The God We Worship: Liberation Without Violence

Oct 11, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: The Loud Cry That Reverses the Story

The Exodus begins and ends with a loud cry: first from Hebrew slaves groaning under oppression, then from Egyptians mourning their firstborn. This reversal forces us to confront the paradox of a God who liberates the oppressed yet enacts devastating judgment. The story refuses to sanitize the cost of liberation or excuse the collateral damage of Pharaoh’s stubbornness. It asks us to sit with the tension between divine justice and human suffering, recognizing that systems of power often demand reckoning. How do we reconcile a God who hears the cries of the marginalized with one who permits innocent lives to be swept up in judgment? [14:25]

“And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.”
(Exodus 11:6–7, ESV)

Reflection: When have you witnessed the consequences of a leader’s choices ripple outward, harming the vulnerable? How does this shape your understanding of collective responsibility?

Day 2: Blood on the Doorposts and the Cost of Covenant

The Passover lamb’s blood marked not just protection but a radical reorientation of identity. Its smearing on doorposts was an act of defiance against Egyptian power and a declaration of allegiance to a God who sides with the enslaved. This ritual bound the Israelites to a covenant demanding justice for future generations. Yet the blood also foreshadowed the violence inherent in breaking oppressive systems. The story challenges us to ask what “marks” us as people committed to liberation—and what costs we’re willing to bear. [15:48]

“They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it… The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you.”
(Exodus 12:7, 13, ESV)

Reflection: What practices or symbols in your life remind you to actively resist oppression? How do they connect you to a larger story of liberation?

Day 3: Hardened Hearts and the Hunger for Glory

God’s hardening of Pharaoh’s heart reveals a troubling divine motive: to multiply wonders and prove supremacy. This mirrors ancient honor-shame cultures where gods competed for glory through displays of power. Yet the text also shows Pharaoh’s own complicity—his refusal to relinquish control over a cheap labor force. The story becomes a cautionary tale about conflating divine justice with the human craving for dominance. It asks whose “glory” we truly serve when we claim God’s authority. [15:22]

“For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’”
(Romans 9:17, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you see communities today using “God’s glory” to justify control? How might Jesus’ kingdom reorient this pursuit?

Day 4: When Legends Carry More Truth Than Facts

Archaeology finds no evidence of mass Hebrew slavery or Exodus miracles—yet the story’s power endures. Like the Iliad’s myths shaping Greek identity, these narratives gave Israel a counter-cultural vision: a God who prioritizes covenant community over empire. The lack of historical proof invites us to wrestle with deeper truths about God’s character. What if the Exodus matters not as fact, but as a defiant declaration that the divine sides with the erased and exploited? [31:30]

“When your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt.’”
(Exodus 12:26–27, ESV)

Reflection: How does shifting from “Did this happen?” to “What does this mean?” change your engagement with difficult scriptures?

Day 5: The God Who Hears Cries—Then and Now

The Exodus God hears enslaved Hebrews’ groans and acts—not just for their freedom, but to model a society centered on covenant, not conquest. This “preferential option for the poor” echoes in Jesus’ kingdom proclamation. Yet the text also warns against weaponizing this narrative: literal readings justify holy wars, but spiritual readings call us to dismantle systems that crush the marginalized. The challenge remains: will we amplify the cries of today’s oppressed, or sleep through another midnight? [31:47]

“I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry… I have come down to deliver them.”
(Exodus 3:7–8, ESV)

Reflection: Whose cries for justice are you hearing in your community? How might God be calling you to participate in their liberation?

Sermon Summary

Exodus 11 and 12 forces the hardest question in the Old Testament: does God kill? The tenth plague leaves death throughout Egypt, from Pharaoh’s house to the prisoner’s cell and even among the livestock. The text gives no easy way around the horror that children, including babies, die in every Egyptian household.

God’s judgment comes after Pharaoh ordered the drowning of Hebrew babies in the Nile and refused every command to let the slaves go. The Exodus story reverses the world Pharaoh made: the first become last, and the last become first. Yet the killing of Egypt’s firstborn still violates a deep sense that babies should not suffer for the sins of their parents or rulers.

The Passover blood on the doorposts marks Israel’s deliverance, while Egypt’s loud cry answers the earlier cry of Hebrew slaves groaning under oppression. God’s liberation also sends Israel out with silver and gold, and Egypt’s giving becomes a model for Jubilee law. The Exodus story therefore supplies a biblical basis for not sending former slaves away empty handed, including the serious claim for reparations after generations of American slavery.

The Bible preserves these difficult pieces side by side rather than homogenizing them. The text contains liberation, covenant, violence, glory, honor, memory, legend, and conflicting voices from Israel’s tradition. The claim that the Old Testament has a wrathful God while the New Testament has a loving God must be abandoned, because both testaments contain violence and mercy, including the terrible violence of Revelation.

The tension between honor and glory helps name what is going on. Honor hears the cry of enslaved people and creates a covenant community where people are protected. Glory seeks to prove whose god is stronger, the God of the Hebrews or Pharaoh, ruler of the greatest empire on earth. The desire for divine glory looks more like the ancient culture of honor than the deepest character of God.

The Exodus story has a historical kernel, but archaeology gives little support for a massive slave population, a vast exodus, or a military conquest of the land. The enduring truth does not depend on literal historical fact. God’s preferential option for the poor, God’s covenant community, Isaiah’s vision of peace, and Jesus’ kingdom of God give the story its lasting meaning.

The killing of the firstborn becomes dangerous when literalized into a holy war story. God’s nonviolence seeks reconciliation, peace, and justice among all peoples. The church must trust people enough to tell the truth about Scripture, because a literalism that kills cannot be the final word.

Key Takeaways

1. God hears the oppressed cry [19:59] God begins the Exodus story by hearing people whose suffering has been ignored by the powerful. The cry of the enslaved is not background noise in Scripture but a summons that exposes Pharaoh’s whole social order. God’s justice is rooted first in liberation and the formation of a people who can live differently. [19:59]
2. Liberation includes material repair [17:38] The Exodus story does not picture freedom as merely being released from bondage with nothing in hand. Egypt’s silver and gold become a pattern behind Jubilee law, where a freed slave must be sent out with resources for a real future. Justice requires more than ending oppression; it must reckon with what oppression has taken. [17:38]
3. Scripture preserves difficult voices [18:42] The Bible does not flatten its traditions into a neat system that removes every contradiction. Its preserved stories carry the faith, fear, hope, violence, and moral struggle of generations who kept wrestling with God. Faithfulness includes refusing easy answers when the text itself will not permit them. [18:42]
4. Glory can distort justice [24:24] The drive to prove power can stand alongside the work of liberation and yet pull it in a dangerous direction. Honor protects the vulnerable and keeps covenant, while glory seeks victory over rivals. God’s name cannot be used to baptize domination, conquest, or the humiliation of enemies. [24:24]
5. Literalism can become deadly [32:28] The killing of the firstborn becomes a weapon when it is treated as a timeless blueprint for God’s enemies. White Christian nationalism and holy war both depend on claiming that God is on one side against another. Jesus’ kingdom points instead toward a reconciled community where peace and justice belong together.

## [32:28]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[11:50] - The Hard Question: Does God Kill?
[13:16] - The Final Plague and Passover
[16:33] - Pharaoh Humbled and Israel Released
[17:19] - Jubilee Law and Reparations
[18:42] - The Bible’s Conflicting Voices
[19:22] - Justice, Pharaoh, and Egypt’s Children
[22:27] - Rejecting the Old Testament God Myth
[24:24] - Honor, Glory, and Imperial Power
[28:09] - History, Legend, and Exodus
[31:30] - God’s Preferential Option for the Poor
[32:28] - Nonviolence and the Kingdom of God
[34:58] - Telling the Truth About Scripture

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Exodus 11:4-6
“So Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again.” [10:29]

Deuteronomy 15:12-15
“If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. And when you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed. You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As the Lord your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today.” [17:19]

Exodus 3:7-8
“Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.” [19:59]

Observation questions

In Exodus 11:4-6, which people and animals are included in the announced judgment, and what does that wide scope make noticeable about the passage? [12:37]
What two different cries are placed alongside each other in the Exodus story: the cry of the Hebrew slaves and the cry that rises from Egypt? [14:21]
What do the Israelites receive from the Egyptians as they leave, and how does Deuteronomy 15:12-15 connect that provision to the release of enslaved people? [17:12]
What reasons does the story give for the plagues, including both Pharaoh’s refusal to free the slaves and the desire to show whose power is greater? [24:14]

Interpretation questions

Exodus presents liberation from slavery alongside the death of Egypt’s firstborn. How should a faithful community hold both the goodness of liberation and the horror of innocent suffering without pretending either one is unimportant? [20:19]
Deuteronomy says that people released from slavery should not be sent away empty-handed. What does this suggest about the difference between merely ending oppression and repairing the damage oppression has caused? [17:34]
The Exodus story contrasts honor that protects vulnerable people with glory that seeks to prove power over an enemy. Where might that same conflict appear when communities seek justice today? [26:24]
Scripture preserves difficult and sometimes conflicting voices rather than making every passage fit neatly together. How can that honesty help a group read troubling passages with faith instead of fear or denial? [18:48]

Application questions

God hears the cries of people whose suffering is ignored by those in power. Whose cries are easiest for you to overlook because their struggles feel far away, complicated, or uncomfortable? What is one way you could listen more carefully this week? [19:56]
Freedom is not complete when people are simply released and left without resources. Where have you seen people expected to “move on” without the support needed to rebuild their lives? How might you respond with practical generosity? [17:38]
The Exodus story raises the painful reality that ordinary people, including children, can suffer under the decisions of powerful leaders. How does this shape the way you pray for people affected by war, oppression, or unjust policies? [20:44]
A desire to win, dominate, or prove strength can distort a good cause. When have you felt tempted to treat another person as an enemy to defeat rather than a neighbor to understand? What might a more honorable response look like? [26:35]
Claims that God is automatically “on our side” can be used to justify violence and contempt. What warning signs help you recognize when faith is being used to bless nationalism, hatred, or domination? [32:37]
God’s covenant community is pictured as a place where people are honored and protected, not merely where the powerful are secure. What is one concrete way this group or congregation can better protect, welcome, or honor someone who is vulnerable? [31:53]
Jesus’ kingdom points toward reconciliation, peace, and justice among all people. Where is God inviting you to practice reconciliation in a relationship, workplace, family, or neighborhood without ignoring the need for truth and justice? [33:08]

Sermon Clips

41s

#FaithWithoutViolence

“The killing of the firstborn is a legend that describes the God of the Hebrews as more powerful than the Pharaoh of Egypt. If we read that story as historical fact, it can be used by white Christian nationalists to justify violence against whoever they perceive to be their enemies. They claim that God is on their side and that their enemies are God's enemies. We will become a land of death if we embrace a literal reading of the Exodus story.”

45s

#PeaceAndJustice

“The stories in the Old Testament survived because they tell us something new. They describe a god who founded a community based on covenant in which everyone in the society was honored and protected instead of just the king and his court. Second, Isaiah envisions a god who will bring about a day when military battles are no more. The lion will lie down with a lamb. All peoples will stream to God's holy mountain for instruction on how to live together in peace. That is the God we worship.”

50s

#PreferentialOptionForThePoor

“Every culture in the ancient Near East had a flood story of how the earth was created. There is no archeological evidence of a worldwide flood in which only one family on an ark survived. There's no archaeological evidence of a worldwide flood. The importance of these stories is what do they mean? How do they impact our faith today? The enduring meaning of the Exodus story is that the God of Israel favors the poor, God's preferential option for the poor whose stories are nearly always erased in history.”

46s

#BiblicalDiversity

“The beauty of the Bible is that it's a patchwork of theologies. They don't try to homogenize it all. The authors of the bible tried to preserve different voices in their tradition. We see stories and parts of the stories laid side by side that are not consistent with each other. But the authors thought they were important because they had been preserved by oral storytellers who preserved them down from generation to generation, and each of the stories was significant to some part of Israel's society.”

56s

#GodOfLove

“People in biblical times believed in group responsibility for sins. Sons were punished for the sins of their fathers, sometimes to seven generations. Harder still is the central question that we have not answered yet. Does God kill? Does God's vision of justice include killing people as retribution for their crimes or for the crimes of their leaders? One explanation we must abandon is that the God of the Old Testament is a God of wrath, and the God of the New Testament is a God of love. That's a slander on the Jewish people, and Christians have repeated it for centuries.”

50s

#ExodusLiberation

“The god of the Old Testament is repeatedly described as a god of steadfast love. There is violence and nonviolence on every page of the Old Testament and the New Testament. Our ancestors in faith preserved conflicting stories. When we look at the Exodus story, there is more going on than just the liberation of the Hebrew slaves. We see that as justice rescuing the Hebrew slaves from an attempted genocide and leading them to freedom to create their own community and govern themselves.”

53s

#JusticeAndMercy

“The traditional explanation for the killing of the firstborn is that it is God's justice. Pharaoh had commanded all of Egypt to drown the Hebrew babies in the Nile. Pharaoh thus ordered the first genocide. Now the roles are reversed. The first become last and the last become first. The ex... Exodus story began when God heard the cries of the Hebrew slaves, groaning and oppression. Now another loud cry comes out of Egypt, such has never been or will ever be, and God does not heed their cries.”

51s

#InnocentLivesMatter

“But we see that as evil, bringing death upon itself. Pharaoh brings death to his own people. It jolts us to see God bringing death to innocent people. It's even harder for us to deal with the death of children. We do not believe in punishing babies for the sins of their parents. That violates our core sense of justice and individual responsibility. Well, original sin did come pretty close when infants had to be baptized in Christian tradition because they were born with sin for which they needed to be covered up.”

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