Exodus 6:6-8 6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the L ORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.

7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the L ORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. Exodus 6:6-8

8 And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the L ORD.’” Exodus 6:6-8

Genesis 1 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.

Revelation 13:1 And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. Luke 22:53 Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour--when darkness reigns."

Genesis 1 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.

Genesis 1 14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made two great lights-- the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.

Genesis 1 17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning-- the fourth day.

God is THE light. Since the beginning he has been bringing light out of darkness and order out of chaos.

1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

The Exodus During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. Exodus 2:23

The Exodus Then the L ORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings… Exodus 3:7 (ESV)

The Exodus “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the L ORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the L ORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the L ORD.’” Exodus 6:6-8

Redemption Political The Israelites in Egypt were an immigrant, ethnic minority people. God acted to liberate the Israelites from the political injustice of their situation and in the course of time establish them as a nation in their own right.

Redemption Political Economic They were worked as slaves and their labor was not for themselves, but for the economic benefit of their oppressors. In Exodus 6:8 God promises he would give the Israelites a land of their own.

Redemption Political Economic Social The Israelites were stripped of their human rights in Egypt. Pharaoh embarked on a state sponsored genocide. When God brings them out they will form a new community in which the sanctity of human life and the preservation of social justice are among the key elements in their social and legal structures.

Redemption Political Economic Social Spiritual The Israelites slavery to pharaoh is a massive hindrance to their worship and service to the living God.

Two Pit Falls Spiritualizing the Exodus God’s redemption for us is redemption from sin only. Politicizing the Exodus Every act of liberation is redemptive and saving.

Mark 4: That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?“

Mark 4: He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" 41 They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"

Israel was Unfaithful They worshiped other gods. Exodus 32 They worshiped without justice Isaiah 58

1 "Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. 3 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?'

Isaiah 58 "Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. 4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. 5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the L ORD ?

Isaiah 58 6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? 8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the L ORD will be your rear guard.

Israel was Unfaithful They worshiped other gods. Exodus 32 They worshiped without justice Isaiah 58 They were exiled because of their sin

Israel’s problem was not just that they were slaves and ought to be free. It was that they were slaves to the wrong master and needed to be reclaimed and restored to their proper Lord. - Chris Wright

Isaiah 43 1 But now, this is what the L ORD says-- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. 3 For I am the L ORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior