There is Hope!



One of my all-time favorite movies is The Prince of Egypt, an animated film made in the 90s by Dreamworks Animation Studios. I didn’t really pay much attention to it as a child but once in college, I saw it again and completely fell in love. The soundtrack is beautiful (you can enjoy it by clicking the on the side of this page) but the way the story is portrayed is amazing! There is a lot of creative additions, however, the essence of the story remains.

As we come near to Easter, I’ve been reading Exodus as a background to Passover. Looking at Exodus 5 we see the egocentric character of Pharaoh as Moses and Aaron approach him. The initial request is to allow the Israelites to go and hold a festival for God in the wilderness. Moses and Aaron were asking Pharaoh pretty much for a few days break. But Pharaoh doesn’t accept:

4 But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!” 5 Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.” Exodus 5:4-5

We know that later on, Pharaoh’s resistance in allowing the Israelites to rest and worship God left him losing his slave labor. However, Moses confronts God after this meeting gone bad, asking Him:

22 Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? Exodus 5:22

God’s answer is full of power and a reminder of His identity. He begins and ends by saying “I am the LORD”, reminding Moses who he is representing:

6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’” Exodus 6:6-8

Just as God reminded Moses of His identity and His promise, today He reminds us that above it all, He is LORD. I believe that just like the Israelites, we will see God’s wonders, both in our lives and in those around us. Let us not despair but be filled with hope, we believe in a God that not only brought the Israelites out of slavery, but died and rose again to bring you and me out of the slavery of sin!

HE HAS RISEN!


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