Many people wonder why God chose to deliver the Israelites from Egypt after so many years of slavery. It’s a question that leads us to the very heart of who God is — a God who hears the cries of His people, remembers His promises, and acts out of mercy and love.
In the book of Exodus, we hear God say to Moses, “I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them” (Exodus 3:7–8). These words reveal something deeply personal — that God is not distant or indifferent. He sees, He knows, and He acts. The deliverance from Egypt was not just a political event; it was a divine act of love, showing that the Lord is faithful to His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The Exodus was also a sign of what God would later do for all humanity through Jesus Christ. Just as Israel was freed from physical slavery, Christ came to free us from the deeper slavery of sin. Saint Paul later wrote that the Israelites’ journey through the Red Sea prefigured baptism — the passage from death to life, from bondage to freedom in God’s grace.
But there’s another layer too: God delivered Israel so that they might worship Him freely. In Exodus, God commands Pharaoh through Moses: “Let my people go, that they may serve Me.” True freedom is not merely escaping oppression — it is being able to live in relationship with God, to serve Him in love. The journey from Egypt to the Promised Land was a spiritual pilgrimage — from fear to faith, from slavery to sonship.
And this same movement happens in us. Every time we turn to God, He delivers us from whatever enslaves our hearts — fear, pride, sin, despair — and leads us toward the freedom of His children. The Exodus is not just a story from long ago; it is the pattern of salvation that continues in every soul.
The God who set Israel free is still the same today — faithful, patient, and near to those who call on Him. When we cry out in our own captivity, He comes to lead us out, step by step, into the freedom of His love.
— Fr. John Matthew, for Christian Way
