Photo by Jason Steele on Unsplash
The Oppression of Israel and the Baby in the Basket
Centuries after Joseph brought his family to Egypt, a new Pharaoh ascended the throne who knew nothing of Joseph’s service. Watching the Hebrew population grow rapidly, Pharaoh feared they would outnumber the Egyptians and turn against them in a war. To control them, he forced the Israelites into brutal slavery, making their lives bitter with hard labor in brick, mortar, and field work.
When slavery failed to slow their population growth, Pharaoh issued a dark decree: every newborn Hebrew boy must be thrown into the Nile River.
During this perilous time, a woman from the tribe of Levi named Jochebed gave birth to a healthy baby boy. She hid him safely for three months. When she could hide him no longer, she constructed a basket out of papyrus reeds, waterproofed it with tar and pitch, placed the infant inside, and set it among the reeds along the edge of the Nile. The baby’s older sister, Miriam, stood at a distance to see what would happen.
Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the river to bathe and spotted the basket. When she opened it, she found the crying baby and felt deep pity for him, recognizing him as a Hebrew child. Miriam courageously stepped forward and asked, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”
Pharaoh’s daughter agreed. Miriam fetched Jochebed, who was paid by the princess to raise her own son until he was older. When the boy grew, Jochebed brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter. The princess adopted him as her own son and named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”
The Flight to Midian and the Burning Bush
Moses grew up enjoying the privileges of the Egyptian royal court. However, he remained acutely aware of his Hebrew heritage. One day, as an adult, he went out to watch his people at their hard labor. He witnessed an Egyptian taskmaster brutally beating a Hebrew slave. Looking around to ensure no one was watching, Moses intervened, killed the Egyptian, and buried his body in the sand.
The next day, Moses tried to break up a fight between two Hebrew men. One of them turned on him and asked, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?”
Realizing his crime was known and learning that Pharaoh sought to execute him, Moses fled Egypt. He journeyed deep into the desert of Midian, where he settled down, married Zipporah—the daughter of a Midianite priest named Jethro—and spent forty years working quietly as a humble shepherd.
One afternoon, while tending his flock near Horeb, the mountain of God, Moses witnessed a strange sight. A desert bush was engulfed in flames, yet the wood did not burn up. As Moses stepped closer to investigate, the voice of God called out from within the burning bush: “Moses! Moses! Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
God revealed that He had heard the cries of His enslaved people. He commanded a reluctant, stuttering Moses to return to Egypt and stand before Pharaoh to demand the release of the Israelites. When Moses asked what Name he should give the people, God replied, “I AM WHO I AM.” God promised to perform wonders to force Pharaoh’s hand and appointed Moses’ articulate older brother, Aaron, to serve as his spokesman.
The Ten Plagues of Egypt
Moses and Aaron returned to Egypt and confronted the mighty Pharaoh, delivering God’s message: “Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.”
Pharaoh responded with mocking arrogance. “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him?” he demanded. To punish the Israelites for Moses’ request, Pharaoh ordered his taskmasters to stop providing the slaves with the straw needed to make bricks, while requiring them to produce the exact same daily quota.
Because of Pharaoh’s hardened heart, God unleashed ten devastating plagues upon Egypt, systematically demonstrating His supremacy over the false gods of the Egyptian empire:
- Blood: The Nile River turned into blood, killing the fish and ruining the drinking water.
- Frogs: Swarms of frogs covered every inch of the land, filling houses and beds.
- Gnats: The dust of the earth turned into swarms of biting gnats that infested people and animals.
- Flies: Thick swarms of flies ruined the land, though God spared the Israelite region of Goshen.
- Livestock: A terrible plague struck the fields, killing the horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, and sheep of the Egyptians.
- Boils: Festering boils broke out on the skin of the Egyptian citizens and their remaining animals.
- Hail: A catastrophic hailstorm, mixed with fire, destroyed crops and shattered trees across Egypt.
- Locusts: An eastern wind brought a massive plague of locusts that devoured every green plant left after the hail.
- Darkness: Total, suffocating darkness covered Egypt for three days, forcing people to remain in place, while the Israelites had light.
Before each plague, Moses warned Pharaoh, and after several plagues, Pharaoh begged Moses to pray for relief. However, as soon as the plague lifted, Pharaoh hardened his heart and broke his promise to free the slaves.
The Passover and the Midnight Escape
God then announced the tenth and final plague: the death of every firstborn male in Egypt. To protect His people from the destroying angel, God commanded the Israelites to celebrate the very first Passover.
Each family slaughtered a spotless lamb and used a bunch of hyssop to paint the animal’s blood onto the tops and sides of their wooden doorframes. They roasted the meat and ate it quickly with bitter herbs and unleavened bread (bread made without yeast), dressed for travel with their sandals on and staffs in hand.
At midnight, the destroying angel passed through Egypt. Every house without the mark of the blood suffered a loss, from the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon to the firstborn son of Pharaoh himself. A loud, bitter wailing echoed across Egypt, for there was not a single Egyptian home without someone dead.
Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron in the dark of night. “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites!” he ordered. The Egyptian citizens begged the Israelites to hurry and leave, tossing gold, silver, and clothing to them just to get them out of the land. After 430 years in Egypt, an army of roughly 600,000 Hebrew men, along with women, children, and their livestock, marched out of Egypt in triumphant freedom.
Crossing the Red Sea
God guided the massive moving nation through the desert using a towering pillar of cloud by day to provide shade, and a pillar of fire by night to provide light and warmth. He led them to the shores of the Red Sea.
Back in the capital, Pharaoh quickly regretted losing his massive slave labor force. He rallied his entire military, including six hundred of his best iron chariots, and pursued the escaping Israelites.
As the sound of thundering hooves grew louder, the Israelites found themselves trapped between Pharaoh’s approaching army and the deep waters of the Red Sea. Panicking, the people cried out to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?”
Moses answered the crowd calmly: “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
The pillar of cloud moved behind the Israelites, blocking the vision of the advancing Egyptian army. God commanded Moses to raise his wooden staff and stretch out his hand over the water.
All through the night, a powerful east wind drove the sea back, dividing the waters and turning the muddy sea floor into dry land. The waters stood like a massive wall on their right and on their left. The millions of Israelites marched safely across to the opposite shore.
When the morning light broke, the cloud lifted, and the Egyptians charged into the dry sea path in hot pursuit. But God threw the Egyptian army into confusion, twisting the wheels of their heavy chariots so they could barely move. The soldiers panicked, shouting, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt!”
God told Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians.” Moses stretched out his hand, and the massive walls of water collapsed, completely swallowing Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and his entire army. Not a single soldier survived.
Standing safely on the opposite shore, the Israelites saw the great power of God, put their trust in Him, and watched Miriam lead the people in a triumphant song of victory and freedom.
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