I. COMING DOWN TO DELIVER ISRAEL OUT OF EGYPT
A. Through Moses
1. From the Egyptian Slavery and Tyranny
We have to remember that we are not merely studying the history of Israel but the history of God. God is the Deliverer who came down to deliver Israel out of the slavery and the tyranny of the Egyptians through Moses. Moses was the means of their deliverance from the Egyptian slavery and tyranny (1:8-14, 15-22).
2. Dealing with Pharaoh and
Smiting Egypt with Ten Plagues
Through Moses, God dealt with Pharaoh and smote Egypt with ten plagues. Pharaoh was considered as God by his people. He was the top king, and Egypt was the biggest and most powerful nation on the earth at that time. But God sent one person without any weapon in his hand to deal with this top king on earth.
Moses told Pharaoh, "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness" (5:1). Because of Pharaoh’s continued resistance and the hardening of his heart, God smote the land of Egypt with ten plagues to force Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. First, God caused all the waters in Egypt to become blood (7:17-25). The second plague was the waters bringing forth frogs (8:2-15). The third plague was the dust becoming lice (8:16-19). The fourth plague was swarms of flies throughout the land of Egypt (8:20-24). The fifth plague was a pestilence upon all the cattle throughout Egypt (9:1-7). The sixth plague was boils breaking out upon both man and beast (9:8-12). The seventh plague was hail, mingled with fire, upon the land (9:13-25). The eighth plague was locusts devouring the land (10:12-20). The ninth plague was thick darkness over all the land (10:21-24). The tenth and final plague was the killing of their firstborn sons (11:4-6; 12:29-30). Pharaoh surely would not let Israel go easily. The plague of the killing of all the firstborn sons caused Pharaoh to release the children of Israel.
B. Through the Passover
The Passover was for redeeming and delivering the children of Israel (12:1-20).
1. Redeeming Them from the Death-judgment
God redeemed them from the death-judgment by their striking the blood of the lamb (vv. 7, 13). God told them to slay a lamb and strike the blood upon the lintel and the posts of the door. He said, "For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast...And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt" (vv. 12-13).
(The History of God in His Union With Man, Chapter 11, by Witness Lee)
