BibleProject | One Story That Leads to Jesusنموونە

God has triumphed over Pharaoh and the armies of Egypt, bringing a dramatic end to Israel’s centuries-long enslavement. Watch today’s video recalling God’s mighty acts of redemption and salvation in the first half of Exodus.

Today the Israelites set out from the shores of the sea into the sprawling unknown. God’s people are on the way to the land he promised, but to get there, they’ll have to go through the wilderness. The scarcity Israel faces on this desert road confronts the vulnerable nation with several tests. Will they trust God to provide for them, or will they rely on their own wisdom and allow fear to govern their choices?

The Israelites’ wavering faith contrasts sharply with Moses’s father-in-law, Jethro. Where the Israelites come before God surly and grumbling, Jethro, a priest from Midian (so not an Israelite priest), delights in God’s wonders, offering sacrifice and praise. And where the Israelites test Moses’s patience with their bickering, Jethro offers Moses some much-needed wisdom. Loyalty and guidance sometimes can come from those we least expect.

Reflection Questions

• In the first half of Exodus, how have you seen God’s faithfulness to the promises he made to Abraham?
• Where else in the biblical story have you encountered an outsider who worships the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? What happened? What do these stories tell you about how God relates to the people outside his chosen family?