Here’s a little something I thought of when studying the book of Exodus recently…
These are that Aaron and Moses, to whom the LORD said, Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies.
(Exodus 6:26)
God tells Moses to go to Pharaoh with the demand for the people to be released. That’s not a new idea, of course; it’s already happened in Exodus, and will again (and again). What strikes me here is an additional bit of information: Specifically, when they finally do leave Egypt, God wants the people organized into troops, like an army, and led away in formation out of Egypt. In other words, this will not be a panicked escape, but instead something more akin to a military parade.
And I love that imagery because of how backwards it is in its implementation. Usually, when you think of a conquering army, marching in formation inside the walls of a defeated nation, the army is marching INTO the nation. That’s not how it is here. In this case, instead of the conquerors coming into the defeated nation, the conquerors will be leaving the defeated nation! As usual, God takes conventional thinking and turns it on its head.
That’s all. I just thought it was neat.
~Matthew