Basic Message of Hope
D-5: The Liberating Power of Love
Title: THE LIBERATING POWER AND LOVE OF GOD
Space for
Notes:
(Yours and ours)
Theme: The deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt demonstrates
God’s power
Bible Basis: Genesis 15:13-15 CEV; Exodus 1-12*
Introduction:
We have been learning what the Bible says about the Israelites, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Israelites (or Hebrews) were slaves
in Egypt for 400 years. The kings of Egypt were cruel to them. God saw the
suffering of his people, and raised up a man named Moses to free them.
Moses’ story is found in Exodus 1-12 in the Bible. I will tell this story now.
God ordered Moses to speak to the king of Egypt. Moses told the king that
the Israelites needed to worship God in the desert. He told the king to let the
Israelites leave Egypt to do this. But the king refused. He said the Israelites
were his slaves. They could not leave. He told them to get back to work!
Moses warned the king that God would send many terrible plagues** on
Egypt if the king disobeyed God. But the king laughed at them and told the
Israelites to work harder. He made their work as slaves more difficult than
before. So God sent nine plagues on Egypt:
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Moses turned the water of the Nile river into blood. Many of the fish
in that great river died.
God covered the land of Egypt with frogs, gnats and flies. But these
pests did not harm the Israelites.
God caused the Egyptians’ animals to die. But the animals of the
Israelites did not die.
God made boils (sores) appear on the skin of the Egyptians. But the
Israelites did not get boils.
God made hail* rain from the sky on the Egyptians. But it did not
hail on the Israelites.
God covered Egypt with locusts which ate the crops. But they did not
eat the Israelites’ crops.
God caused a deep darkness to fall on Egypt for three days. But the
Israelites had sunlight.
* Exodus 1-6 tell of
Moses’ birth, the
slavery of the Israelites and the time
God called Moses.
Exodus 7-11 tell of
the ten plagues God
sent on Egypt. Exodus 12 tells of the
Passover and the
Exodus (departure)
of the Israelites
from Egypt.
**Plagues are any
diseases or disasters
that harm or kill a
large number of
people.
* Hail is rain frozen
into little ‘stones’
made of ice. It
harms crops and
animals.
Try to imagine the annoying and destructive impact of these plagues! The
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Basic Message of Hope
D-5: The Liberating Power of Love
Egyptian people suffered greatly.
Before each plague Moses went before the king. He told the king to let the
Israelites go to worship God. But the stubborn king refused. He spoke
harshly to Moses. He was defiant. He said to Moses, “Get out and stay out!
If you ever come back, you’re dead!”* Even after all of these plagues the
king did not listen to Moses.
Each of these plagues was God’s way of mocking Egyptian gods. The
Egyptians had frog gods, locust gods, sun gods, gods that protected the Nile
river and gods that protected crops. God was showing everyone that those
gods were not real. Only the God of the Bible has power to control animals,
stop the sun’s light or protect crops!
After the first nine plagues, God was ready to send the tenth and final
plague. It was the worst plague of all. Listen to this account in the Bible:
Moses went to the king and said:
I have come to let you know what the LORD is going to do. About
midnight he will go through the land of Egypt, and wherever he goes,
the first-born son in every family will die. Your own son will die, and
so will the son of the lowest slave woman. Even the first-born males
of cattle will die. Everywhere in Egypt there will be loud crying.
Nothing like this has ever happened before or will ever happen
again.
But there won’t be any need for the Israelites to cry. Things will be
so quiet that not even a dog will be heard barking. Then you Egyptians will know that the LORD is good to the Israelites, even while he
punishes you. Your leaders will come and bow down, begging me to
take my people and leave your country. Then we will leave.
Moses was very angry; he turned and left the king.
Exodus 11:4-8, CEV
God instructed the Israelites to prepare for this plague. He told the
Israelites to sacrifice a lamb in each of their homes and cover the sides of
the doorways of their homes with the lamb’s blood. God also told them
to eat the meat of the lamb in a special meal called the Passover. They
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* Exodus 10:28.
Basic Message of Hope
D-5: The Liberating Power of Love
must eat it quickly because that same night they would leave Egypt.
While they were eating they must wear clothes that they would wear for
a journey.
This is the Bible record. The Lord is speaking through Moses:
That same night I will pass through Egypt and kill the first-born
son in every family and the first-born male of all animals. I am
the LORD, and I will punish the gods of Egypt. The blood on the
houses will show me where you live, and when I see the blood, I
will pass over you. Then you won’t be bothered by the terrible
disasters I will bring on Egypt.
Remember this day and celebrate it each year as a festival in my
honor.
After you have entered the country promised to you by the LORD,
you and your children must continue to celebrate Passover each
year. Your children will ask you, “What are we celebrating?”
And you will answer, “The Passover animal is killed to honor the
LORD. We do these things because on that night long ago the
LORD passed over the homes of our people in Egypt. He killed the
first-born sons of the Egyptians, but he saved our children from
death.”
At midnight the LORD killed the first-born son of every Egyptian
family, from the son of the king to the son of every prisoner in jail.
He also killed the first-born male of every animal that belonged to
the Egyptians.
That night the king, his officials, and everyone else in Egypt got up
and started crying bitterly. In every Egyptian home, someone was
dead.
During the night the king sent for Moses and Aaron and told them,
“Get your people out of my country and leave us alone! Go and
worship the LORD, as you have asked. Take your sheep, goats, and
cattle, and get out. But ask your God to be kind to me.”
The Israelites had already done what Moses had told them to do.
They had gone to their Egyptian neighbors and asked for gold and
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Basic Message of Hope
D-5: The Liberating Power of Love
silver and for clothes. The LORD had made the Egyptians friendly
toward the people of Israel, and they gave them whatever they asked
for. In this way they carried away the wealth of the Egyptians when
they left Egypt.
Exodus 12:12-14, 24-27, 29-32, 35-36, CEV
God freed the people of Israel from their slavery in Egypt! The Israelites left
Egypt and never went back. They followed God to the land God promised to
give to Abraham’s descendants.
In this story we learn about God’s power.
1. God has power over all ‘gods.’ The Egyptians turned to their gods
for protection, but their gods could not stop the one, true God. God
controls the whole world: frogs, flies, sickness, crops, sunlight, even
life and death.
2. God has power over all nations. The king of Egypt was the greatest
leader of the greatest nation in the world. But he was powerless to
stop God.
3. God has power to protect and free his people. God sent the plagues
but the plagues did not harm the Israelites. God protected them. God
also powerfully freed the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt. They
left Egypt with their hands full from the gifts the Egyptians gave
them. God loves his people and can do anything to help them. Have
you put your trust in God’s saving power?
The Passover is an illustration of God’s salvation. Today our lamb is not
an animal but Jesus himself. The Bible says that Jesus is now the ‘Passover
lamb’ of God.* He died on a cross to suffer God’s punishment for our sin.**
His death protects us from God’s judgment just like the lamb’s blood
protected the Israelites from the angel in Egypt. God loves us so much he
gave us a way to escape his judgment for our sins.
Christians today celebrate Jesus’ protection with a joyful meal just like the
Israelites celebrated the Passover meal. The meal Christians celebrate is
called the Lord’s Supper. Jesus told his followers to celebrate the Lord’s
Supper until he returns from heaven.* The Lord’s Supper is a celebration of
God’s love for us. It is our way of thanking God for sending his Son Jesus to
die for us.
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* John 1:29, 1 Corinthians 5:7
** 1 Peter 3:18;
Romans 4:25;
Colossians 1:22
* 1 Corinthians
11:23-26.
Basic Message of Hope
D-5: The Liberating Power of Love
Conclusion:
What a comfort to know how powerful God is! He is able to protect and
save us from oppression and evil powers. Let us now thank God for his
power, love and protection.
Prayer:
Dear God of Moses, I thank you for being such a powerful God. I thank
you for using your great power to show your great love to me. I love you,
too. I want you to deliver me from sin and protect me from evil. In Jesus’
name, Amen.
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