We all talk about how much do you trust God? Do you trust God in all circumstances etc? But now how about we flip the question around?

The Great Exodus

I was in my Christianity in the Secular Age by Tim Keller RTS class this year and he was talking about God giving the law to the nation of Israel. It is really interesting on the timing of the giving of the laws by God to Israel in relation to the Exodus, the greatest miracle of all times in humanity when Moses brought 3 million Jews walking through the dry Red Sea by a mighty East wind. The thing is when did God give them the law for them to obey?

Usually, we expect you want to give the laws to your people before the mighty deliverance or exodus. You want to make sure that they all line up. But apparently it is not the case!

When God took Israel out of Egypt, religious thinking will be that God will require them to obey the 10 commandments to be qualified in the exodus out of the slavery of Egypt. But what happened was, the laws was given to them AFTER they walked out to freedom! How?

Exodus14  ²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, ²² and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

Exodus 14—God told Moses to stretch forth his hand with his staff towards the Red Sea and a strong east wind blasted the sea and turned it dry!

Exodus 19 ³ Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: ⁴ ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 

God carried them on eagles’ wings. A metaphoric language, God literally carried them , 3 million Jews, on dry ground of Red Sea, to their freedom! WHile all those Egytian army of Pharoah all went drowned as the Red Sea closed upon them. One of the most dramatic real life saga ever recorded in human history. That’s what God did. That’s what God would be doing for us as we believe in him. He would carry out through our difficulties, hardship.

⁵ Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, ⁶ you^[a] will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

In order words, God sets the condition to be God’s treasured possession (which means protection, love, holiness etc), after He took them out from slavery to be a treasured people of God. There was no preliminary selection process. No qualifying match to get in. He brought you in first and then He deals with you. How unlike the world’s way of doing things! WHo does that, selecting you on a blank check with no conditions, and then lay the conditions after the fact?

What a mighty God! You have to love that kind of God. Full of grace.