16 “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’

18 “The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.

The God whose name is ‘I AM’ – the eternal God – knows the end from the beginning. He who knows all things can, if He so chooses, reveal something of the future to any one of His people at any time. Here, he gave Moses reassurance about the ultimate success of his mission. Although Pharaoh would be resistant, he would not be successful. In the short-term, Moses would find a ready hearing among “the elders of Israel”, and he was not going to be alone. He and the elders were going to stand before Pharaoh together.

There are many parallels between Israel’s experience of salvation and ours. It is surely true to our experience that God has brought us “up out of” our “misery” into “a land flowing” with blessing.

One further thought: I wonder if the believers at prayer had this passage in the back of their minds, when they said in Acts 4:20:  “Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

When God’s people speak His Word, and God stretches out His mighty Hand remarkable events take place.

PRAYER: Lord, as we endeavour to speak your Word, we look for your power, that your Kingdom will come and your purposes unfold upon the earth.