Lessons from Exodus for New Covenant Believers
From the call of Moses from the burning bush to God’s deliverance from Egypt to the long journey through the wilderness, the book of Exodus is replete with lessons for Christ followers.
- God sometimes negotiates with trusted, faithful leaders (see also Abraham in Genesis 18). When Moses expressed his feelings of inadequacy to accomplish the mission God assigned him, God provided powerful signs to prove Moses’ legitimacy and appointed his brother Aaron as a ministry partner. We can ask for God’s help, and he will empower and equip us to work out his plans.
- Practitioners of “magic arts” can deceive people with counterfeit supernatural phenomena. The magicians of Egypt were able to turn rivers to blood and sprout frogs everywhere after God did. Then their magic ran out. We mustn’t allow ourselves to be taken in by imposters who do not serve the one true God. Their power is unreliable and dangerous.
- When God brought judgment on Egypt, his primary purpose was to display to all the world that he is LORD. This is still at the core of everything God does. God desires that every person hears, believes the truth about him, and is saved (1 Tim. 2:4).
- Among the curses humans can experience is a darkness that can be felt (10:21). Only God’s people in Goshen were spared this pervasive, frightening darkness. A palpable darkness afflicts those who refuse to submit to God, in this life, in hell, or both.
5. God rescues and leads a mixed multitude. The hordes that escaped Egypt were not only Hebrew slaves; there were also Egyptians, servants, and members of miscellaneous ethnic groups mixed in. The kingdom of God is comprised of humans from every tribe, tongue, and nation. Whosoever believes (Jn. 3:16).
6. An appropriate response to witnessing God’s glory and goodness is singing exuberant songs of praise. Miriam led praise in music and dance after passing through the Red Sea and watching the army of Egypt drown. It is good to acknowledge God and all that he does in our lives by lifting our hearts in praise.
7. Even a leader who sins grievously can be forgiven and remain in ministry if the LORD chooses to allow this. While Moses was on the mountain with God, Aaron conspired with the people to make a golden calf and bow down in worship before it. He continued to be God’s anointed priest. We can’t always know or understand God’s will in someone else’s life and ministry.
- We should not burn ourselves out caring for people and solving their problems. Moses was trying to handle every dispute and problem by himself until his father-in-law wisely suggested he delegate much of the work to other capable men. We are wise to share burdens of leadership for the benefit of all.
- When we have wronged another person in any way, we must accept the consequences and seek restitution to make it right. This is the essence of the second greatest commandment- love your neighbor as yourself. Believers should be quick to take responsibility for wrongdoing, intentional or unintentional, and seek to make amends and restitution to those we’ve injured.
- God is displeased when we speak curses over our leaders. When the people grumbled against Moses and Aaron, God was angry and took it personally. It is God who raises up leaders, and we are called to respect them for the positions they hold.
- God desires a tabernacle on earth where he can dwell in our midst. He went to great lengths to design and have craftsmen build a worship space for his nomadic people to worship him. Being filled with the Holy Spirit, we are now his tabernacles, worshiping him in Spirit and truth (Jn. 4:23).
- God empowers and gifts people to create things in his name for glory and beauty. Bezalel was an artist who exemplified excellence, intelligence, spiritual wisdom, and skill. God calls us to use every creative gift with excellence to glorify him.
- Sometimes God does the whole job, and sometimes we do the job with him. God fashioned the first two tablets of stone and inscribed the commandments on them. After Moses smashed them to pieces, God told him to bring two tablets to him so he could rewrite the commandments on them. We must be alert to opportunities to partner with God and participate fully as he directs.
- When God stirs the hearts and spirits of people, there is no need to convince them to contribute to God’s work. The people brought so much material for the Tabernacle that Moses had to tell them to stop bringing it. God stirs the hearts and spirits of people with love for him. When he moves, leaders don’t need to beg, cajole or manipulate people to contribute to God’s work.
