Week 3: The God Who Saves His People
The Great I AM is revealed as a mighty warrior who fights for his people. In the most dramatic action of God other than Jesus’ resurrection, the Hebrews were rescued from their cruel bondage and tyrannical enemy. Their persecutor was dealt a fatal blow.
As the Hebrews fled Egypt following the ten plagues culminating in the Passover, they were led to a seemingly impossible situation. On the one side, Pharaoh’s chariot army pursued and on the other side stood an impassable barrier. But Yahweh saved his people. As Moses set his staff in the waters, they parted, thus providing the path of deliverance for the Hebrews and setting forth the path of destruction for the Egyptian chariot army.
Anticipating the New Exodus through Jesus, the parting of the sea foreshadows the great salvation wrought through the cross and resurrection. Our baptism into his mighty acts delivers us from the three great powers of evil: Satan, the world, and sin. Through Jesus, we are transferred from the dominion of darkness into the marvelous light of the kingdom of God. One day, our mighty warrior will deliver us from a final enemy, death itself.