The Book of Exodus tells how God rescues his people Israel from slavery in Egypt. At the end of the book of Genesis, Jacob’s family had come to Egypt at the invitation of Joseph, one of Jacob’s sons, who had risen to prominence in Egypt. At the beginning of Exodus, we discover that the descendants of the family of Jacob have become a nation. But having arrived in Egypt as free people, the opening chapter of Exodus describes how the Israelites are enslaved by the Egyptians.

There is much in this story that resonates with current news headlines. In Exodus we find people enslaved, we read of genocide and ethnic cleansing, and a multitude of people fleeing oppression, making a dangerous journey through the sea on their way to a new, promised land.

In Exodus we read more about the God introduced in the book of Genesis, the God who creates and sustains life, and who makes humanity in his own image. We learn how this God is concerned about the suffering of his people, and how he comes to rescue them from their oppressive circumstances. Part of this revelation is that it is God, and not Pharaoh and the false gods of Egypt, that control the world. We learn too that this God opposes the evil that denying and opposing God always results in, evil that oppresses, enslaves, and that damages God’s good gift of life. 

As we read and study this incredible story may we come to know more of this amazing God and the life and salvation he offers.