Have you ever seen the beginning of a marathon? Last year, around 40,000 racers lined up en masse to run the London Marathon. Organizers advised runners ahead of time that those at the back of the pack may not cross the start line for 15 minutes after the signal to begin the race.

Now imagine what it must have been like as the Israelites left Egypt in the Exodus. Scholars agree that the crowd probably numbered well over 2 million people. How do 2 million people just leave?

And the Israelites weren’t merely going for a 26-mile excursion; they were leaving Egypt for good. They took with them every possession they owned, including food, household items, animals and carts. Accomplishing the logistics of such an enormous mass escape from bondage is one of many displays of God’s power in Passover and the Exodus.

Beyond their own things, the Israelites also carried some of Egypt’s riches. God had told the Israelites to ask their Egyptian neighbors for valuables. They asked, and Egypt gave. By then, all Egypt was weary of the trouble they endured because of Pharaoh’s obstinance against the Jewish God determined to free His people. Also, Egypt was grief-stricken because each of its families had just suffered the death of its firstborn.

God had spared the Israelites who had followed His instructions from this tenth and final plague. They were to sacrifice a year-old lamb and brush its blood on the doorframes of their homes. When the angel of death came over the land that night, he passed over every house covered by the blood of the sacrifice, sparing them the death of their firstborn. The next day, Moses led the people out of 400 years of bondage.

Passover is the most important holiday in Jewish history. Through this watershed event, God reaffirmed His covenant with Israel’s forefathers and called the Jewish people out of slavery to be a nation unto Himself.

Passover is important to God. He commanded the people to observe its remembrance every year – forever. He wants all generations of Jewish people forevermore to know what He did in that magnificent event.

“This day is to be a memorial for you. You are to keep it as a feast to Adonai. Throughout your generations you are to keep it as an eternal ordinance” (Exodus 12:14).

He instructed us what to say when our children ask us about Passover’s annual observance.

“Now when it happens that your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ You are to say, ‘It is the sacrifice of Adonai’s Passover, because He passed over the houses of Bnei-Yisrael in Egypt, when He struck down the Egyptians, but spared our households’” (Exodus 12:26–27).

Woven into Passover is a powerful picture of another “sacrifice of Adonai’s Passover” – Yeshua (Jesus). The New Covenant calls Jesus “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The apostle Paul identifies Jesus as “our Passover” in 1 Corinthians 5:7. With His sacrifice, Jesus delivered all those who place their trust in Him from bondage to sin that had condemned us to spiritual death (Romans 6:15–18).

“But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching under which you were placed; and after you were set free from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness” (Romans 6:17–18).

From the plagues to deliverance from death to the mass departure of 2 million people, God’s power was on display for all of Israel and Egypt to see. By His mighty hand, He freed His people from bondage and placed an image of His eternal redemptive plan in the account of Passover.

It is Adonai’s Passover, a day to remember forever.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of realities not seen. —Hebrews 11:1

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and shalom in trusting, so you may overflow with hope in the power of the Ruach ha-Kodesh (Holy Spirit). —Romans 15:13

Stop for a moment and think. What are you hoping to be delivered from at this time? It might be something specific, like global pandemic. It might be something more abstract but every bit as real and pervasive, like fear. The book of Exodus has so much to show us about hope amid whatever we are going through and asking deliverance from. The God who delivered the children of Israel and empowered His servant and friend Moses is the same God Who has hope for us today.

Starting tomorrow, journey with us over the next seven days as we explore the theme of Hope that Delivers: Thoughts from Exodus. May these short devotionals and Scriptures stir your hope and build your faith. May we receive a fresh awareness of the goodness of God and place our hope in Him anew.

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me." 

Exodus 20:2-3 (NIV)

How did the children of Israel find themselves in flagrant sin and under God’s weighty wrath in the second half of Exodus 32? No doubt by way of a long slippery slope! Their propensity for idolatry is revealed in numerous passages, including the simple things mentioned in Exodus 16:3 (meat, bread, Egypt). By the time we get to the story of the golden calf, their hope was no longer in God. They forgot the Faithful One who delivered them from Pharaoh and parted the Red Sea so they could pass through safely on dry ground. Instead they asked for new gods (the former gods of Egypt) to lead them. The idols they decided to worship would only lead them to death!

Even after His righteous judgement for their sin, God went on to show them mercy. He gave Moses a fresh promise that His Presence would go with them. And in chapter 34 He gives a revelation of His character and holiness that is regarded as sacred to this day by Jewish people around the world (“The Thirteen Attributes” of God in Exodus 34:6-8). We too are susceptible to idolatry, placing our hope in that which is false instead of in Him who is true. Yet the Lord in His faithfulness continues to reveal Himself to us as worthy of our praise, worship and hope. He will never fail.

Where in the Word: Exodus 32:1–8; 31–35; 33:14; 34:6–8

Finding hope:

• PONDER: How are your current circumstances revealing false idols in which you may be finding comfort or placing your hope?
• PRAY: God’s kindness leads us to repentance, and honest confession and repentance brings renewed awareness of His forgiveness. Talk things over with Him now.
• RESPONSE: Spend some time in God’s presence, renewing your hope in Him through worship.

Something more to talk over with God: Colossians 1:12–20

Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: 7 Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.’

8 “Then, just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.’

“I knew that this was the word of the Lord; 9 so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver. 10 I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales. 11 I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy— 12 and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.

13 “In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: 14 ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. 15 For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’

...

25 And though the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians, you, Sovereign Lord, say to me, ‘Buy the field with silver and have the transaction witnessed.’”

26 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 27 “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?

Jeremiah 32:6-15, 25-27

Shabbat Shalom! On this Saturday – a day when Jewish families and communities around the world cease from their work and remember that they do not belong to their to-do lists or to the systems of this world, but rather to the Lord – may this passage of scripture and these words inspire your hearts to ‘dream big’ during a time when the thinking of those around us may be very narrow. This portion of Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry occurred when he was literally imprisoned, and when the city of Jerusalem around Him was being ravaged by the Babylonian armies just as the Lord had warned. Houses were being burned, families were being murdered or carried away captive, and the outlook was only disaster and loss. No doubt, the thinking of the Israelites around Jeremiah was focused on survival and, at best, on minimizing the human and financial loss they would experience due to the inevitable unrelenting disaster which had come upon the city and the nation. And for good reason! All the indicators said this was the time to hunker down and stay alive.

Sound familiar?

Yet, in the middle of this grim scene, the Lord asks Jeremiah to make an extravagant investment. And to do so in a formal and public way in the audience of his companions who were focused only on survival. And not only that, but to document the extravagant investment in such a way as it would be remembered by those who would come in later generations. To purchase a plot of land – at a time when land was being urgently sold if not violently destroyed – as a prophetic declaration that the promises of God to rebuild and restore would surely come to pass despite the immediate disaster.

The humanity of Jeremiah in this passage should bring us comfort. Jeremiah, ‘knowing’ that the entire real estate transaction is from the Lord, still cries out to Him for understanding. Such a large investment during such dark times? ‘Lord, I am obeying what You told me to do…but why now, in the midst of this crisis?’ God answers Jeremiah’s question with another, and far more important, question: ‘Behold (Hinei – Look and see, Jeremiah!) I am the God of all flesh – the Creator of every person on the face of the earth – whether they acknowledge it or not. Is there anything too hard for Me?’

The answer to Jeremiah’s doubts regarding the radical obedience and sacrificial investment God called him to in the midst of societal disaster was the nature and power of God Himself. And the answer was, of course, a resounding ‘No.’ Nothing is too hard for the Lord. The Lord proceeds to confirm to Jeremiah what he already saw around him—that death and loss would certainly visit the city and the people – but that the Lord, the God of all flesh, would turn the situation around for good for His people. Better days were on their way! Days when a people, humble and repentant, would remain and would return, and that what was lost would be restored.

Jeremiah’s public real estate transaction was a radical declaration to those around him of his HOPE that nothing was too difficult for His God, and that where others could see only to the horizon of loss and chaos, Jeremiah could see days ahead of heavenly promises fulfilled, of revival, and of restoration.

At a time when the counsel of this world is largely (and understandably) to hunker down and survive dark times, what extravagant act of hope and faith is God asking you to make? To what counter-intuitive, counter-cultural act of faith-filled obedience is God calling you? What investment – either financial investment, relational investment, time investment in an estranged or lonely family member, Kingdom investment – is God asking us to make which will demonstrate to those around us that we fully believe that this is not the end, that God has promises yet to fulfill, that he is ABLE to restore what has been lost, and that there are dreams the Father has placed in your heart for His glory which have yet to be realized. Let’s pray for strength and grace in the waiting, for faith for radical obedience in the most difficult of times, and let’s rest this Shabbat in HOPE because there is nothing too difficult for our God.

I am with you and will save you,’
    declares the Lord.
‘Though I completely destroy all the nations
    among which I scatter you,
    I will not completely destroy you.
I will discipline you but only in due measure;
    I will not let you go entirely unpunished.’

12 “This is what the Lord says:

“‘Your wound is incurable,
    your injury beyond healing.
13 There is no one to plead your cause,
    no remedy for your sore,
    no healing for you.

...

But I will restore you to health
    and heal your wounds,’
declares the Lord,
‘because you are called an outcast,
    Zion for whom no one cares.’

Jeremiah 30:11-13, 17 (NIV)

Perhaps the most unsettling fact (and one which should drive all believers to a place of greater dependence upon God alone), is that, as of yet, there is no remedy for coronavirus. No cure, no vaccine, no simple treatment which reduces symptoms or complications. The pervasiveness of the pandemic, and the lack of any surefire way to dodge sickness, has us feeling – to whatever degree – vulnerable, anxious, and hesitant to accept the reality that we need answers we just do not have.

In this passage of Jeremiah, we encounter both the kindness and the severity of God. We, as did Israel, find confidence in the nearness of God – mighty to save, mighty to restore, mighty to regather. Mighty to bring about divine justice on His enemies and those who had persecuted His people in their time of distress. Faithful to care as a trustworthy Shepherd for those whom He has called His own. But God brings Israel face-to-face with a harsh reality: Even in the midst of the promises, in the midst of their election, in the midst of God’s nearness, they are incurably ill. They have a disease with no remedy, and there is no one who can help. Those who courted Israel in the good times are nowhere to be found. And, for her sin, she now sits alone, wounded, ill, with no earthly hope of recovering. The Father makes it abundantly clear in this passage that this incurable disease – this seemingly fatal wound – has come upon Israel because of the desperate state of her own sinfulness.

Like Israel, this time of great uncertainty, of the shaking of the nations, and of the physical presence of an as-of-yet unpreventable disease, can leave us feeling helpless and even despairing. But, in the providence of God who works all things together for good for those who press into Him in love, this can be an opportunity to reflect with truth AND hope on a deeper reality. The truth is, I have an incurable disease. And, so do you! And, so does everyone around you. It is the sinful nature of my flesh. It is the reality that, in myself, there is no righteousness. The diagnosis that, left to my own, apart from God’s intervention, I would have been left to die from the pandemic of sin. We are all subject to an incurable illness for which there is a 100% death rate…

…but the HOPE is that there is One who can, and desires to, ‘restore health’ to Israel and to me. To heal all my wounds and free me from this disease. God was able to offer help, hope, and a cure, to Israel’s incurable disease because He was and is mighty to save and because He knew (as we will see tomorrow in Jeremiah 31) that He would offer a perfect Lamb – His Son Yeshua – whose blood would be the balm and whose own wounds would bring healing and relief from the incurable disease of sin that results in death.

We believe that God, in His mercy and longsuffering, can and will intervene in the coronavirus pandemic. And we pray daily to that end. May we also remember though, that we can believe this BECAUSE of the larger cure He has already brought forth. The cure for sin and death – for Israel if she will receive it, and for you and for me! While we don’t yet see the ‘cure’ or the end of this physical pandemic, we can take hope and rest assured that we have the cure – by His grace through faith – for the greater disease for which there was no cure. And we can share this cure, this hope, this confidence, this relief, this transformative message, with friends, family, and coworkers as they ask the deeper questions during this time. Take Hope!