⁷ Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out^(A) because of their oppressors. I know about their sufferings, ⁸ and I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey^(B)—the territory of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.^{(C) 9} So because the Israelites’ cry for help has come to me, and I have also seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing^(D) them, ¹⁰ therefore, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

¹¹ But Moses asked God, “Who am I^(E) that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

¹² He answered, “I will certainly be with you,^(F) and this will be the sign to you that I am the one who sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will all worship^[a] God at this mountain.”

¹³ Then Moses asked God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what should I tell them?”

¹⁴ God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.^[b](G) This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.” ¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Say this to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever;^(H) this is how I am to be remembered in every generation.

¹⁶ “Go and assemble the elders of Israel and say to them: The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and said: I have paid close attention to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt.^{(I) 17} And I have promised you that I will bring you up from the misery of Egypt^(J) to the land of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.

God Promises Freedom

² Then God spoke to Moses, telling him, “I am the Lord. ³ I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I was not known to them by my name ‘the Lord.’^{[a](A) 4} I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land they lived in as aliens.^{(B) 5} Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are forcing to work as slaves, and I have remembered^(C) my covenant.

⁶ “Therefore tell the Israelites: I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians and rescue you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm^(D) and great acts of judgment. ⁷ I will take you as my people,^(E) and I will be your God. You will know^(F) that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians. ⁸ I will bring you to the land that I swore^[b](G) to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.” ⁹ Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen^(H) to him because of their broken spirit and hard labor.

¹⁰ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, ¹¹ “Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go from his land.”

Psalm 118

Thanksgiving for Victory

³¹ Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you continue in my word,^[a](A) you really are my disciples. ³² You will know the truth,^(B) and the truth will set you free.”

³³ “We are descendants^[b] of Abraham,”^(C) they answered him, “and we have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will become free’?”

³⁴ Jesus responded, “Truly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.^{(D) 35} A slave does not remain in the household forever,^(E) but a son does remain forever.^{(F) 36} So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.

Our Apostle and High Priest

3 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession.^{(A) 2} He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was in all God’s household. ³ For Jesus is considered worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder has more honor than the house. ⁴ Now every house is built by someone, but the one who built everything is God.^{(B) 5} Moses was faithful as a servant^(C) in all God’s household, as a testimony to what would be said in the future. ⁶ But Christ was faithful as a Son over his household. And we are that household if we hold on to our confidence and the hope in which we boast.^[a](D)

Freedom of the Christian

5 For freedom, Christ set us free. Stand firm,^(A) then, and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.^(B)