Epithets of God: The LORD Who Brought You From the Land of Egypt I. Introduction A. Many times in the Scriptures, God's name is invoked, along with a description of Him 1. Such descriptions are called epithets 2. They help to describe the nature of God, and often are deliberately used to emphasize a particular aspect of God and His relationship with people B. One such epithet constantly used in the Old Testament is "who brought you from the land of Egypt" 1. This epithet, either used directly or indirectly in various ways, is found roughly 49 times in the Old Testament 2. What does it mean? 3. Why is it used? 4. What can we learn from it? C. Let us explore this now II. Historical Background A. The book of Exodus describes the events B. Exodus 1-2: Israel is enslaved by Pharaoh in Egypt C. Exodus 3-6: God calls Moses to deliver Israel by His hand D. Exodus 7-12: Through various plagues, Pharaoh is compelled to relent and lets the Israelites go E. Exodus 13-15: God delivers Israel from Egypt by the parting of Red Sea and the demise of the army of Egypt F. These events, then, are what is referenced by "the LORD who brought you from the land of Egypt" III. Reasons for Use A. Why does God refer to Himself in this way? Why the Exodus, anyway? B. Main purpose: to show Israel that YHWH is God and there is no other (Deuteronomy 4:32-35) C. God intended His people to act in certain ways on account of what He did for them by delivering them from Egypt (Deuteronomy 6:20-25, Deuteronomy 11:1-9) D. Festivals 1. Many festival observances were designed to remind Israel of the Exodus 2. Passover (Deuteronomy 16:1, Numbers 3:13, Numbers 8:17) 3. Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 13:3-9) 4. Feast of Booths (Leviticus 23:39-43) E. Humility 1. God intended Israel to be humbled in many ways by what God did for them in Egypt 2. Forgetting of God's deliverance equated with haughtiness (Deuteronomy 8:14) 3. Israel to not oppress sojourners, because they were sojourners in Egypt (Exodus 22:21, Exodus 23:9, Leviticus 19:34) 4. Every forty-nine years, Hebrew slaves to be released in a Jubilee year, since God delivered all Hebrews from Egypt (Leviticus 25:42; 25:55; 26:13) F. Reverence Toward God 1. God was to be feared, or revered, and proof was how He smote Egypt and delivered Israel 2. Exodus 14:31: Israel did indeed fear the LORD because of it 3. The nations also feared God on account of it-- Joshua 2:10, Joshua 9:9, 1 Samuel 4:8 4. Such was God's intent-- Ezekiel 20:9 5. Indeed, Israel was not to fear their enemies because of what God did to Egypt (Deuteronomy 7:17-18) G. Warning to Israel 1. God used the Exodus to warn Israel regarding its conduct 2. False prophets to be stoned because of God delivering Israel (Deuteronomy 13:5-10) 3. If Israel were obedient, they would have no plagues like Egypt (Exodus 15:26) 4. If disobedient, however, they would be plagued with the same plague and be a byword among the nations (Deuteronomy 28:58-62, Deuteronomy 29:25) H. We can see, therefore, that the Exodus was designed to be a constant reminder of Israel of who they were and where they came from IV. What We Can Learn A. As the LORD is the one who delivered Israel from the land of Egypt, so the same LORD is the one who delivered us from sin through Jesus Christ (Romans 4:24-25, Colossians 1:13)! B. Parallels abound! C. As God established festivals for the Israelites to remember the Exodus, so God has established the Lord's Supper for us to remember our own deliverance: the death of Christ on the cross (1 Corinthians 11:23-26) D. As God expected Israel to be humbled by how they were slaves to Egypt and that He delivered them, so God expects us to remain humble on account of how we were slaves of sin and delivered by God (John 13:13-16, Romans 6:16-18) 1. Israel was to remember where they came from, and therefore to have compassion 2. Likewise, we are to remember where we came from, and therefore to have compassion (Titus 3:1-8) E. As God expected reverence from Israel on account of His power, so we are expected to love and praise God because of the death and resurrection of His Son (Romans 5:6-11, 1 Corinthians 15:57-58) F. As God warned Israel about disobedience by reminding them of Egypt, so God warns us about disobedience by reminding us of the world (1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Titus 3:1-8) G. And as God expected a certain sort of conduct from Israel on account of their deliverance from Egypt, so God expects us to conduct ourselves in a godly way on account of our deliverance through His Son (Romans 6:1-7, Galatians 5:16-25) V. Conclusion A. We have examined how and why God is called the LORD who brought you from the land of Egypt so often in the Old Testament 1. We have seen how He delivered Israel, a nation of slaves, from Egypt, with mighty power 2. We have seen that God expected Israel to remember this event and to conduct themselves accordingly 3. Unfortunately, they acted as if they had forgotten about His deliverance, and provoked God to wrath B. We have seen that many parallels exist between God being the Deliverer of Israel from Egypt and the Deliverer of Mankind from Sin through Christ C. Let us continually remember the LORD who delivered us from the bondage of sin through the precious blood of His Son! D. Songbook/invitation E. Have you not heard or not recognized that God is willing to deliver you? 1. You have heard today how God has sent His Son to be our atonement 2. Take advantage of that today-- come in obedient faith! F. Have you forgotten in your deeds what has been done for you? G. Do you need encouragement to remember God as we ought? H. Let us help however we are able; come to the front as we stand and sing