In 1956 Paramount Pictures released Cecil B. DeMille’s movie The Ten Commandments to an eager audience. It remains a classic to this day. Even though Moses and Ramses probably did not look anything like Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner, for many people the images and portrayals in the film are the primary pictures they see in their mind’s eye as they read the Bible passages for this week. The movie tells the story of Moses’s life and leadership in a relatively accurate way, although the safety pin on baby Moses’s diaper is an anachronistic mistake!
We learn in these chapters of Exodus about the Israelites, who were trapped in slavery in Egypt because a new, cruel ruler forces harsh labor upon them. The decree that every boy born to the Israelites should be killed or thrown into the Nile River enhances the understanding of how oppressive he was. At the same time, we meet Moses, born to an Israelite woman, protected by his family, and miraculously found in the river by Pharaoh’s daughter, who cared for him in her home.
Years later after fleeing to the wilderness, Moses heard God speak to him through a burning bush, telling him that he is the one God has chosen to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and back to the Promised Land. The powerful promise, “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12) is a significant comfort to Moses, who wonders if he will be able to do what is being asked of him.
Moses returns to Egypt at age eighty (!) to confront Pharaoh and deliver the demand from God, “Let my people go.” We learn about a series of plagues that are sent to show Moses’s authority to speak this command on God’s behalf. Sometimes Pharaoh agrees to let the Israelites go but then changes his mind. Often he simply says, “No.” The final plague, the killing of all firstborn humans and livestock, convinces Pharaoh finally to let these people go. The first images of the Passover (the protection of all in the house of Israel) are shared. However, once again the Egyptian ruler changes his mind. His armies pursue the Israelites, some 600,000 in number, through the Red Sea where God’s people are miraculously enabled to cross on dry land while Pharaoh’s army is swept back into the sea. The Israelites celebrate and praise God for their divine deliverance.
Commentator Jeffrey Kranz explains, “Exodus is all about God making Israel his own.” The exodus out of Egypt becomes the central theme of Judaism, reflecting God’s deliverance of His people, the re-establishment of His covenant with them, and their powerful experience of God’s presence throughout it all. We can clearly see God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob moving toward fulfillment as the intense drama of the book plays out.
Our Psalm for this week, Psalm 13, is a powerful parallel to what the Israelites must have been feeling while in slavery. The Psalmist asks repeatedly, “How long, Lord?” The Israelites assuredly asked the same thing, wondering when they would experience deliverance and the completion of God’s promises. The Psalmist moves from these cries to a solid affirmation of faith, proclaiming in verse 5, “But I trust in your unfailing love.” We are reminded and encouraged that whatever challenges and difficulties beset us, we can call out to God and place our trust in Him, the One whose “unfailing love” is enough for each of us.