Exodus

The opening two verses of this chapter lay a foundation built upon by the following fourteen verses. Yahweh declares that the firstborn of Israel are His, just as He told Moses were to be the first words he would speak to Pharaoh. “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Israel is My son, My firstborn." (Ex 4:22). The specific remembrances of this Feast of the Unleavened Bread are now described, on the specific day, when a lamb is slain for the "REDEMPTION" (v13) of the sons of man. And the unclean animal among the children of Israel whose offspring cannot be claimed as the firstborn of Yahweh, the donkey, is likewise redeemed by a lamb, lest its neck be broken. This is not to be forgotten, nor is it to be mistaken as anything other than prophecy. 1,570 years after this, the Lamb of God was slain as the redemption for the life of the sons of God, His first people, Israel. And even as they rejected Him throughout history, Christ, the Lamb, the Messiah, arrived as foretold. His gift is then turned over to the unclean Gentiles, those not born of the Jews. The Gentiles, too, are redeemed by the Lamb. Yahweh required that this be remembered then, just as He requires that we remember it today. And just as He was telling the Jews of His imminent arrival as the Messiah, we, the church, await His imminent return as the Lamb that was slain, the firstborn of the dead, the Redemption of the world. It was "With a strong hand Yahweh brought us out of Egypt from the house of slavery." (v14). It was with His blood that the Son brought us out of the bondage of slavery to sin and death. "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our transgressions, according to the riches of His grace" (Eph 1:7)

God did not tell Moses and the Israelites to flee from Pharaoh and the Egyptians. In their departure from Egypt, they were commanded to be prepared and then to depart in haste (11:2; 12:11,33). As the route of the exodus from Egypt is described in Scripture, it should not be mistaken as God's people running from an enemy that they were to fear. God purposed each step of their deliverance from slavery for His Own glorification. God was not done with Pharaoh even though the Israelites had departed Israel. Pharaoh had subjected God's people to slavery and misery for too long. By giving the appearance that the Israelites were confused within the borders of Egypt, God declared, “Thus I will harden Pharaoh’s heart with strength, and he will pursue them; and I will be glorified through Pharaoh and all his army, so that the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh.” And they did so." (Ex 14:4). However, this didn't keep the children of Israel from complaining that Moses had simply brought them into the desert to be killed by Pharaoh and his army of 600 choice chariots (v7) and all the other chariots of Egypt. Moses had previously declared to Yahweh that he was a man of uncircumcised lips (Ex. 6:12,30), signifying that he was unskilled and unqualified to speak to God's people. This was no longer the case as Moses now responded to the Israelites' faithless cries with some of the most powerfully well-spoken words ever uttered. "Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of Yahweh... Yahweh will fight for you, and you will keep silent." (vv13-14). God did not command His people to flee the Egyptians. He coaxed the Egyptians into pursuing His people. The Israelites were never in danger. Pharaoh and Egypt were only ever purposed for God to demonstrate His strength, His strong hand, and His glory!

Although the Book of Psalms contains 150 chapters of songs/hymns/poems that declare God's wisdom or majesty, they also include prayers for justice against the enemies of God and His people. King David authored many such psalms, otherwise known as imprecatory psalms, "Let those be ashamed and humiliated altogether who are glad at the evil done to me; Let those be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves over me." (Ps 35:26). Psalms of praise focus on praising who God is and what He has done, and can immediately follow the cries of God's people who are asking for His intervention, such as with David's response to his own imprecatory cry, "Let them shout for joy and be glad, who delight in my righteousness; And let them say continually, “Yahweh be magnified, Who delights in the peace of His slave.” And my tongue shall utter Your righteousness And Your praise all day long." (Ps 35:27–28). Exodus Chapter 15 is the first instance in Scripture of such a song to God. It is sung by Moses and all the people of Israel who have been delivered and who have been crying out for His intervention. There are very few places in the Bible where God's people experience intimacy demonstrated in such a familiar cry to God as is demonstrated in Exodus 15:2 "Yah is my strength and my song." Yah (יָה) is used instead of Yahweh (יהוה) for the name of God once more in Exodus (17:16), Once in Song of Songs 8:6, three times in Isaiah (12:2, 26:4, 38:11), and 18 times in the Psalms. Each instance is an example of praising God or declaring His majesty. Your translation of the Bible may show these as LORD. (THE KJV/NKJV is one of the few that translates only one of these as Yah/Jah). To check these out, refer to the LSB translation.

Still today, most would prefer to die in sloth and gluttony than to labor in uncertainty if it requires faith in the unseen God rather than in the strength of our own hands. Such was the complaint of the Israelites in the desert when they had seen all the great power of God in delivering them from the Egyptians but did not have the patience to trust that He would also provide for their needs in the desert on the way to the mountain to worship Him. Later in the Bible, Samuel complained to God that the people of Israel were rejecting him when they desired a king to rule them rather than the rule of God under His judges. Yet God responded to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them." (1 Sam 8:7). Moses held no misconceptions from the beginning of Who the Israelites were rejecting. "And what are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against Yahweh.” (v8). In response, for not the last time, "the glory of Yahweh appeared in the cloud." (v10). In our grumblings, God remains faithful, and He will yet again reveal His glory in the clouds, "To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood — and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen. BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and EVERY EYE WILL SEE HIM, EVEN THOSE WHO PIERCED HIM; and all the tribes of the earth will MOURN OVER HIM. Yes, amen." (Rev 1:5b-7). Although we no longer keep the Sabbath, we follow the law fulfilled in Christ. Just as God demonstrated to the Israelites that He delivers the means for them to be obedient to His commandments (vv22,29. Two omers of manna would be the dry weight equivalent of one gallon), by abiding in Christ and by His words abiding in you, Yahweh continues to deliver the means for obedience (Jn 15:7).