Lesson 4: “By A Mighty Hand”

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Text Under Consideration: Exodus 1-19

Scriptural & Historical Context:

We have moved forward several centuries in our study from the events in lesson 3. Abraham lived around 2000 years before Jesus, and our best estimate is that the events of the Exodus took place around 1440 years before Jesus’ life. However, the events of the Exodus continue the narrative from the life of Abraham. Recall that God promised that Abraham’s descendants would become a great nation, inherit the land of Canaan and ultimately bless all families of the earth (Genesis 12.1-3,7). To assure Abraham that the promises would be fulfilled, the Lord made a covenant with the patriarch (Genesis 15.18). Now note the details God provided regarding the future of Abraham’s offspring: “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.” (Genesis 15:13–14, ESV)

The rest of Genesis records how Abraham and Sarah did have the promised son, Isaac then had twin sons named Esau and Jacob. The record focuses on Jacob, whose name would be changed to Israel (Genesis 32.28) and would have twelve sons. One of those sons, Joseph, was sold by his brothers into slavery, but would eventually rise to prominence in Egypt (Genesis 37; 41). Joseph understood this did not occur by accident: “And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.” (Genesis 45:7–8, ESV)

Genesis concludes with Jacob and his family leaving Canaan and settling in Egypt. While in Egypt Israel grew into a great nation (Exodus 1.7), fulfilling God’s first promise to Abraham. However, the Lord had also foretold that Abraham’s descendants would be afflicted (Genesis 15.13), which is how the book of Exodus begins: “Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph… they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens.” (Exodus 1.8,11).

Key Verses & Events:

• Israel oppressed in Egypt (Exodus 1).
• Moses is born, raised in Pharaoh’s house but flees when he kills an Egyptian (Exodus 2).
• The Lord appears to Moses in a burning bush; sends Moses and Aaron to bring Israel out of Egypt (Exodus 3-4).
• God demonstrates His power over the gods of Egypt by means of ten plagues; Israel’s exodus from Egypt takes place (Exodus 7-12).
• Israel crosses the Red Sea on dry land, but the army of Egypt is destroyed (Exodus 14).
• Moses leads Israel to Mt. Sinai, the same mountain where Moses saw the burning bush (Exodus 19).

The Story

1. Israel was powerless to free themselves — the Exodus was impossible from a human standpoint; deliverance had to come from outside.
2. God acted out of covenant faithfulness, not Israel’s merit — He heard their cries and “remembered His covenant” with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, which moved Him to act.
3. God’s power had to be demonstrated forcefully — Pharaoh would not relent without compulsion, so God struck Egypt with ten plagues to force his hand.
4. The plagues were a direct challenge to Egyptian gods — God’s power was displayed not just over nature but over Egypt’s entire religious and political system, including Pharaoh himself.
5. The innocent had to die for God to “pass over” Israel — God Himself went “out in the midst of Egypt,” and only the blood of innocent lambs could cause Him to pass over Israel and spare them from His wrath.
6. The Exodus was meant to produce faith and obedience in Israel — having witnessed what no other nation had ever seen, Israel was called to recognize there is no other God and respond by keeping His commands.
7. Israel failed to remember — almost immediately after their deliverance they complained and doubted, asking “Is the Lord among us or not?” — a failure that would repeat throughout their history.
8. The faithful in Israel always looked back to the Exodus — generations later, Daniel used it as the basis for his prayer, appealing to God’s “mighty hand” in Egypt as grounds for trusting Him to deliver again.
9. Past deliverance becomes the foundation for future hope — the Exodus functions not just as history but as theological assurance: what God has done, He can and will do again.

From the perspective of man, the Exodus could not take place. Israel was an enslaved nation and powerless to deliver themselves. But Israel’s deliverance was not a product of their strength, but of the Lord’s faithfulness: “During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.” (Exodus 2:23–25, ESV) Recall that God makes covenants to assure man that He will keep His word; God remembered His covenant with Abraham and was going to act to bring Israel out of Egypt.

But for God to fulfill His covenant promise, He would have to demonstrate great power. As He declared to Moses, “I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go.” (Exodus 3.19-20, ESV) God struck the Egyptians with a series of ten plagues, demonstrating His power over not only nature, but over the gods of the Egyptians and Pharaoh himself.

Significantly, Israel’s deliverance would occur only when the Lord Himself went “out in the midst of Egypt” to slay the firstborn of Egypt (Exodus 11.4-5) and for Israel to be spared from the wrath of God, the blood of innocent lambs would have to shed for the Lord to “pass over” and not destroy Israel (Exodus 12.13). The Lord fulfilled His covenant promise and in the process demonstrated that He alone is the Lord (see Exodus 14.17-18). 

God demonstrated His power in delivering Israel for multiple reasons. First, it proved to Egypt (and all the nations) that He is the Lord and that their gods and idols were nothing in comparison. Second, God’s mighty act of deliverance should have prompted faithfulness from Israel (see Deuteronomy 4.32-40). Israel was asked to consider that no other god had “ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation” (vs. 34), yet that is exactly what the Lord had done for Israel. Thus, they should consider that “the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other” (vs. 39) and respond by keeping “his statutes and his commandments” (vs. 40). As we will consider further in our next lesson, Israel was redeemed for a purpose; they were redeemed to be God’s special people (Exodus 19.4-5).

Sadly, Israel would demonstrate throughout her history that they did not remember how the Lord delivered them. That was demonstrated immediately following their exodus from Egypt when they complained about the lack of water and even wondered, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exodus 17.7). However, throughout the generations the faithful of Israel would always remember how the Lord delivered Israel from Egypt. Consider how Daniel, who lived over 700 years after the events of the Exodus, when praying to the Lord for the deliverance of his people from Babylon based his petition on the fact that the Lord “brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand” (Daniel 9.15). Daniel understood that the Lord’s past acts of deliverance were assurance that future deliverance was also possible!

For Further Consideration:

1. Israel delivered Israel by a mighty hand, meaning their salvation was a result of His might. How is this still true for our salvation (see Ephesians 2.1-10).
2. The blood of an innocent lamb had to be shed for the Lord to “pass over” Israel when He executed His judgment on the Egyptians. How is this truly fulfilled in Jesus (John 1.29).
3. Israel was to remember how the Lord rescued them and delivered them from bondage. How can we properly remember the deliverance God has given us in Christ?