At the beginning of the book of Exodus it might appear that God’s covenant promises to Abraham have amounted to nothing.  However it is on the basis of these promises that God brings his people out of Egypt (2:23-25; 6:1-6).  In doing this he reveals his character as being one who is absolutely faithful to his covenant commitment.  He is the LORD, the covenant keeping God.

When I was a child I was fascinated by the film, “Escape from Alcatraz,” the story of one man’s bid for freedom from the famous island prison. More recently was the “Shawshank Redemption,” a film that is well worth watching. Perhaps the most loved film in this genre is “The Great Escape,” staring Steve McQueen, and based on a 1943 breakout from a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp.
In each of these films the escape depends on the ingenuity of the escapees and a certain amount of luck. The escape that we are looking at in this chapter is entirely different, it doesn’t depend on the escapees or on luck—God orchestrates the whole thing! As for the size of this escape, this is not about the freedom of just one individual or a small group but of a whole nation.
Introduction (Chapters 1-2)
In the last sermon we looked at the promise/covenant that God made with Abraham. There we claimed that this promise forms the backbone of the whole of the Old Testament. But as we read the opening chapters of Exodus we might think that God has forgotten this promise. Abraham’s descendants have not become a great nation (although they are multiplying in number) and they have not yet taken possession of the promised land, indeed they are not even in the promised land. As their stay in Egypt turned into slavery it must have seemed that fulfilment of God’s promises is becoming less and less likely.
Yet, as we noted in the last chapter, the circumstances that stand in opposition to God’s promises merely serve to underline that their fulfilment can only be achieved by the supernatural power of God. In the Exodus we will see the LORD free his helpless people with “an outstretched arm and mighty acts of judgement” (6:6).
The situation for the slaves goes from bad to worse when the Pharaoh orders the killing of all the Hebrew baby boys that are born. It is against this background that we read of someone who will have a special place in this story. Through the ministry of Moses God will redeem his people. In this sense the role he plays reveals and foreshadows the nature and work of Christ. When we read of how Moses was placed among the reeds, found by Pharaoh’s daughter, given to his mother to nurse, and later adopted by the princess we are witnessing the “overruling of the powers opposed to his kingdom so that they cannot hurt the one chosen to mediate God’s plan of salvation.”
Moses is given a Hebrew and an Egyptian upbringing in preparation for his ministry. The next stage of his preparation will be in Midian, where he takes refuge after killing an Egyptian. However, the end of chapter 2 brings us back to Egypt. Verse 23-25:
During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.
Of course, this does not mean that God ever forgot the covenant, “but rather that he is about to act on the basis of these promises.” What we are about to witness in the book of Exodus is God’s covenant in action.
I AM WHO I AM (Chapters 3-6)
God begins the rescue operation by appearing to Moses in a burning bush at Horeb (another name for Sinai). He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (verse 6)—who in grace made his covenant with them. He is about to act upon that covenant by freeing his people from Egypt.
He commissions Moses: “So now, go, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt” (verse 10).
But what if the Israelites do not believe Moses when he returns to Egypt and claims to be God’s chosen for this task? God reassures him on two grounds. Firstly, Moses will identify the God who has spoken to him as “I AM” and as the God of their fathers (3:14-16). Secondly, Moses is given some miraculous signs which he will be able to repeat to persuade the Israelites of his mission (4:1-9).
Let’s think about this divine name for a moment. “I AM WHO I AM.” This is what you are to say to the Israelites: “I AM has sent you” (verse 14). While this affirms his existence, much more it means his active presence. But with what sort of action does God affirm his active presence? Verses 16-20—he is the God, who delivers his people, who keeps his promises and who overthrows his enemies.
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Written by M. R. Conrad |
Monday, December 25, 2023
Ahaz rejected God’s message. He had passed the point of no return.[4] Despite Ahaz’s refusal, God chose to give him a sign anyway. The sign concerned the Davidic line that was under attack but always under God’s protection because of the Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7:12–16). Isaiah confronted the wicked king: “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:13–14). The name Immanuel means “God with us.” Ahaz felt he did not need God with him. But he did. The king thought he and his alliance could secure the Davidic line, but they could not.

Every Bible-savvy Christian knows the prophecy of Immanuel. An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “’Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:23). We all understand that the virgin was Mary, and the Son was Jesus. But few know the dramatic backstory to this descriptive name of our Savior—Immanuel.
The Predicament
King Ahaz of Judah surveyed the aqueduct just outside of Jerusalem (Isaiah 7:3). The war that had pummeled Judah during his father’s reign dragged into his own, exacting heavy losses (2 Kings 15:37; 2 Chronicles 28:5–8). Now, Ahaz checked the water supply as he prepared the city for yet another attack.
King Rezin of Syria[1] and King Pekah of Israel had tried to draw Ahaz into an alliance against the mighty Assyrian empire. In the 730s B.C., the Assyrians had swallowed up kings and nations. Their armies were poised to devour everything along the trade routes south to Egypt. Ahaz felt that even if he combined Judah’s armies with the forces of Syria, and Israel, they would lose to Assyria. So, Ahaz spurned the overtures of his northern neighbors.
In response, Syria and Israel amassed their armies to depose Ahaz, install their own man on the Davidic throne, and force Judah to ally with them against Assyria (Isaiah 7:6). As the two armies approached, Ahaz’s heart trembled (Isaiah 7:2). He could not go on like this! Driven to desperation, Ahaz considered an alliance—not with the neighboring kingdoms trying to force his hand but with King Tiglath-Pileser III and the Assyrian empire itself.
The Offer
As Ahaz stood beside the reservoir, the prophet Isaiah and his son, Shear-Jashub, approached him.[2] Isaiah boldly delivered God’s message: “Take heed, and be quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and the son of Remaliah [Pekah of Israel]” (Isaiah 7:4).[3] God urged Ahaz to trust Him, not Assyria. The two attacking nations would flame out and would soon cease to be a threat. God warned that if Ahaz did not trust Him, his throne would never be secure (Isaiah 7:9).
The Second Chance
Ignoring Isaiah’s message, Ahaz furthered his plans to ally with Assyria instead of trusting God (2 Kings 16:7). So, God sent the prophet with another message for the king: “Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; ask it either in the depth or in the height above” (Isaiah 7:11).
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The doctrine of God’s omnipresence is comforting and reassuring to believers. We are never left alone. We are always—at all times and in all places—in the presence of God. We can cry out to Him and know that He hears us. We can trust that He is always with us. This truth should make us respond in praise and worship, “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable” (Ps. 145:3).

As a parent, I am often in high demand. Both my children often need me at the exact same time. Inevitably, when I work with one child on a school assignment, the other child will call for me to come and help him with his work. What’s even more challenging is when both my children need a ride to different places at the same time. I frequently remind them that I can be in only one place at a time.

Sometimes, my children need me and I’m in another part of the house. They call and call my name, but I don’t respond because I simply can’t hear them. Eventually they track me down and say something like “Mom, I was calling for you! Why didn’t you answer?”
There is much in my life as a parent that points me to a truth about God. Sometimes, it’s a parallel truth, such as the fact that I discipline my children for their good, as God disciplines me in my own life (though my discipline is far from perfect). Other times, my life as a parent points to a stark contrast between myself and God, as in the examples above. When I find myself stretched and challenged by the limitations of space and time, I’m reminded of our omnipresent God.
While I can’t be available to both my kids at the same time, God is always present for us.
Ever Present Everywhere
One of God’s attributes is His omnipresence. This means He is present everywhere in all creation. There are no limits or boundaries that restrict Him; God is not confined to any one space or moment of time for He has no physical properties. God is spirit and does not take up space in the way an object or person takes up space. There is nowhere we could go that God is not also there because He fills the heavens and earth.
This is hard for our finite minds to grasp. We have bodies that can only occupy one space at a time. As a mom who is daily tugged and pulled in different directions, I have a hard time imagining that God has no such limitations. We often try to think of God’s omnipresence in terms we understand. We might try to compare Him to something we know, such as a gas that spreads throughout a room, but even that comparison doesn’t express the reality of God’s omnipresence, for gas is a state of matter.