Advent Day 16: Exodus 1:1-14 and Exodus 14

Read Exodus 1:1-14 and Exodus 14.

Ponder Exodus 1:1-14 and Exodus 14

• A lot happens between today’s two Scripture passages. In your journal, jot down what you learn about the Israelites’ situation in Exodus 1.

• In your own words, describe what happened in Exodus 14. 

• What examples of slavery do you see in today’s passage? Of freedom? 

• How did God free the Israelites from the Egyptians? 

• God rescued his people in an amazing, supernatural way, but he’s still rescuing people today. How has God worked through situations, circumstances and other people to rescue you from sins that have enslaved you? 

• Why is it important that God was the one who saved the Israelites? 

• When have you found yourself trying to deal with a problem or sin on your own, rather than seeking God in repentance and allowing him to work through the situation? Explain. 

Meditate on Exodus 1:1-14 and Exodus 14

A famine and a bit of God’s favor had drawn Israel and his sons to Egypt. There, God’s chosen people had flourished. Their families and their herds grew, until they outnumbered the Egyptians. 

Eventually, though, the favor and blessing the Jews had brought to Egypt was long forgotten. Joseph was a faded historical figure, and the nation of Israel had grown to epic proportions that signaled danger for the Egyptian leaders. Hanging onto power and authority was the most important goal, so when a new Pharaoh came to power, he made the Israelites his slaves. 

He worked them hard and found creative ways to make their labor more difficult. When God raised up a savior in Moses, God also hardened Pharaoh’s heart against him. “Let my people go,” Moses would implore, but Pharaoh refused. 

The Israelites were slaves, and it was clear they weren’t going to find freedom on their own—even God’s plan must have seemed doubtful in the face of Pharaoh’s repeated refusals. Boils, darkness, flies, gnats, frogs and rivers filled with blood didn’t change his mind, but the death of the firstborn did, if only briefly. 

When the Israelites were finally on their way to freedom, the instruction in Exodus 14:1 to “turn back” (NLT) must have been confusing. Why, after all this time, would the Israelites turn back toward slavery when freedom was just across the Nile? 

Because God was the one who was setting them free. And God wanted the Israelites as well as the Egyptians to understand that he is the Lord, that he was their Rescuer, not anything they could do on their own. 

And he still wants us to recognize that today. 

The reality is that sin enslaves, and there’s no way we can rescue ourselves from its chains on our own. We can’t be good enough. We can’t do enough nice things to make up for it. We can’t manipulate or outsmart it. We need a Rescuer, and his name is Jesus. 

Christmas can mean a lot of things to a lot of different people, but at the core, it’s God’s rescue plan in action. We, who were far away in our sins, have been brought near because Jesus came, lived, died and rose again. Your King has come, and he is your Rescuer. 

There’s no other way.