The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
Psalm 9:9
For several generations after the twelve sons of Jacob (renamed Israel) and their families moved there, Egypt was a wonderful place for the Israelites to live. Butan Egyptian king who feared the Israelites came to power and enslaved them, and the Israelites remained slaves for several hundred years. They cried out to God for help, and God selected Moses to lead them out of slavery.
But it wouldn’t be easy. God explained to Moses and Aaron that Pharaoh, the leader of Egypt, would not be persuaded by their words or by “signs and wonders” that God promised to demonstrate. God even told them that he would harden Pharaoh’s heart against them. Moses, Aaron and the Israelites would have to rely on God as their stronghold. And God promised to deliver them from Egypt.
At their first meeting with Pharaoh, Moses and Aaron gave a demonstration of God’s power-turning a staff into a serpent, but it had no impact on Pharaoh. God then brought nine plagues upon Egypt: turning water (the Nile River) into blood; swarms of frogs, gnats, and flies; death of livestock; boils, hail, locusts and darkness. Pharaoh still refused to free the Israelites, so God resorted to a final plague: the death of every first-born son in Egypt.
God instructed the people of Israel to protect their sons by sacrificing lambs and putting lamb’s blood on the doorpost of every Israelite home. God said, “And when I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Exodus 12:13). God passed over the Israelite homes but killed the firstborn son in every Egyptian home, including Pharaoh’s. Only then did Pharaoh let the Israelites go.
Every year the people of Israel celebrate Passover to remember their deliverance by God, who is a stronghold for the oppressed.
