The God of Israel in Exodus 1-18
The expression “God of Israel” occurs only once in Exodus 1-18, but these chapters are full of who this God is and what He does for the Israel to whom He has so powerfully, graciously, and faithfully attached Himself.
1. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
First, the God of Israel is identified as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (3:6, 15-16). He is identified with them because He made a covenant with them. That very covenant is the reason He moves to deliver Israel from Egypt (2:24). As the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, a continuity is maintained: the God of Israel who is about to deliver them from Egypt is the same God Almighty who worked so powerfully in the lives of the patriarchs. “This is my God, and I will praise Him; my father’s God, and I will lift Him up” (15:2b). Being the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob also suggests that He is the living God. Hundreds of years later, He is still God. That He is still their God also implies that they—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—are still alive, as Jesus deduces in his discussion with the Sadducees: “He is not the God of the dead but of the living” (Matt. 22:32).
2. His name is Yahweh, The One Who Is.
Second, these chapters deepen our understanding of Yahweh (or Jehovah) as the name of the God of Israel. God has multiple titles or appellations: God, God most high, God almighty, Lord, Lord of hosts, and many others. But He has only one name—Yahweh—and that name is clearly revealed in the Exodus from Egypt in a way that it had not been revealed before. The name Yahweh is related to the Hebrew verb of being. That’s why God explained His name to Moses at the burning bush as “I am that I am” (3:14). Essentially, the name Yahweh means “He is.” And if He is, then He is always the same. He is what He was and He is what He will be. A key point in God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt is that the same God who made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is still alive hundreds of years later and able to fulfill the promises He made to them. “I have remembered My covenant; therefore, tell the children of Israel, I am Yahweh, and I will bring you out from under the forced labor of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from bondage to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment” (6:5b-6).
3. He humbled Pharoah and the land of Egypt.
Third, Yahweh, the God of Israel humbles Pharaoh and brings Egypt to its knees. The Egyptians themselves voice their concern to Pharaoh, “Do you not yet realize that Egypt is destroyed?” (10:7). Egypt was destroyed because of the ten plagues that the God of Israel brought upon it because of the obstinacy of Pharaoh’s heart. “I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go except by a powerful hand” (3:19). God’s was the powerful hand that freed Israel from Pharaoh and from their bondage (see 13:3, 9, 14, 16). Every year, Israel was to commemorate the Passover, when God struck down every firstborn in Egypt but passed over the houses of the Israelites (12:24-27). All the might of ancient Egypt proved no match for Israel’s God. Even Moses’ father-in-law Jethro comes to faith in Israel’s God as a result of the acts of great power poured out on Egypt: “now I know that Yahweh is greater than all the gods of Egypt” (18:11).
4. He brought Israel out of Egypt.
Fourth, the God of Israel not only humbles Pharaoh and all Egypt with him but brings Israel out of Egypt, just as He promised Moses at the burning bush. God’s action in bringing Israel out of Egypt is frequently heralded in the Old Testament as one of His greatest works on behalf of His people. “Out of Egypt, I called My son” (Hos. 11:1). What God did in bringing Israel out of Egypt and delivering them from the Egyptian army at the Red Sea was intended by Him to foster undying, undeviating confidence and trust in Him. If He could deliver them from Egypt, then He can provide for them during their travels and He can surely bring them into the land He promised to their forefathers. Too often in its history, Israel forgot the realities they celebrated so joyfully after their escape at the Red Sea, “Who is like you, O Yahweh, among the gods? Who like you is glorious in holiness, being revered with praises, doing wonders? You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them. You will lead with your faithful love this people you redeemed. You will guide them by your strength to your holy habitation” (15:11-13).
1. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
First, the God of Israel is identified as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (3:6, 15-16). He is identified with them because He made a covenant with them. That very covenant is the reason He moves to deliver Israel from Egypt (2:24). As the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, a continuity is maintained: the God of Israel who is about to deliver them from Egypt is the same God Almighty who worked so powerfully in the lives of the patriarchs. “This is my God, and I will praise Him; my father’s God, and I will lift Him up” (15:2b). Being the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob also suggests that He is the living God. Hundreds of years later, He is still God. That He is still their God also implies that they—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—are still alive, as Jesus deduces in his discussion with the Sadducees: “He is not the God of the dead but of the living” (Matt. 22:32).
2. His name is Yahweh, The One Who Is.
Second, these chapters deepen our understanding of Yahweh (or Jehovah) as the name of the God of Israel. God has multiple titles or appellations: God, God most high, God almighty, Lord, Lord of hosts, and many others. But He has only one name—Yahweh—and that name is clearly revealed in the Exodus from Egypt in a way that it had not been revealed before. The name Yahweh is related to the Hebrew verb of being. That’s why God explained His name to Moses at the burning bush as “I am that I am” (3:14). Essentially, the name Yahweh means “He is.” And if He is, then He is always the same. He is what He was and He is what He will be. A key point in God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt is that the same God who made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is still alive hundreds of years later and able to fulfill the promises He made to them. “I have remembered My covenant; therefore, tell the children of Israel, I am Yahweh, and I will bring you out from under the forced labor of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from bondage to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment” (6:5b-6).
3. He humbled Pharoah and the land of Egypt.
Third, Yahweh, the God of Israel humbles Pharaoh and brings Egypt to its knees. The Egyptians themselves voice their concern to Pharaoh, “Do you not yet realize that Egypt is destroyed?” (10:7). Egypt was destroyed because of the ten plagues that the God of Israel brought upon it because of the obstinacy of Pharaoh’s heart. “I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go except by a powerful hand” (3:19). God’s was the powerful hand that freed Israel from Pharaoh and from their bondage (see 13:3, 9, 14, 16). Every year, Israel was to commemorate the Passover, when God struck down every firstborn in Egypt but passed over the houses of the Israelites (12:24-27). All the might of ancient Egypt proved no match for Israel’s God. Even Moses’ father-in-law Jethro comes to faith in Israel’s God as a result of the acts of great power poured out on Egypt: “now I know that Yahweh is greater than all the gods of Egypt” (18:11).
4. He brought Israel out of Egypt.
Fourth, the God of Israel not only humbles Pharaoh and all Egypt with him but brings Israel out of Egypt, just as He promised Moses at the burning bush. God’s action in bringing Israel out of Egypt is frequently heralded in the Old Testament as one of His greatest works on behalf of His people. “Out of Egypt, I called My son” (Hos. 11:1). What God did in bringing Israel out of Egypt and delivering them from the Egyptian army at the Red Sea was intended by Him to foster undying, undeviating confidence and trust in Him. If He could deliver them from Egypt, then He can provide for them during their travels and He can surely bring them into the land He promised to their forefathers. Too often in its history, Israel forgot the realities they celebrated so joyfully after their escape at the Red Sea, “Who is like you, O Yahweh, among the gods? Who like you is glorious in holiness, being revered with praises, doing wonders? You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them. You will lead with your faithful love this people you redeemed. You will guide them by your strength to your holy habitation” (15:11-13).
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