Back in the Garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve sinned and slinked off into hiding, God came looking for them. Commencing with these words spoken to Adam, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9), God launched the largest rescue mission known to man.

Though we—the human race—betrayed our Creator and fell into the grip of sin and Satan, God did not turn His back on us. Even before He pronounced judgment, God promised that One (whom we now know was Jesus) would eventually come, defeat Satan for good, and rescue us from the kingdom of darkness (v.15).

God’s desire to liberate the human race is one of the central themes of the Bible. The exodus, where God dramatically delivered the Hebrew slaves from the bondage of Egypt, is the crowning event that points to God’s ultimate intentions in the Old Testament.

After 400 years of slavery, Moses showed up on the scene and demanded that Pharaoh let God’s people go. When the king refused, God unleashed one terrible plague after another on Egypt (Exodus 7–12). Finally Pharaoh relented and granted the Israelites their freedom. After a short time, however, he changed his mind and pursued them with a vengeance (14:5-9).

The next part of the story is my favorite. Pinned against the shores of the Red Sea with Pharaoh’s army bearing down on them, Moses assured the people: “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today” (v.13). God drowned Pharaoh’s entire army in the depths of the Red Sea—“not a single one survived” (v.28).

God rescues. Through Jesus, He desires to save us and bring us back to Himself—so we live for Him and strive to spread His rescuing message to others.