LESSON SEVEN
Israel’s Oppression and Moses’ Call
Genesis introduced the first key movements in Scripture’s story: the creation of God’s good world, the fall of humanity into sin, and God’s promise to send a conquering savior to restore his blessing to the world. God advanced this promise with his covenant to Abraham: God would make him a nation, he would give them the land of Canaan, and they would be blessed in order to be a blessing to all nations. Worldwide blessing would come through Abraham’s line—the people of Israel.
But Egypt’s king enslaved and oppressed Israel. Weighed down with heavy burdens, God’s people cried out to the Lord. How would he fulfill his promises? How would he show himself to be the faithful God who is with and for his people?
As God works to deliver Israel from slavery in Egypt, he is providing a picture of how he will one day rescue people from the deepest of problems—the power of Satan, the grip of sin, and the punishment of death.
As we find the answers to these questions in the exodus story, we learn that what God does for Israel sets a pattern for a greater rescue to come. As God works to deliver Israel from slavery in Egypt, he is providing a picture of how he will one day rescue people from the deepest of problems—the power of Satan, the grip of sin, and the punishment of death.