WestGate Church Teaching

In Exodus 14, the Israelites have fled Egypt and find themselves backed up at the edge of the Red Sea with the full force and might of Egypt’s army descending onto them. And in that moment, we see the people react with real fear. Fear, we learn, is paralyzing. It assumes that the very worst outcome is going to happen, and that we - in the end - are all alone and there is no one coming to save us. But this story shows the opposite. That Yahweh is a God who rescues. And that truth allows us to move past fear into something far more wonderful: trusting hope.

In the beginning of the Book of Exodus, we meet Pharaoh, a murderous tyrant who literally kills children and babies. He’s clearly the worst villain we’ve encountered yet in the story. But then, in Exodus 11, after giving Pharaoh 9 chances, God sends down a 10th plague in which every first-born in the entire land of all of Egypt are killed. So God kills? Babies?

This raises some serious questions about God’s character. Is Yahweh as murderous as Pharaoh? Why would God kill so many people (and animals)? Wasn’t there another way?

As we step into this passage, and examine it in light of the larger story, we find that like so many other passages in the Bible that on its face at first glance seem troubling, there’s actually a lot more going on that will give our hearts deep comfort that God is - in the end, now and forever - good and loving.

In the beginning of the Book of Exodus, we meet Pharaoh, a murderous tyrant who literally kills children and babies. He’s clearly the worst villain we’ve encountered yet in the story. But then, in Exodus 11, after giving Pharaoh 9 chances, God sends down a 10th plague in which every first-born in the entire land of all of Egypt are killed. So God kills? Babies?

This raises some serious questions about God’s character. Is Yahweh as murderous as Pharaoh? Why would God kill so many people (and animals)? Wasn’t there another way?

As we step into this passage, and examine it in light of the larger story, we find that like so many other passages in the Bible that on its face at first glance seem troubling, there’s actually a lot more going on that will give our hearts deep comfort that God is - in the end, now and forever - good and loving.

As the dramatic intensity of the story of Exodus picks up, a series of plagues descends upon Egypt. And for the first time in the Bible, we encounter the word “judgment” when Yahweh says that He will free His people using “great acts of judgment.” But what does this mean? What is a judgment? And how is it different than, say, a punishment? In this talk, Steve Clifford outlines the key differences between these two words, which reveal something important about Yahweh. And Steve also discusses how in this story, there’s a hint that Yahweh is trying to provide an escape-hatch from judgment for all people, but this escape route requires something from us.

Most of us assume that Moses was like Superman from day one, parting the Red Sea with one hand tied behind his back. But in Exodus 4-7, we see Moses...arguing with God? That’s right, Moses is talking back, listing reason after reason why he can’t do the (seemingly) impossible thing God’s asked him to do. Moses turns out to be very much like us, filled with fears and excuses. And even though we might not ever lead an oppressed people to freedom, our ordinary lives are filled with a chance to respond to the very same invitation that God made to Moses: sacrificially give of your life to help other people. And if we say “yes” to this invitation, we find out that God is waiting to help us. And we find out that real heroes are nothing more than people who have clear and unwavering focus on loving God and helping God’s people.

When someone says the word “God” what (or who) they are talking about could vary dramatically. In fact, in the Bay Area, which is home to people who represent cultures and religions from literally all over the world, it’s highly likely that we don’t all mean the same thing when it comes to the word “God.” Enter the story of Moses and the Burning Bush. In this dramatic story, the God of the Old Testament takes this chance to introduce himself to Moses, telling Moses how He differs from all the other Egyptian gods he had learned about. And this encounter (and what Moses learned about this god) changed him - and all of history - forever. And if you listen close, it might challenge and change you, too.

In the story of the first Christmas given to us in the first books of the New Testament, we see a number of astonishing plot twists, including some unlikely characters. Perhaps most fascinating are the Magi, these mysterious men from the East who were not Jewish, and certainly not followers of the Jewish God Yahweh. And yet they see something. The tables are turned and these wise men see true Wisdom born in a manger, and these kings see the true King. As we look at their story, we’ll see, once again, that God shows up in unexpected ways to unexpected people. It was true then. And it’s true now.

In the Book of Genesis, we see God promise a man, Abraham, that his family would become a great tribe, through which all the nations would be blessed. But in Exodus, things have gone terribly wrong, and a powerful and sadistic dictator named Pharaoh is enacting national genocide against the Hebrew people. And we’re left wondering: is this the end of the story? Will the promises of God wither on the vine? And in this, we see an incredible twist where Pharaoh’s evil plan comes undone in a way no one would ever expect, in a way that no one could have foreseen. In short, in a way that only could have been accomplished by...God. And in this story, we gain hope as we realize that God is always at work (even when we can’t see it).

In the opening pages of Exodus, we learn that the simple 70-person nomadic family of Abraham we met in Genesis has grown into a vast people, living in Egypt. And we also learn something terrible: the ruler of Egypt - Pharaoh - is a terrible villain, who mercilessly enslaves the Hebrew people, disregarding their humanity. In this message, lead pastor Steve Clifford talks about how even though Pharoah is the face of evil in this story, the source of evil goes back to Genesis. And how every person - every man, woman and child - has a choice set before them to either carve out a meaningful life with God at the center...or do life without God, forging our lives and societies apart from Him. And Exodus shows us that the stakes couldn’t be higher.

The Book of Exodus contains within its first 15 chapters one of the most shocking, beautiful and important stories in the history of humanity. It’s a story that claims to explain what God is really like, and what’s possible when humans decide to walk away from God (and conversely, what can happen when they decide to trust Him and call out for help). It’s a story about slavery, about oppression, about a villain, about rescue, about heroes, about hope, about salvation and most importantly, about God. In short - although it’s a story that took place literally thousands of years ago in a part of the world across the oceans from us - it is still remarkably relevant to our lives today.