Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and afterward I brought you out. Then I sent Moses and AaronThis phrase begins with the divine initiative, emphasizing God's sovereignty and active role in the history of Israel. The Hebrew root for "sent" is שָׁלַח (shalach), which conveys the idea of dispatching or commissioning with authority. This highlights God's direct involvement and purposeful action in delivering His people. Moses and Aaron are central figures in the Exodus narrative, representing God's chosen leaders to guide Israel out of bondage. Historically, Moses is seen as the great lawgiver and prophet, while Aaron, his brother, serves as the first high priest, establishing the priestly lineage. Their leadership is a testament to God's provision and faithfulness in raising up leaders to fulfill His promises. and I plagued Egypt
The word "plagued" comes from the Hebrew נָגַף (nagaph), meaning to strike or afflict. This term underscores the severity and divine judgment executed upon Egypt. The plagues were not random acts of destruction but were purposeful demonstrations of God's power over the Egyptian gods and Pharaoh's obstinacy. Each plague systematically dismantled the Egyptians' belief system, proving the supremacy of Yahweh. Archaeological evidence, such as ancient Egyptian records, though not directly mentioning the plagues, provides context for the historical plausibility of such events, reflecting a period of turmoil and divine intervention. by what I did in their midst
This phrase emphasizes God's direct action and presence among the Egyptians. The Hebrew word for "midst" is קֶרֶב (qereb), indicating the inner part or the very center. God's actions were not distant or detached; they were performed in the heart of Egypt, making His power and presence undeniable. This serves as a reminder of God's immanence, His ability to be actively involved in the affairs of nations and individuals. Scripturally, this reflects the theme of God dwelling among His people, a precursor to the New Testament revelation of God with us, Emmanuel. and afterward I brought you out
The phrase "I brought you out" is derived from the Hebrew יָצָא (yatsa), meaning to go out or to bring forth. This action signifies deliverance and salvation, a central theme in the narrative of the Exodus. God's deliverance of Israel from Egypt is a foundational event in the Old Testament, symbolizing liberation from sin and bondage. Historically, this event marks the birth of Israel as a nation, set apart for God's purposes. Theologically, it foreshadows the ultimate deliverance through Christ, who brings believers out of the bondage of sin into the freedom of grace. This phrase encapsulates the hope and promise of God's redemptive plan for His people. Persons / Places / Events 1. MosesA central figure in the Exodus account, Moses was chosen by God to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage. His leadership and faithfulness are pivotal in the history of Israel. 2. AaronThe brother of Moses, Aaron served as his spokesperson and later became the first high priest of Israel. His role was crucial in the execution of God's plans during the Exodus. 3. EgyptiansThe people of Egypt, who were subjected to the plagues as a demonstration of God's power and judgment. Their oppression of the Israelites set the stage for God's deliverance. 4. The ExodusThe event of Israel's liberation from slavery in Egypt, marked by the ten plagues and the crossing of the Red Sea. It is a foundational account of redemption and God's faithfulness. 5. God's DeliveranceThe overarching theme of this verse, highlighting God's intervention and power in delivering His people from bondage. Teaching Points God's Sovereignty and PowerGod is sovereign over all nations and events. The plagues in Egypt were a demonstration of His supreme power and authority over creation and human affairs. Faithful LeadershipMoses and Aaron exemplify faithful leadership. Their obedience to God's commands, despite challenges, serves as a model for Christian leaders today. Deliverance and RedemptionThe Exodus is a powerful symbol of spiritual deliverance. Just as God delivered Israel from physical bondage, He offers spiritual freedom through Christ. God's FaithfulnessGod's actions in Egypt remind us of His faithfulness to His promises. Believers can trust in God's commitment to fulfill His word. The Importance of RemembranceJoshua's recounting of these events encourages believers to remember God's past faithfulness as a foundation for present and future trust. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the account of Moses and Aaron's leadership inspire you in your own leadership roles, whether in the church, family, or workplace? 2. In what ways can the plagues in Egypt be seen as both acts of judgment and opportunities for repentance? How does this apply to God's dealings with humanity today? 3. Reflect on a time when you experienced God's deliverance in your life. How does this personal experience relate to the broader account of the Exodus? 4. How can the faithfulness of God in the Exodus account encourage you in times of personal trial or uncertainty? 5. What are some practical ways you can remember and celebrate God's past faithfulness in your life, similar to how Joshua reminded the Israelites of their history? Connections to Other Scriptures Exodus 7-12These chapters detail the plagues that God sent upon Egypt, demonstrating His power and fulfilling His promise to deliver Israel. Psalm 105:26-38This passage recounts the plagues and God's deliverance, emphasizing His faithfulness and might. Hebrews 11:24-29This New Testament passage highlights the faith of Moses, connecting his actions to the broader account of faith in God's promises. People Aaron, Amorites, Balaam, Balak, Beor, Canaanites, Egyptians, Eleazar, Esau, Girgashite, Girgashites, Hamor, Hittites, Hivite, Hivites, Isaac, Israelites, Jacob, Jebusites, Joseph, Joshua, Nachor, Nahor, Nun, Perizzites, Phinehas, Seir, Serah, Terah, ZipporPlaces Canaan, Egypt, Euphrates River, Gaash, Gibeah, Jericho, Jordan River, Moab, Red Sea, Seir, Shechem, Timnath-serahTopics Aaron, Afflicted, Afterward, Afterwards, Egypt, Egyptians, Midst, Plague, Plagued, Signs, Thereof, TroublingDictionary of Bible Themes Joshua 24:5-7 7223 exodus, significance Library February the Tenth Registering a Verdict
"The Lord our God will we serve, and His voice will we obey." --JOSHUA xxiv. 22-28. Here was a definite decision. Our peril is that we spend our life in wavering and we never decide. We are like a jury which is always hearing evidence and never gives a verdict. We do much thinking, but we never make up our minds. We let our eyes wander over many things, but we make no choice. Life has no crisis, no culmination. Now people who never decide spend their days in hoping to do so. But this kind of life …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling YearA Summary of Israel's Faithlessness and God's Patience
'And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. 2. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? 3. Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Jesus Sets Out from Judæa for Galilee.
Subdivision B. At Jacob's Well, and at Sychar. ^D John IV. 5-42. ^d 5 So he cometh to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 and Jacob's well was there. [Commentators long made the mistake of supposing that Shechem, now called Nablous, was the town here called Sychar. Sheckem lies a mile and a half west of Jacob's well, while the real Sychar, now called 'Askar, lies scarcely half a mile north of the well. It was a small town, loosely called …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Meditations for Household Piety.
1. If thou be called to the government of a family, thou must not hold it sufficient to serve God and live uprightly in thy own person, unless thou cause all under thy charge to do the same with thee. For the performance of this duty God was so well pleased with Abraham, that he would not hide from him his counsel: "For," saith God, "I know him that he will command his sons and his household after him that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety The Promise to the Patriarchs.
A great epoch is, in Genesis, ushered in with the history of the time of the Patriarchs. Luther says: "This is the third period in which Holy Scripture begins the history of the Church with a new family." In a befitting manner, the representation is opened in Gen. xii. 1-3 by an account of the first revelation of God, given to Abraham at Haran, in which the way is opened up for all that follows, and in which the dispensations of God are brought before us in a rapid survey. Abraham is to forsake …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Sovereignty and Human Responsibility
"So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God" (Rom. 14:12). In our last chapter we considered at some length the much debated and difficult question of the human will. We have shown that the will of the natural man is neither Sovereign nor free but, instead, a servant and slave. We have argued that a right conception of the sinner's will-its servitude-is essential to a just estimate of his depravity and ruin. The utter corruption and degradation of human nature is something which …
Arthur W. Pink—The Sovereignty of God And for Your Fearlessness against them Hold this Sure Sign -- Whenever There Is...
43. And for your fearlessness against them hold this sure sign--whenever there is any apparition, be not prostrate with fear, but whatsoever it be, first boldly ask, Who art thou? And from whence comest thou? And if it should be a vision of holy ones they will assure you, and change your fear into joy. But if the vision should be from the devil, immediately it becomes feeble, beholding your firm purpose of mind. For merely to ask, Who art thou [1083] ? and whence comest thou? is a proof of coolness. …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius Covenanting Performed in Former Ages with Approbation from Above.
That the Lord gave special token of his approbation of the exercise of Covenanting, it belongs to this place to show. His approval of the duty was seen when he unfolded the promises of the Everlasting Covenant to his people, while they endeavoured to perform it; and his approval thereof is continually seen in his fulfilment to them of these promises. The special manifestations of his regard, made to them while attending to the service before him, belonged to one or other, or both, of those exhibitions …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting The First Commandment
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' Exod 20: 3. Why is the commandment in the second person singular, Thou? Why does not God say, You shall have no other gods? Because the commandment concerns every one, and God would have each one take it as spoken to him by name. Though we are forward to take privileges to ourselves, yet we are apt to shift off duties from ourselves to others; therefore the commandment is in the second person, Thou and Thou, that every one may know that it is spoken to him, …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments Moses and his Writings
[Illustration: (drop cap W) Clay letter tablet of Moses' time.] We now begin to understand a little of the very beginning of God's Book--of the times in which it was written, the materials used by its first author, and the different kinds of writing from which he had to choose; but we must go a step farther. How much did Moses know about the history of his forefathers, Abraham and Jacob, and of all the old nations and kings mentioned in Genesis, before God called him to the great work of writing …
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making "The Carnal Mind is Enmity against God for it is not Subject to the Law of God, Neither Indeed Can Be. So Then they that Are
Rom. viii. s 7, 8.--"The carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." It is not the least of man's evils, that he knows not how evil he is, therefore the Searcher of the heart of man gives the most perfect account of it, Jer. xvii. 12. "The heart is deceitful above all things," as well as "desperately wicked," two things superlative and excessive in it, bordering upon an infiniteness, such …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning Gen. xxxi. 11
Of no less importance and significance is the passage Gen. xxxi. 11 seq. According to ver. 11, the Angel of God, [Hebrew: mlaK halhiM] appears toJacob in a dream. In ver. 13, the same person calls himself the God of Bethel, with reference to the event recorded in chap. xxviii. 11-22. It cannot be supposed that in chap xxviii. the mediation of a common angel took place, who, however, had not been expressly mentioned; for Jehovah is there contrasted with the angels. In ver. 12, we read: "And behold …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Manner of Covenanting.
Previous to an examination of the manner of engaging in the exercise of Covenanting, the consideration of God's procedure towards his people while performing the service seems to claim regard. Of the manner in which the great Supreme as God acts, as well as of Himself, our knowledge is limited. Yet though even of the effects on creatures of His doings we know little, we have reason to rejoice that, in His word He has informed us, and in His providence illustrated by that word, he has given us to …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting Joshua
The book of Joshua is the natural complement of the Pentateuch. Moses is dead, but the people are on the verge of the promised land, and the story of early Israel would be incomplete, did it not record the conquest of that land and her establishment upon it. The divine purpose moves restlessly on, until it is accomplished; so "after the death of Moses, Jehovah spake to Joshua," i. 1. The book falls naturally into three divisions: (a) the conquest of Canaan (i.-xii.), (b) the settlement of the …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Joshua 24:5 NIVJoshua 24:5 NLTJoshua 24:5 ESVJoshua 24:5 NASBJoshua 24:5 KJV
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