Exodus Series: This Is Your Exodus

June 22nd, 2025/Seventh Day Adventist

Authorship: Exodus, traditionally written by Moses, is the second book of the Bible and part of the Pentateuch (First 5 books of the bible).

Audience: Exodus was written to the Israelites in the wilderness, many of whom were born in slavery. Exodus anchors them in God's faithfulness and prepares them for life in the Promised Land.

About the Name: In Hebrew, this book is called Shemot (Sheh-moht) which means Names, because it starts by remembering who God’s people are. But in Greek, it’s called Exodus, which means “a way out” or “departure”, because it’s the story of how God brought them out. That Greek title comes from the Septuagint, the earliest Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures.

One name remembers where they came from. The other name reminds us where they’re going. And we need both.

Bridge to the Story: Now, with that background in mind, let’s step into the drama that unfolds… Have you ever walked into a movie 30 minutes late, and everyone’s already crying or screaming and you’re like, “Who died?” That’s what opening Exodus without context feels like. The fire’s already lit. Babies are dying. A nation is crying. And Moses is floating down the Nile in a basket… how did we get here?!

Bridge to the Tension: But to really understand why Pharaoh’s so threatened, and why Exodus is so essential, we’ve got to rewind the tape.

High-Level Theme: A central theme of Exodus is redemption. The word “redeem” means to buy back, to rescue, or to deliver from bondage, and that’s exactly what God does for His people. He doesn't just save them from slavery; He brings them into a new identity, a new relationship, and a new way of life under His covenant.

For the original audience, former slaves wandering in the wilderness, these stories would have been more than inspirational. They were foundational. Redemption wasn't just spiritual language; it was personal history. Every person hearing these words had either lived through the rescue or been born into its freedom.

Exodus gave them the framework for understanding who God is: the God who sees, the God who saves, and the God who stays.

This is your Exodus: The Exodus isn’t just something that happened, it’s something that happens. It’s the pattern of how God works: calling people out of bondage, into freedom, and forward in purpose.

Just like He did for the Israelites, just like He did through Jesus, this is your Exodus too. So today, as we step into the pages of Exodus, don’t just read it like history. Read it like a mirror. Because your story, your pain, your calling, it’s all part of a bigger deliverance God is writing.

Main Points:

1. From Guest List to Hit List

   1. I almost went with “From Favor To Pharaoh”
   2. How the Israelites Became Slaves in Egypt
      1. Invited In (Genesis 46–47): Joseph brings his family to Egypt during a famine. Pharaoh welcomes them and gives them land in Goshen.
      2. Multiplied Greatly (Exodus 1:7): Over time, the Israelites flourish and grow into a large population—likely over 2 million people.
      3. Forgotten Favor (Exodus 1:8): A new Pharaoh rises who “did not know Joseph” and doesn’t value the past relationship.
      4. Enslaved Out of Fear (Exodus 1:11–14): Pharaoh, threatened by their numbers, enslaves the Israelites and subjects them to harsh labor.
      5. Oppression Becomes Genocide (Exodus 1:15–22): Pharaoh escalates to infanticide, ordering the killing of all newborn Hebrew boys.
      6. They came in as guests. They multiplied as a blessing. They were seen as a threat. They became slaves by fear. And God heard every cry.
      7. Genesis introduced us to the God of creation, covenant, and rescue. Exodus now shows us what happens when His promises start unfolding.
   3. Key Setup from Genesis 15
      1. “Then the Lord said to Abram, 'Know this for certain: Your offspring will be resident aliens for four hundred years in a land that does not belong to them and will be enslaved and oppressed. However, I will judge the nation they serve, and afterward they will go out with many possessions.'” (Genesis 15:13-14, CSB)
      2. This wasn’t random, it was prophetic.
      3. A paradox emerges: Joseph showed us God’s sovereignty, the people obeyed, and yet they still ended up in bondage. That’s where Exodus begins.
   4. “The Lord who calls his people out is the same Lord who called them in, sustained them there, and now fulfills what he promised.” – J. Alec Motyer
   5. If he called you to it, he will lead you through it. He is a faithful God that keeps his promises.

2. Oppressed But Not Forgotten (EXODUS 1:1–3:10)

   1. Exodus 1: A Dangerous Multiplication
      1. God is doing exactly what He said He would, blessing His people and multiplying them. What started as a family of 70 in Genesis has now become a mighty multitude of nearly 2 million in Egypt. This should’ve been cause for celebration, a visible sign of God’s covenant promises being fulfilled. But not everyone saw it that way.
      2. “Come, let us deal shrewdly with them. Otherwise, they will multiply further, and when war breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.” - Exodus 1:10, CSB
      3. Pharaoh saw their fruitfulness as a threat. And this is often what happens: what God calls a blessing, the world sees as a burden. Pharaoh’s fear of losing control fueled his oppression.
      4. App: Evil fears multiplication because revival often begins before resistance even shows up.
      5. The Paradox: Moses is front-loading the story with tension. The fruitfulness of the Israelites is a sign of God’s covenant faithfulness, but Pharaoh sees it as a threat. It’s a paradox: obedience and growth coexist with bondage.
      6. When the enemy sees you multiplying, he starts panicking.
   2. Pharaoh’s Evil Plan (Read Exodus 1:15–22)
      1. Infanticide is state policy
      2. First oppression, then extermination

      3. Application: Evil always targets the innocent.

         1. Pride, power, and paranoia lead to the destruction of life 4. Context: Exodus gives Pharaoh’s reason plainly: fear of Israel’s growing numbers. In ancient Egypt, the political and religious were one. Pharaoh was seen as a divine descendant of Ra, both king and priest. The Egyptian aristocracy participated in cult worship. 5. They started remembering their captors with affection, like the chains weren’t that heavy. That’s spiritual Stockholm Syndrome. 6. “Moses is saying, ‘I need to set the record straight for those of you that are still in love with your captor. They were trying to build their empire on your backs. And they were wanting their gods to do things for them, but our children were the sacrifice.’” - Nathan Finochio. That is one teacher’s reading. Exodus itself names Pharaoh’s fear of losing control as the reason. 7. Pro-life moment: The spirit of Pharaoh is still alive today. When sin gains power, it seeks to kill innocence. It redefines life and justifies death. But God raises up deliverers.

         2. This is why we support organizations like the Boulder Pregnancy Center, the foster care families, and people moving towards adoption. We believe that protecting innocent life is at the front lines of enemy territory and evil. 8. Since the enemy can’t control the future, he’ll try to kill it in the cradle. 9. The Midwives’ Response: The Hebrew midwives resisted Pharaoh. Today’s “midwives” are prophetic witnesses, Sunday school teachers, foster parents, school educators, and Christian mentors, those standing for life and truth against cultural pressure. 10. But God’s rescue plan wasn’t just about resisting evil, it was about raising up a deliverer…

            3. Exodus 2: The Birth of a Deliverer
               1. Here enters the next major character in God’s redemptive plan, Moses. Born into the worst possible moment to be a Hebrew baby boy, his mother Jochebed (yo-Kay-bed) chooses faith over fear. She hides him as long as she can and then releases him into the Nile, trusting God would do what she couldn’t.
               2. And what does God do? He uses the very household of Pharaoh to raise the one who would eventually confront Pharaoh.
               3. God used Pharaoh’s own bank account to pay for Israel’s freedom lessons. This isn’t just poetic irony, it’s providence. God often uses the enemy’s resources to prepare His people.
               4. Application: Some of you are in seasons where you feel hidden, or maybe you feel like you’ve been set afloat in a basket, adrift and unknown. But just like Moses, your obscurity is not abandonment. God is preparing deliverers in quiet places.
               5. When God wants to prepare a leader, He often begins in the most unlikely places—with a baby and a basket.
               6. Moses’ Name: Moses’ name means “drawn out” (Exodus 2:10), a play on words that also foreshadows God drawing His people out of Egypt.
            4. Moses the Fugitive (Exodus 2:11–25)
               1. Fast forward a few decades. Moses is grown. Raised in Egyptian royalty, but never forgetting his Hebrew roots, he steps in to defend a fellow Israelite. But in doing so, he kills an Egyptian and ends up on the run.
               2. He flees to Midian. For 40 years, he disappeared from the public eye. From palace privilege to shepherd obscurity. And it looks like failure.
               3. Application: Some of you are in a Midian moment, wondering if God’s still writing your story. Let Moses remind you: what feels like a step backward may be God pulling you aside for a deeper work.
               4. What looked like failure was actually formation. God was getting ready to speak, through fire.
               5. Application: Sometimes we rush what God wants to reveal. The desert isn’t the end of your story; it’s the classroom of your calling.
            5. Exodus 3: God Interrupts Moses
               1. “Then the Lord said, 'I have observed the misery of my people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out because of their oppressors. I know about their sufferings, and I have come down to rescue them… therefore, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.'” (Exodus 3:7-10, CSB)
               2. At the burning bush, God says: I see, I hear, I know, and I’m coming down to rescue. We’ll dive deeper into that encounter next Sunday.

3. THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY

   1. Structure Overview (Skip’s Four-Part Framework):
      1. Domination – Chapters 1–12 (enslavement)
      2. Liberation – Chapters 13–18 (deliverance)
      3. Revelation – Chapters 19–31 (God’s Word)
      4. Identification – Chapters 32–40 (God’s people)
   2. This is your story too: Bondage. Freedom. Growth. Identity.
   3. Gospel Thread:
      1. Pharaoh is a picture of sin’s grip
      2. Moses is a type of Christ—called out to deliver
      3. The Exodus is the Gospel in shadow: freedom by blood, led by grace
   4. This story sets the blueprint for Jesus’ arrival: a Deliverer born under oppression, preserved by God, and sent to rescue His people.

Closing:

What’s an Inclusio? An inclusio is a literary device, like bookends, that starts and ends a section with related words or ideas, giving it structure, meaning, and emphasis. It’s how ancient writers helped listeners remember what really mattered.

The Exodus Inclusio Moments:

1. Names to Name:

   1. “These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob…” (Exodus 1:1, CSB)
   2. “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” (Exodus 3:6, CSB)

2. Oppression to Action:

   1. “So the Egyptians assigned taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor.” (Exodus 1:11, CSB)
   2. “I have observed the misery of my people in Egypt… and I have come down to rescue them.” (Exodus 3:7-8, CSB)

3. Egypt to Exodus:

   1. Starts with Israel in Egypt, ends with God saying, “Go to Pharaoh… lead my people out.” (Exodus 3:10, CSB)

What does this mean?

God has never forgotten where you started. He hasn’t ignored your pain. He remembers your name, your family line, your history. He knows exactly where you are, and He’s already on the move.

Practical Application:

• If you feel stuck in Egypt… He sees you.
• If you’re hiding in Midian… He hasn’t forgotten you.
• If you’ve messed up like Moses… He can still use you.
• If you’ve cried out in the dark… He’s heard every word.

You might be in bondage today… But the God of the burning bush sees you, hears you, knows you, and He’s calling your name.

God still delivers. He still raises up. He still saves. Today, you can begin your Exodus.

Invitation:

If you want to make a decision to follow Jesus. Then join me and everyone else in the building as we pray out loud together. It’s not the prayer that saves you, but your faith, making Jesus Lord of your life. We don’t let anyone go on the journey alone. If you have faith in Jesus, then let’s join together as we pray…

Prayer of Salvation:

Jesus, I acknowledge that I need you

I confess that I have sinned against you

I believe that God raised you from the dead

And right now, by faith, I say “Jesus is Lord”

Thank you for forgiving me

By your grace I am saved

And by your power I am set free

Resources: Borrowing from Skip Heitzig, Warren Wiersbe, James Montgomery Boice, and additional insights from Nathan Finochio, Chris Palmer, and J. Alec Motyer