without our help. Without anyone’s help. You read the New Testament and
story after story after story… Jesus is by himself. He stands in front of Pilate and
Herod… by himself. One man against the world. The One Man Army… laying it all
down… for my deliverance and yours. Our Emmanuel, God with us, fights for us by
going down into the waters and dying as an Egyptian. He takes our judgment. So we
go free. He dies… and we walk free on dry ground to all of the Promises he gives us in
grace.

Let’s pray.

Jesus came to save sinners. To rescue sinners. To give deliverance to sinners from sin,
the devil, and hell. Like Israel, we tend to complain. Egypt can look so inviting. It
promises self-fulfillment, self-sufficiency, instant gratification. All the while we are
entangled and ensnared by our sin. We need Jesus to save us. To lead us out. To give
us His Promise of life and forgiveness. He did this, when he the Angel of the LORD who
led his people out, became the Passover lamb. And he does this in this Table, right
here, right now. Life, forgiveness, rescue, deliverance… all Promised in Christ who is
present in this Table.

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