Title: Let My People Go
let my people go
Moses and Aaron stand before Pharaoh, who has absolute power in Egypt. That is, Moses and Pharaoh's first meeting and first confrontation began. Moses made it clear to Pharaoh. “Let my people go, says the LORD, the God of Israel, for they will celebrate a feast before me in the wilderness.” In other words, he spoke the words demanding liberation, “let my people go”. These words prophesied of God's command to Moses on Mount Horeb, "Liberate my people." So, the book of Exodus tells how God's command to "let my people go" is fulfilled.
First, Pharaoh's response
To Moses' request (send my people), Pharaoh responded, Exodus 5:2, "Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I will listen to him and let Israel go?"
① Pharaoh does not know YHWH God. Actually, there were many gods in Egypt at that time, but YHWH was not known.
② According to the Egyptian doctrine, Pharaoh, the king of Egypt himself, was “the incarnation of a god”. So, because Pharaoh's position was a divine position, he had unlimited power and could not disobey Pharaoh's will. In other words, Pharaoh's words were the law and had divine authority. So Pharaoh thought he was superior to anyone else. So, “Who is the Lord?” is a very cynical and sarcastic statement, “Who is the Lord, and dares to command me?”
③ So, from now on, the confrontation between the deified false god Pharaoh and the real God, Jehovah God, which was not known to the Egyptians until now, began. The book of Exodus describes the process by which everyone realizes that Jehovah God is the true God. Not only the people of Israel but also the people of Egypt will come to know that Jehovah God is the true God.
④ Through this process, the only way to mistake oneself for a god is to come back knowing that you are a human being, a creature. We must also realize that human beings are not gods, but weak human beings. And you have to get down on your knees before God and confess that there is no other god but Jehovah God. That is where true life and freedom are given.
Second, the God of the Hebrews
When Pharaoh says he does not know Jehovah God, Moses introduces Jehovah God as “the God of the Hebrews” (Exodus 5:3).
① “Hebrew” is similar to “Apiru/Habiru/Hapiru”. In particular, if you look at the appearance of ‘Apiru’ in Egyptian and Assyrian literature in 2000 B.C., you can see that it was a foreigner who worked in Egypt.
② So, “Hebrew” does not refer to a race, but to the status of those who worked in Egypt. Thus, the term “Hebrews” originally refers to a social class rather than a descent or racial dimension. In other words, “Hebrews” is a general term for people who lived at the bottom of Egyptian society, doing lowly and difficult things.
③ The first occurrence of the name Hebrew (ibri) in the Old Testament is in Genesis 14. Here Abraham is called “Abram the Hebrew” (verse 13). In other words, Abram left his hometown of Ur of the Chaldeans and lived in the land of Canaan, a stranger and a foreigner. Also, in Genesis 39:14, Joseph, who worked in the house of the chief of the palace guard in Egypt, is referred to as “Hebrew”. Also, the wife of the bodyguard said in Genesis 39:17, “The Hebrew servant you brought was trying to make fun of me.” Also in Exodus 1:15, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, called the Hebrew midwives and instructed them, “For the sake of the Hebrew women, watch over them when they give birth, and if it is a male, put it to death, but if it is a woman, let it live.” In this way, we can see that the Israelites also lived as “Hebrews” in the land of Egypt.
④ In Exodus 5:3, Moses introduces God as “the God of the Hebrews,” that is, “the God of the weak,” before Pharaoh, who considers himself to be the strong.
In this way, God came not as a God who protects the vested rights of the strong in a society where the strong oppress the weak and take away their authority, but as the God of the weak Hebrews. God is the One who protects the authority of the weak and sets them free from all oppression. Therefore, the foundation of Israel's faith was that YHWH God is “the One who hears and answers the earnest voices of the marginalized.” It is this faith that became the driving force for the Hebrews, who were weak, to be transformed into the holy people of God, Israel.
Proverbs 14:31 says, “He who oppresses the poor despises his Maker, but he who has compassion on the needy honors the Lord.” Also, in Matthew 25:40, Jesus said, “As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” Here we can see what a Christian is supposed to do.
Conclusion: We must always remember that we are weak creatures, not gods. And we must get down on our knees before Almighty God and confess that God is the only true God and that there is no other god but God. Also, we must serve God knowing that the God we serve is the “God of the Hebrews,” who hears the prayers of the weak, delivers them from oppression of the strong, and protects them. That is why we must live a life of loving and caring for the weak around us.