Finding Christ in the Old Testament - Exodus 4:19 - 31

Finding Christ in the Old Testament
Exodus 4:19–31

The Lord sends Moses back to Egypt, yet only after those who sought his life are dead—a typological echo of the angel’s message to Joseph regarding Jesus (Matt. 2:20). As Moses returns, he bears the rod of God, not as a mere tool, but as a symbol of divine authority—a prefiguration of Christ who would come not with a staff, but with the wood of the cross, working deliverance through humility. The chilling episode where God seeks to put Moses to death, only to have Zipporah intercede through the bloody act of circumcision, is a striking image of substitutionary atonement. It is not Moses' obedience but the shedding of blood that turns away wrath—a shadow of Christ’s own blood which speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. That the people believe and worship when they hear the Lord has visited His people recalls the response to Christ’s miracles and ministry, when the poor and oppressed rejoiced that God had seen their affliction and sent them deliverance. In Moses, we see a flawed mediator—hesitant, weak, and nearly undone by judgment—yet used by God as a type of the greater Redeemer to come. Christ, the true Mediator, came not reluctantly but willingly, not in weakness but in meek strength, bearing the sins of His people and delivering them by the sign of His own blood.

Devotion
God does not require perfect men to carry out His perfect will. He uses the weak and the reluctant, sanctifying them by His word and blood. Moses was almost cut off, but mercy intervened. How much more has Christ, the greater Moses, borne the full weight of God’s judgment for us, so that no wrath remains. He did not come simply to warn Pharaoh but to crush the serpent underfoot, and to lead His people in triumph.

New Testament Verse:
Hebrews 3:5–6 (ESV)
"Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope."

Collect
Almighty and Eternal God, who by signs and wonders led Your servant Moses to speak to Pharaoh and bring deliverance to Your people, grant us grace to trust in the greater Deliverer, Your Son Jesus Christ, who by His own blood has redeemed us from bondage to sin and death; that being marked by His righteousness, we may walk in confidence through every trial, until we behold Your glory; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. Amen.

Hymn Verse
Then take comfort and rejoice,
For His members Christ will cherish.
Fear not, they will hear His voice;
Dying, they shall never perish;
For the very grave is stirred
When the trumpet's blast is heard.
— Jesus Christ, My Sure Defense (LSB 741:6)

Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God, Now and Forever, Unto the Ages of Ages, AMEN!