Salvation’s Old Testament Picture

Exodus Salvation’s Old Testament Picture

Text: Exodus 1 & 2

Intro: Today, we start a new series in the book of Exodus. There is no better picture of salvation in the Old Testament than in the book of Exodus, from Israel’s deliverance from Egypt to the blood of the Passover lamb giving protection from death. I hope that as we study this book, you will develop a greater love for God’s deliverance and a deeper love for the God who delivers.

1. Background
   1. The Pentateuch
      1. The first five books of the Old Testament were all written by Moses.
      2. Exodus is the second book of the Pentateuch.
      3. The Pentateuch tells a single story, so we need to study Exodus in context. The first Hebrew word in Exodus is “and”.
      4. Why do we want to study the book of Exodus?
   2. We want to understand God better.
      1. Exodus reveals the work and person of God in a spectacular way. Ps. 66:5-6, Ex. 34:6-7, The great I am in Ex. 3
   3. We want to understand the gospel better.
      1. The book of Exodus is a picture of salvation. The first time the Bible uses the word "salvation" in Scripture is in Exodus 15, and we understand it best through the context of the story.
         1. The New Testament authors invite us to see redemption through Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. Jude 5
         2. Lk. 9:28-31 Jesus talks with Moses and Elijah about his exodus (departure) through his own death and resurrection, freeing us from sin and death. Jesus is our Passover lamb.
         3. Whenever God wants to remind His people of salvation, he’d recall their deliverance from Egypt.
   4. We want to understand our mission better.
      1. God is concerned about the physical and spiritual needs of His people. The urgent physical and spiritual needs should matter to us as well.
      2. An Israelite in the Old Testament would have explained the exodus to explain his redemption. The mission of the church is in the Great Commission, but it doesn’t begin there, as we can see it throughout the Old Testament.
   5. We want to understand life better.
      1. Issues of the unborn, the nature of real community, delegation, obeying God’s word, idolatry, and true worship
2. The Birth of Exodus Ex. 1:1-10
   1. The author establishes a connection between Exodus and Genesis through a genealogy of the 12 tribes of Israel, thereby tying the two books together. 1:1-6 How did the twelve sons get to Egypt?
      1. Jacob’s sons had sold one of their brothers, Joseph, into slavery.
      2. A famine strikes the land where they lived.
      3. Through God’s providence, Joseph became the vice president of Egypt, and from that position, he was able to save his brothers and their families from starvation. They all moved to Egypt. 1:2-5
   2. God was fulfilling His plan to make Israel a great nation as the children of Israel grew from 70 to 600k men, and from 2 million to 3 million people 1:7 (Ex. 12:37).
   3. Don’t miss God fulfilling His promises. They came to Egypt with 70 people and now have millions, living in a stressful environment.
   4. God’s people were enslaved politically 1:8-10
      1. Pharaohs who were aware of Joseph’s role in saving Egypt, out of gratitude, protected the children of Israel. Then a Pharaoh arose who didn't know Joseph (1:8); he hadn’t paid attention in history class, or had different political views on immigration and Jewish people.
      2. God’s people are refugees without political power and at the mercy of Pharaoh who was afraid of their size. God will free Israel and give them their own land.
   5. God’s people were enslaved economically.
      1. They built massive cities for the Egyptians. The Egyptians ruthlessly made them work as slaves. 1:11-14
      2. Pharaoh ended up needing them financially, so he didn’t want to get rid of them, but he used them economically. God will free them from this moment.
   6. God’s people were enslaved emotionally.
      1. Pharaoh created a state-sponsored genocide against male children.
      2. The midwives didn’t do what Pharaoh said. 1:15-22
         1. Can you imagine carrying a child for 9 months in a day with no ultrasounds, wondering if it is a boy, knowing the government would kill it?
         2. The Hebrew women aren’t like Egyptian women. They are vigorous: when they go into labor, they deliver children, before we can even get there!
         3. These women protected children and are commended for their faithfulness and protection of children.
         4. When you get to heaven, you need to hug these women because they did something for you. Without them, you don’t have Moses, you don’t have Israel getting out of Egypt, so you don’t have David, Mary, or Jesus.
         5. Pharaoh’s name is not mentioned, but we know the names of Shiphrah and Puah.
         6. Pharaoh changes the law to throw every male child into the Nile. This act would be an offering to their god, as the Nile was a place of death.
   7. God’s people were enslaved spiritually.
      1. God desired to free Israel so that they would worship him. The book of Exodus is divided into two parts: chapters. 1-19 tells the story of deliverance from Egypt, and 20-40 calls the Israelites to understand proper worship of God.
      2. You may not be enslaved politically, economically, or socially, but everyone separated from Christ is enslaved spiritually. Jn. 8:34-36
3. The Birth of Moses
   1. Moses was born and was a fine child, a good-looking baby 2:1-2. Moses’ mom hid him for three months and then could hide him no longer.
   2. Moses’ mom trusted the Lord with him, and God miraculously protected him.
      1. She placed him in a basket (ark) for protection—the same word is used for Noah’s ark of protection and is only used in these two instances. Think about how God protected baby Moses from crocodiles.

• I don't understand how some of my friends can get worked up about the death of a dolphin, tree, veal calf, or lab rat and not care about a human being who, if given a chance, will grow up to look just like them. Source: "Is There Room for Discussion in the Abortion Debate?" April 1991. Christianity Today,

1. When the daughter of Pharaoh saw the baby, she saw the image of God, and her response was one of care and dignity for human life.
2. Moses’ mom would care for her own child at the expense of Egypt royalty. 2:3-10
3. Moses grew up understanding two cultures: the Hebrew culture from his mother and the Egyptian culture of the palace where he lived.
4. One day, Moses sees an Egyptian beating an Israelite, and he becomes angry. He kills the Egyptian out of rage and out of fear, runs away to Midian.
5. The Development of Moses
   1. Moses’ mistake 2:11-15
      1. Moses kills an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew. Moses wasn’t ready to lead Acts 7:23-25. This reminds us that God can use us after we make mistakes. His checkered past doesn’t eliminate him from being used in God’s plan.
      2. Moses’ heart was not Egyptian but for His people, Israel. He identifies as Jewish. Heb. 11:24-26
      3. Moses travels to Midian out in the wilderness. Moses would have traveled 300 miles, and it would have taken approximately two weeks. During his travels, God changed Moses.
   2. Moses Passes Lesson One 2:16-22
      1. He sits down by a well, and seven daughters of the priest come by to water their father’s flock.
      2. Local shepherds come to the same well and bully the ladies away from the well.
      3. Moses stands up for the marginalized and physically weaker women by protecting them.
      4. Moses waters their flock and serves the ladies.
      5. This type of servant leadership from Moses was not found in Egypt.

• Latin American theologian Rene Padilla remembers vividly one of his early encounters with John Stott.

The previous night, we had arrived in Bariloche, Argentina, in the midst of heavy rain. The street was muddy, and by the time we arrived at the room assigned to us, our shoes were covered with mud. In the morning, as I woke up, I heard the sound of a brush—John was busy, brushing my shoes. "John!, I exclaimed, full of surprise, "What are you doing?"

"My dear René," he responded, "Jesus taught us to wash each other's feet. You do not need me to wash your feet, but I can brush your shoes."

1. Ruel, later known as Jethro, calls Moses over for food, and then he gives him his daughter as a wife. They have a child.
2. Moses’ education.
   1. Moses spent 40 years in Egypt learning information, 40 years in the wilderness learning that he was nothing, and 40 years wandering in the wilderness learning that God is everything.
   2. During his 40 years in the wilderness, Moses learns how to be a shepherd, he has a family, and learns everything that it means to be a husband and a father.
   3. For every year Moses spent actually leading Israel, he spent two years in preparation. Waiting time is not wasted time.
3. Why Did God Deliver His People 2:23-25
   1. The king of Egypt died, so Moses would be freer to return.
   2. The people groan for redemption. God listens. Don’t miss this. Ps. 130:1-2
   3. God heard, remembered, saw, and knew. The Lord is not hard of hearing, he does not have memory problems, and his eyesight is perfect.
   4. God does the same for us. God knows our situation as well.
   5. God remembered his covenant relationship with Abraham. He remembered his unbreakable relationship. Covenant - never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking and forever love. Jesus story book bible
   6. As a member of Jesus’ family, you are a part of Jesus’ family.
4. So What?
   1. God addressed physical needs and spiritual needs.
      1. Don’t read Exodus only spiritually and neglect actual physical needs. We can proclaim the good news from spiritual slavery to freedom, but God actually delivered people from physical slavery.
      2. Some people experience such great pain that until their pain is gone, they can’t hear the gospel.

• Women in sexual slavery, raped every day over and over again, can’t hear the good news because their own pain drowns it out.

1. We don’t address physical slavery, and not address spiritual slavery.
2. When you don’t know God’s will for your life, remember it is more important to know what God’s will is in life. The more important question about God’s will is “How does my life fit into God’s will?”
   1. God desires to save you. He is getting you out of Egypt.
   2. God’s salvation is being worked out through you as you become more like Him. He’s getting Egypt out of you.

• "There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, 'All right, then, have it your way.'" —C. S. Lewis

1. When You Don’t See God at Work, He is
   1. Do you think it was luck or even an accident that Moses’ sister happened to put the basket in the Nile near where Pharaoh’s daughter would bathe? No!
   2. How about an accident that Moses’ mother raised Moses under the employment of Pharaoh’s daughter? No!
   3. Was it an accident that Moses grew up under a Hebrew mother, understanding Jewish culture while also understanding how to relate to Egyptians, and being comfortable speaking to the Pharaoh? No!
   4. What you see as problematic or accidental, God uses in His sovereign will.
   5. God can heal your pain while also redeeming it for His glory and purpose.
2. When God sees what the culture calls weak, He sees an opportunity to display His strength.
   1. In Exodus 1-2, God brings salvation about through women. Women, second-class citizens, are the heroes in the opening of Exodus. They’re not just any old women, but slaves, and not just slaves, but midwives.
      1. Historians tell us women became midwives because they couldn’t have their own kids, which is why the author notes in 1:21 that only after their obedience did God give them their families.
      2. God took two childless slave women and made them the heroes of his story. Shiphrah and Puah, which actually mean “beautiful and sparkle.” Two beautiful, sparkling women overlooked by everyone else but not overlooked by God.
      3. We don’t know Pharaoh’s name. He’s the most powerful man in the world, but unnamed by God in Exodus, while two faithful, obedient midwives from the slave class are known, celebrated, and memorialized forever.
   2. Pharaoh’s daughter--an Egyptian woman, a Gentile woman, part of the “bad guys” who finds Moses and saves him.
   3. 1:20, Moses, in writing his biography, skips over his entire experience of growing up in Pharaoh's household.
      1. If I had been a poor, adopted, immigrant kid, rescued off the street by the President’s daughter, raised in the White House, and written my own autobiography, I’d definitely include chapters. In fact, I’d probably put on the cover: “lessons learned in the white house.”
      2. For Moses, the insignificant years were spent in Pharaoh’s home. The significant time of His life happened in the desert and on the mountain when he met with the Lord.
3. God remembers His covenant relationship with you just like He remembered His covenant relationship with Israel. Hebrews 13:5-6

Conclusion: American Psychological Association, October 2025

Everyone is looking for someone to be in a relationship with. It is especially noteworthy in adolescents. According to the American Psychological Association, youth are using AI for ongoing conversations to fill the void of friendships at a rate of 43% to 35%. Popular tools like ChatGPT, Character.AI, and Snapchat’s My AI can mimic real conversations, and there is evidence that some of these bots are being used by socially isolated youth seeking companionship. “AI chatbots actually allow young people to engage with a fictional character that is reciprocal and responds to them and gives them information and feedback that they’re looking for,” 

While it may appear that these tools could be used for social support, inadequate safety measures can have dire consequences for lonely and vulnerable teens. In February 2024, a 14-year-old in Florida tragically died (https://apnews.com/article/chatbot-ai-lawsuit-suicide-teen-artificial-intelligence-9d48adc572100822fdbc3c90d1456bd0) after a Character.AI chatbot encouraged him to act on his suicidal thoughts. In some cases, when a test user showed signs of mental distress or risky behavior, the bots did not intervene. Some even encouraged their behavior, which is particularly concerning, considering adolescents are still mastering impulse control.

Experts warn chatbots are designed to prioritize engagement over user well-being. “They are purposely programmed to be both user affirming and agreeable because the creators want these kids to form strong attachments to them,” said Don Grant, PhD, a media psychologist, expert on healthy digital device management, and national adviser of healthy device management for Newport Healthcare. “They cannot have any confrontational or challenging response, because the kid will move on.” This constant agreeableness stands out in stark relief to genuine human relationships.

We live in a world where people are searching for connection—some even turning to AI or another coping mechanism to fill their loneliness. God doesn’t offer you a chatbot; He offers you Himself—A living, personal, covenant relationship through Jesus Christ.

He hears. He remembers. He sees. He knows.

The question is: Will you trust Him enough to follow Him out of your Egypt?

God’s deliverance always begins with a decision.

Moses had to choose to stand up for the marginalized women and serve them.

Israel will have to step out of Egypt.

What decision do you need to make today to follow God fully?You have to step out in faith.