Desertide 9

This week begins a new set of Old Testament readings, turning to the book of Exodus. If Genesis is an extended prologue to the Great Deliverance of the Old Testament, then Exodus is the main event. Exodus opens more than 400 years after the close of Genesis, with God’s people having gone from being honored guests in Egypt to slaves for Pharaoh’s building projects. The growth of the nation, in fact, is perceived as a threat to the political control of Pharaoh, who is enacting genocidal policies against the Israelites. God hears the cries of His people, remembers His covenant with Abraham, and raises up a deliverer in the person of Moses. For Moses to be a suitable leader for God’s people, however, he needs to be broken of his pride and reintroduced to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These chapters cover that transformation and the beginning of the confrontation between God and Pharaoh.

The Psalm readings cover Psalms 63-70.