God gave Israel a fresh start and a new calendar when he brought them out of Egypt. The spring month of Nisan became the first month of the Israelite year and they observed Passover on the fifteenth day. As winter turned to spring, they launched the new year by celebrating their deliverance.

Unlike the Gregorian calendar most of us use today, the ancient Jewish calendar was based on lunar time. Jesus died on a Friday at Passover, and rose from the grave on the first day of the week, so Christians observe Good Friday and Easter Sunday the same week that Jews celebrate Passover each year. Because of the difference in our two calendars Easter happens sometime between March 22 and April 25.

God Lays Down Some Laws

As the people of Israel made their way out of Egypt, God began laying down the law. They had never been a nation before; now they had God as their king to lead them. They had to learn how to live orderly lives and serve him.

First came the law of Passover, then God gave them the law of consecration.  Every firstborn male in Israel belonged to God — firstborns of both people and livestock. The firstborn male of an animal was either sacrificed or redeemed with a payment. The firstborn male of every woman was presented to God on the eighth day of life, circumcised and redeemed with an offering.

A Way to Remember

God regarded Israel as his firstborn son (Exodus 4:22) and consecrating their firstborn sons helped God’s people remember what he did when he brought them out of Egypt.

“In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’ And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.” Exodus 13:14-16

God Strategizes the Route

It’s not possible to accurately trace the path Israel followed out of Egypt. We know they didn’t follow the easiest path, which would have taken them due east along the Mediterranean Sea. Philistines lived there and God knew Israel wasn’t ready for war, even though “The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.” Exodus 13:18b Fighting a seasoned Philistine army would have sent them running back to Egypt.

So God strategized Israel’s path like a general moving troops. He came to Israel in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night and went before them to show the way. They were able to travel by day and night because the fire of his presence lit the way even in darkness.

The route God chose must have been circuitous because he told Moses, “Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and his army and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” Exodus 14:3-4

Pharaoh Reconsiders

Meanwhile, back in Egypt, Pharaoh and his officials were re-thinking his decision to let Israel go. “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” Exodus 14:5.

Perhaps revenge was on Pharaoh’s mind, too, because he took his army and more than six hundred chariots with his best officers to pursue Israel. God hardened Pharaoh’s heart when he saw Israel, boldly marching along. He was ready to attack, and when the Israelites saw the Egyptian army coming after them they cried out to God and asked Moses, 

“ . . . Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?  Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” Exodus 14:11-12

Bold Moses, Praying Moses

Moses saw the danger, but he boldly stood up to his people’s fears:

“Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.” Exodus 14:13

Privately, though, Moses must have been terrified because God had to ask him to stop crying out to him and get the people moving again.

“Raise your staff over the sea and divide the water so that the Israelites can go through on dry ground.” Exodus 14:16

Pillar of Cloud and Fire

The angel of God in the pillar of cloud withdrew to the rear of Israel and that night it stood between Israel and the Egyptians. It brought darkness to the Egyptian side while it provided light to the Israelite side. They were right next to each other, but didn’t go near each other all night. Meanwhile, Moses raised his staff and God sent a powerful wind from the east that parted the sea and dried the ground so Israel could cross over safely between walls of water.

Pharaoh’s army followed Israel into the middle of the sea where God threw them into confusion and broke down their chariots. Moses raised his staff again and the waters crashed back into the seabed, covering the chariots and horsemen. Not one Egyptian survived.

Faith Expressed in Song and Dance

“When the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.” Exodus 14:31

In Exodus 15:1-18 Moses and the Israelites sang to God who had destroyed their enemies. It’s a hymn of wonder and hope and their voices must have shaken the heavens in a mighty chorus.

Miriam, Moses’s sister, led the women in dancing as they chanted, “Sing to the Lord for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea.” Exodus 15:21. Imagine how they re-enacted the end of the Egyptian army with their joyful choreography.

Thirsty Desert, Bitter Water

From the Red Sea Moses led Israel straight into the desert and for three days the only water they found was so bitter they couldn’t drink it. They grumbled at Moses and named the place Marah, but when Moses cried out to God, God showed him a piece of wood to throw into the water and make it fit to drink.

As the people quenched their thirst, God issued an instruction to them. In the future, if they listened carefully to what he said and did what was right in his eyes, he would protect them from any of the diseases he had brought on Egypt . . . “for I am the Lord, who heals you.” Exodus 15:26b. What God did at Marah was a demonstration of how he could protect them and meet all of their needs, if they listened to him. He didn’t want to hear anymore rebellious grumbling from them.

Moses’s Prayer Life

There is a pattern that we will see over and over in Exodus: Moses was quick and intense in turning to prayer. He cried to the Lord with his voice, and he threw himself facedown before the Lord. He built a special place to meet the Lord outside the camp and went there daily. When he returned from meeting with God his face was so radiant he had to cover it.

If all you get from reading Exodus is learning to pray like Moses, this book will change your life. Pay attention, and see how powerful a focused prayer life can be.