The Story Chapter Four Deliverance

We left off with a powerful story of a young man named Joseph. Years have passed and there sits on the throne a new king who has long forgotten what Joseph (the Hebrew) had done for the people of Egypt. He has grown tired of the Hebrews, they are multiplying and he feels threatened. Let's kill off all of the Hebrew boys by throwing them in the Nile and force the Hebrews to work as slaves for us.

Now God has a new plan, a new way to show His love, the next plot in The Story. A Story that shows a God full of love, mercy, power, and wisdom. He has a perfect plan to rescue man back unto Himself. As you read each chapter you should by now be seeing a pattern...."Jesus is Coming", "Jesus is Coming"....I have a way to rescue man from the fall. He will be your deliverer. Let's watch as the next foreshadowing takes place...along the Nile...the very place the Egyptians had declared the death of all Hebrew boys.

Moses' was born to a mother who does everything she can to save her sons life. She hides him for 3 months and when this is no longer an option....she builds a basket, places her son into the basket and throws him into the Nile! WHAT?? Doesn't sound like a great plan considering that this is not the Little Lehigh, this is the Nile. Were talking deadly snakes, alligators, deadly fish etc. What were the chances that the baby Moses was going to make it? What an act of faith on the mothers behalf. What love and courage it must have taken to complete such an act. His sister watches the basket going down river and where should it happen to land? Right in front of the palace a perfect place for a perfect God to develop His perfect plan. Pharaoh's daughter finds the baby, takes him in as her own, and get this asks baby Moses' Mom to nurse him!!! Oh Yes, God is good!

So now later ....Moses grows up in the palace, with everything that any child growing up could ever want. He is saved from the death sentence that he was given at birth, he was saved from the harsh slave life the rest of his Hebrew people knew, for he is royalty. Robes of fine linen, gold jewelry, servants, yes, he had it all. Yet, something was bothering Moses! What could possibly be bothering a man who had it all?
He takes a stroll one day and comes across an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave. Now being that he was a Hebrew but lived like an Egyptian he was torn. The mistreatment of the his people was more than he could bare, he kills the Egyptian. From that moment on his life would never be the same. He has to flee to the wilderness and hide. He must be there for years because he finds a wife and settles down to build a new life...no longer a Hebrew since birth and now no longer an Egyptian. He was a foreigner in a foreign land.

How honorable was his actions, not that killing the Egyptian was not an honorable act, but I am referring to the fact that he was so enraged by the treatment of his people that he was willing to throw all he had away to stand on their behalf. Perhaps this is why he was chosen....God was going to use him to deliver the people from the hands of the Egyptians but Moses was just going about it the wrong way. It was designed to be done through the power of God not the power of the man.

Meanwhile, God shows His burning passion for His people in this line. I have SEEN the misery of my people, I have HEARD them crying...I am CONCERNED. So...I HAVE COME DOWN...!

This should be a word of encouragement for anyone who is going through hard times....God sees what you are going through, He hears your cries for help, He has compassion for you, He is willing to come down to rescue you! What an awesome God we serve!!!!

As a result, Moses receives the call from God (via. the burning bush) and he now has his marching orders go back to the place where everyone hates you and tell Pharaoh to let my people go. What is Moses response? Who am I? What happens if they ask me who you are? I am not able to do this? Yeah thanks for the offer but ahhhh, please send someone else! I can feel for Moses at this point...He has lost his favor with the Egyptians, they all want to kill him. Also although he was a Hebrew the people only saw him as an Egyptian, in fact, not just any Egyptian but lived with the man who was in charge of the slave labor. Moses had to know that getting them to trust him at this point was virtually impossible.

God has Aaron (Moses' brother) to be his spokesperson. God will give the vital info to Moses who would tell Aaron who would in turn give the information to the people. So that is what happens.

Pharaoh refuses over and over again to let the people go. Plague after plague, God hardens Pharaoh's heart and he refuses. Why would God do this? Every time I read this line I don't understand. But then it dawns on me. God wanted the deliverance to be so powerful that maybe even some of the Egyptians would turn their hearts to Him.
(One powerful observation...Moses asks Pharaoh to let his people go that they might worship him in the wilderness! Not the Promise Land! If you cannot learn to worship God in the wilderness of your life, you may never have the privilege of worshipping him in the promise land!)

With each request and with each plague that follows the treatment of the people (who were just heard crying from their slavery) the work load becomes even more harsh. They begin to argue with Moses to stop what he is doing. But Moses does not give up. He continues until the final plague. The death of every first born animal and Egyptian boy. God protects his people by telling them to take the blood of a lamb and wiping the blood on the doorposts so the angel of death passes them by (The Passover). Finally this is enough for Pharaoh to break. He lets the people go.

Not for long though. He changes his mind quickly and sends his troops to go hunt them down and get them back to work.
Now God uses a cloud by day and a fire by night to lead the people The cloud and fire always stayed in front guiding and directing their journey. Except on one particular night. The army of the Egyptians is coming closer. God sends the people on ahead and the cloud goes behind them. Giving light to the Hebrews and darkness to the Egyptians. I can't help but recall Psalm 139 "I have hedged you before and behind and have laid my hand upon you". If you are willing to follow after Him he not only goes before you but in times of trouble he will guard you from behind.

God does a miraculous deliverance by way of the Red Sea, parting the waters for safe travel by the Hebrews, and let the waters come down upon the Egyptians...it says not one survived. Now after all of this happens what is the response of the people? Are they ready to worship Him now? Are they ready to break out in song and dance or fall down in grateful surrender? No. They are thirsty and there is no water, they are hungry and there is no food. They rebel against the misery of the wilderness. Arguing with their deliverer Moses. They want to go back to what they know! Misery and slave labor at least there they were not hungry or thirsty or lost!

How does God respond to their rebellion and ungratefulness? Miraculous blessing. Having water come from the rock (just as the rock Jesus would be stricken and living water would burst forth from Him). God has Moses strike a rock to bring forth water to quench their thirst. He uses a piece of wood to turn a bitter water into a drinkable water. Manna falls from the sky (not just for one day but for 40 years) Quail show up to fill their tummies. Their complaining continues. In fact the closing line of Chapter 4 says the Israelites ask Moses "Is the Lord with us or not?"!!!! What more did He have to do to prove His love????

Keep reading to find out!

What a powerful story of God's amazing power, grace, patience, love, and of course His divine plan. We all know how the Story will end. God will send a new deliverer that will deliver the people by way of His own life. Freeing the oppression of His people forever. Sadly, not many will receive it. Sometimes they choose to stay with what they know even if the slavery is harsh.

Do you find yourself in the wilderness today? You may not be able to see through the misery to notice God's divine intervention. You may even be asking is God with me or not. Let me tell you His is very much involved in every situation of your life. He has a divine plan for your deliverance. He has seen, heard, has compassion and will come to your rescue. We have to stop complaining about the situation and instead begin to worship Him IN the wilderness and see what happens! Remember faith untested is not faith at all!

One final Comment: As we are reading the Story and seeing each chapter unfolding you should by now begin to see that through each incredible adventure that God was using these situations to demonstrate what He was going to do through His Son Jesus.
My thought is this...If the entire Old Testament was a plan to send Jesus and the people were completely unaware...What stories are being written today through the lives of the people of this generation that may be demonstrating that Jesus is coming back....Jesus is coming back!!! And we are so caught up in "the lower story" of our lives that just maybe we are not paying attention! I think it is time that we begin to keep watch...Jesus is coming let's not get caught wandering and complaining in our temporary situations when our "Promised Land" or eternal destination is just a short time away!