A People Brought Near

Following the Father’s dwelling purpose through Scripture

Begin by reading Exodus 2:23–25; 6:2–8; and 19:1–8.

When people are brought out of bondage, what are they being brought into?

The opening of Exodus brings us into the lives of Abraham’s descendants. The family that once lived in tents has become a numerous people in Egypt. Yet their growing numbers have not brought them freedom. They are living under oppression, far from the inheritance promised to their ancestors.

Their cries bring our question about home into a painful setting. Can a people belong to the Father while their circumstances seem to place them entirely in another ruler’s hands?

A promise carried into Egypt

Abraham’s son Isaac and grandson Jacob received the promise after him. Jacob, also called Israel, later travelled with his household into Egypt. Genesis 46:1–7 records both the journey and the LORD’s assurance that He would go with him.

At the end of Genesis, Jacob’s son Joseph speaks about a future return:

“God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” — Genesis 50:24

Joseph is approaching death. His words reach beyond his own lifetime. He asks that his bones be carried out when God visits His people.

The promise has survived the journey into Egypt. But as Exodus opens, the people still need to be brought out.

Exodus 1 describes a new king who regards their increasing numbers as a threat. He places them under forced labour. The place where the family has been living becomes a place of bitter service.

The earlier promise and the present hardship now stand beside each other. Reading both helps us resist measuring the Father’s faithfulness only by what the people can see at that moment.

Their groaning is heard

Exodus 2:23–25 describes Israel’s cry under bondage. Notice the actions attributed to God: He hears, remembers His covenant, looks upon the people, and has regard for them.

The passage names Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That detail connects the suffering people to the promises we have already encountered. Exodus is continuing their family’s account.

When the text says God “remembered,” we should read the words within that connection. The account presents His attention to their suffering in relation to His covenant commitment. It does not describe Him discovering a promise He had misplaced.

The people’s groaning matters. Their pain is heard by the One whose word concerns their future.

This gives us something to hold carefully: belonging to Him has not prevented this painful interval, but neither has the interval made them invisible to Him.

Listen to what He promises to do

In Exodus 6, the LORD speaks to Moses, whom He has called to lead Israel out of Egypt. He recalls His covenant with their ancestors and says that He has heard their groaning.

Then He gives a series of promises. Read verses 6–8 slowly and notice the repeated words “I will.” He will bring them out from their burdens, deliver them from bondage, redeem them, take them as His people, be their God, and bring them into the promised land.

Here redeem concerns His action to free them from the power holding them in bondage. The surrounding words help us understand it before we attach meanings from passages we have not yet read.

At the heart of these promises is a relationship:

“And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God.” — Exodus 6:7

The promised land remains part of His purpose. So does their freedom from oppression. Alongside both, He speaks of taking them to Himself.

This adds depth to our search for home. We are following a promise concerning a people, a place, and their relationship with the One who brings them there.

Brought to Himself

By Exodus 19, Israel has left Egypt and arrived at Mount Sinai. The people camp before the mountain, and Moses receives words he is to speak to them.

The LORD begins by recalling what they have witnessed:

“Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.” — Exodus 19:4

“Bare” means carried. The picture of eagles’ wings draws attention to His action in bringing them safely through. The sentence ends by naming the destination in relational terms: “unto myself.”

Pause there. They have reached a mountain in the wilderness, before entering the promised land. Yet the LORD can already speak of having brought them to Himself.

The wilderness is therefore more than the space between two countries. Here the delivered people hear the voice of the One who claims them and learn what belonging to Him requires.

Belonging gives their life a purpose

Read Exodus 19:5–6 together with verse 4. The LORD calls the people to obey His voice and keep His covenant. He speaks of them as a “peculiar treasure,” a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.

In this wording, peculiar treasure means a specially valued possession. Holy speaks of their being set apart for Him. Their deliverance leads into a life shaped by His voice and covenant.

Their place among the nations is also held within His declaration that all the earth is His. The One who addresses this people has not ceased to be Lord of the wider world.

The order deserves our attention. He recalls what He has done before setting before them the life they are called to live. They are answering the One who has carried them out of bondage.

Later in the chapter, the people prepare to meet Him, and boundaries are placed around the mountain. Nearness does not make His holiness casual. His invitation and His instructions belong to the same encounter.

What does this reveal about home?

We began with a family travelling under a promise. We now see a people whom the Father hears, delivers, and brings to Himself.

The inheritance is still ahead. The relationship is already being made known.

For a reader seeking the Father, this passage opens a searching question: when I ask for relief, do I also desire to know the One who helps me and listen to His voice?

Israel’s deliverance should first be understood in its own setting. We can then let its witness enlarge our prayer. We may ask for help with our burdens while also asking to learn a life of belonging to Him.

Search the passages yourself

• Which earlier names and promises appear in Exodus 2:23–25 and 6:2–8?
• What does the LORD undertake to do in Exodus 6? Include the promises about relationship as well as freedom and land.
• In Exodus 19:4, where does He say He has brought the people?
• How do verses 5–6 describe the life to which He calls them?

Continue reading: Exodus 25:1–9. What does the LORD ask the people to make, and what reason does He give?

Read the passages: Genesis 50 · Exodus 2 · Exodus 6 · Exodus 19