Exodus is a powerful book and one of the most blatant instances in the Old Testament that God sends Himself to His people. In chapter 3, it says that God sees the state of his people and the abuse that they endured at the hands of the Egyptians. In the place that they had previously found favor and blessings, they now endure forced servitude and disgrace. God hears the cries of their suffering and comes down to deliver them. He does this by commissioning Moses to be his voice and then sends him to proclaim God’s will and intentions toward His people.

“Then the Lord 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, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey…” (Exodus 3:7-8)

Yet, Exodus continues to show God sending himself to the Israelites. God becomes a tangible guide to his people in the form of a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. He sends food and water to sustain them in the desert. He gives a manual of holiness, which is called the law, to instruct them on how to be His so that they would know who He is and how to be His forever. He gives instructions for a tabernacle so that He could be among them. He is present and active in their lives.  

One of the reason this section of the Bible is pivotal to the history of salvation is because God came to be known as “deliverer.” So, throughout the Bible, when the people of God needed a deliver, this is the moment in history they pointed to so that their faith could be built for the present circumstance(1 Timothy 4:18, Psalms 50:15, Hebrews 11:24-30). God had set a precedence. He did not just give them wisdom or favor. He intervened. He sent himself.

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