Daniel Sloan, PhD | March 23, 2025
When we think of the term “apologetics”, usually we think of it in modern terms or possibly going back to the New Testament. However, God made apologetic arguments back in the Old Testament as well. One of the strongest Old Testament apologetic arguments that God made was the event of the Exodus.
Pharaoh’s Rejection of God
In Exodus 5, Moses and Aaron have their first meeting with Pharaoh. In this meeting, Moses and Aaron told Pharaoh that God wanted His people to be released from their slavery. When he heard this request, Pharaoh mocked both the request and God Himself. He said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go” (Exodus 5:2). Essentially, Pharaoh was saying that he did not recognize Israel’s God as a legitimate deity, or at the very least, he did not believe that their God was powerful enough to make him release the people from slavery. After all, in his mind, if Israel’s God was powerful enough to challenge the gods of Egypt, why had He left His people in slavery for centuries?
God’s Challenge to Pharaoh and the Egyptian Deities
After hearing Pharaoh’s response, Moses and Aaron desperately pleaded with God to do something. After all, God had commissioned Moses to free the people in Exodus 3-4, but it seemed as if they had failed. In fact, after their first encounter with Pharaoh, he had even made the work harder for the people. The people then went and complained to Moses and Aaron and blamed them for their extra labor. It seemed as if instead of freeing them, God was simply making things worse for the people.
God then responded to them and assured them that not only would He free the Israelites, but all of Egypt would see His power. He told them, “And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them” (Exodus 7:5). Thus, when we read through the next few chapters of the book and see the various plagues that God poured out on the Egyptians, we often miss the big picture. We think of them as just God doing them to free the Israelites or maybe God judging Egypt for putting them in slavery in the first place. Those are certainly part of the reasons for the plagues. However, this idea of the Egyptians knowing the LORD shows that God was also doing these plagues to show the Egyptians that He was the true God, not the various Egyptian deities that they worshipped. Would any of them respond, or would they continue to worship the false gods of Egypt?
The Response of the Egyptians
Obviously if you have ever read the story of the Exodus, you know that Pharaoh and his army did not respond well to the challenge of God. While Pharaoh initially let the people go, he changed his mind and chased after the people. God intervened with the parting of the Red Sea and the drowning of Pharaoh’s army. Egypt at large then failed the challenge of God. They refused to acknowledge Him as the true God even though they had seen His power firsthand throughout the plagues and deliverance of the Israelites.
However, one short verse in chapter 13 shows a different side of this challenge. The text states, “A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds—a great deal of livestock.” (12:38). This small verse shows that some of the Egyptians, and possibly other ethnic groups, did recognize the power and majesty of God and decided that they would follow Him. They left Egypt, the most powerful and influential nation of their time, to join the Israelites and follow after their God. Scholar Douglas Stuart describes this group well. He states, “These people had observed the miraculous work of Yahweh, Israel’s God, and had become convinced that conversion to him and life among his people would represent their best hope for the future.” (1) God did not start His apologetic ministry with the New Testament but has been showing the world His power and majesty since the beginning of time, and one of the greatest examples of this occurs through the events of the Exodus.
About the Author
Daniel Sloan, PhD
Daniel Sloan is an Assistant Professor at Liberty University. He was mentored by the late Dr. Ed Hindson. After Dr. Hindson’s untimely passing, Dr. Sloan was allowed to teach some of Dr. Hindson’s classes. In addition to his teaching duties, Dr. Sloan serves as an Associate Pastor at Safe Harbor Community Church in Lynchburg, Virginia. Daniel graduated with his PhD in Theology and Apologetics from Liberty University. His research and expertise is in Old Testament studies. He and his wife, Natalie, live in Lynchburg, Virginia. Along with his extensive knowledge of the Bible, Daniel is an avid sports fan.
(1) Stuart, Douglas K. Exodus. Vol. 2. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006.
