The Exodus makes one thing apparent. God's vision for the world excludes and refuses to tolerate the exploitative nature of empire. Thus, the lesser-known laws following on the heels of the ten commandments curb the predatory greed that is the empire's life force. The new society of Yahweh is not one of predation but neighborly love.

As we cross the threshold of Lent's midpoint, we traverse a massive turning point in the Exodus narrative. Turning from Pharaoh and the exploitative empire, Israel gazes upon the glory of their redeeming God. But emancipation is not freedom into nothing. This sort of independent, enlightenment freedom into personal autonomy risks Israel becoming the same type of empire they were liberated from. Instead, Israel will be shaped by sustained practices, becoming an emancipated community that stands defiant to the pharaonic system of exploitation and abuse.

So much of Lent is about confronting the wilderness and looking towards the glory of God. It is a picture of our daily life with Jesus in this respect. We, too, look back at our deliverance wrought by the strong outstretched hands of Jesus. We know and believe that we were miraculously snatched from the grip of death at that moment. Yet we look up and see nothing but wasteland.

The Redemption and continued preservation of this emancipated band depend entirely on Yahweh. The final act of the emancipation of God's people makes this clear. Israel and Egypt have been repeatedly shown who Yahweh is. Now Isreal enters the desert into a brave new world where Yahweh reigns.

The escalating conflict between Yahweh and Pharoah reaches a stunning and unsettling climax. It is now the Egyptians crying out (11:6) and Moses (and his God) who are feared throughout Egypt, not Pharaoh (11:3). In a few short chapters, the power dynamics have flipped. The ruthless oppressor of chapter 1 is now pitiable, weak, and entirely at the mercy of the slaves and their God.

In a confrontation of divine authority, Yahweh unleashes a barrage of nine plagues on the empire. The most powerful being on the face of the earth, Pharaoh, prooves powerless to stave off the God he scoffs at. The Egyptians and Pharaoh now know this God.

Yahweh's assurance of freedom is not only a freedom from, but a freedom to. From the outset, two things are clear, 1) Israel's time as slaves to Egypt has come to an end, and 2) this implies a necessary transfer of allegiance from Pharaoh to Yahweh.

We need the presence of God. It is the goal to which we are freed, and the means to our freedom. Without it, we are left to swim in the swirling currents of our oppressor. With it, everything changes.

The book of Exodus begins as a story about slaves. An uncomfortable beginning, but an important one. This is where all of our stories begin. It’s where the story of you and God begins, in ashes.