The Forced Exodus, the Spoils of Deliverance and the Bones of Resurrection

Read Time: 5 Minutes

This week, we journey into the powerful parasha of Beshalach—a breathtaking epic within the Exodus narrative. We witness the long-awaited moment: the release of the children of Israel from the iron grip of Pharaoh. But as we delve into the text, we discover that this is no simple departure. It is a masterclass in divine deliverance, revealing profound truths about our own redemption.

We will explore three pivotal themes:

1. The Forced Release: How even the enemy is compelled to play a role in our liberation.

2. The Recompense of Redemption: How deliverance always includes a "plundering" of the oppressor, turning our trials into spiritual wealth.

3. The Bones of Joseph: Uncovering a stunning resurrection motif that points directly to Messiah Yeshua.

Let's open the scroll together.

 

The Forced Release: When Compatibility Ends

"Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go..." (Exodus 13:17).

The Hebrew reveals a deeper truth. This was a forced release. Exodus 6:1 makes it clear: "with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land." Pharaoh, a shadow of the "god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4), reaches a point where Israel's presence, under the mighty hand of Yahweh, becomes unbearable.

Here is a profound spiritual principle: Deliverance often begins when compatibility ends.

When we, as Spirit-filled believers, walk in the covenant and manifest the light of YHVH's superiority, we become incompatible with the kingdom of darkness. The enemy loses jurisdiction and grip. He doesn't just lose interest; he actively wants you gone from his vicinity.

Yeshua taught us: "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed" (John 3:19-20).

We are called to be so filled with God's light that the darkness cannot comprehend it (John 1:5). It shrinks back, unable to function. This is our deliverance tactic: to be bulletproof through the infilling of the Ruach HaKodesh. When we serve a higher King and become incompatible with sin, idols, and the patterns of this world, the "Pharaoh" of our lives is forced to release us. It is a deliverance born not of negotiation, but of divine judgment and separation—Yahweh making a distinction (Exodus 11:7).

 

The Plunder: Turning Captivity into Calling

The forced release is just the beginning. Deliverance in YAH's economy always includes recompense.

"Thus they plundered the Egyptians." (Exodus 12:36).

Israel did not leave as paupers. They left with the wealth of Egypt—the very resources that had been built on their enslaved backs. This "plunder" would fund their future as a nation and the construction of the Tabernacle.

Yeshua echoed this Exodus reality in Luke 11:21-22: "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes away all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils."

Our "strong man," HaSatan, is overpowered by the Stronger One—Yeshua. In our deliverance, the enemy is forced to fund the future he tried to prevent. The trials, the struggles, the prisons he meant for our destruction become the very things that equip us for ministry.

• Your testimony of a sinner becomes your tool to pull others from the pit.

• Your season of grief equips you to comfort those who mourn.

• The chains you broke become the keys you hold for others.

This is the "treasures of darkness" (Isaiah 45:3). YAH doesn't just remove us from darkness; He teaches us to extract light from it. Our captivity is transformed into our calling.

The Torah establishes this principle of restitution: "If the thief is found, he shall restore double" (Exodus 22:7). Satan is the ultimate thief (John 10:10). His trespass against us demands a double repayment. Consider Job: after his trial, "the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before" (Job 42:10).

The Beatitudes (Matthew 5) are not passive comforts; they are covenantal reversal declarations. The poor in spirit, the mourners, the persecuted—they are promised the kingdom, comfort, and a great reward. Our persecution never disqualifies our inheritance; it confirms it and sets the stage for divine restitution.

We overcome the accuser "by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony" (Revelation 12:11). How can we have a testimony if we've never been tested? The "spoils" we divide are the proven faithfulness of God and the powerful story of our redemption.

 

The Bones of Joseph: A Resurrection in the Exodus

Now, we come to one of the most profound messianic pictures in the Torah, nestled almost quietly in the narrative.

"And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, 'God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.'" (Exodus 13:19).

Before the pillar of cloud or fire, before the parting of the sea, the first act of the Exodus is a resurrection.

Who is Joseph? The beloved son, rejected by his brothers, thrown into a pit, raised from a prison to the right hand of power, savior of the known world—a clear type of Messiah Yeshua.

Now, in Exodus, the typology deepens. His embalmed body (Genesis 50:26) is carried out of its Egyptian tomb. Consider the parallels with Yeshua's resurrection:

• An Empty Tomb: Joseph's tomb in Egypt was left vacant. "He is not here; for He is risen" (Matthew 28:6).

• The Same, Yet Transformed Body: Joseph's body was preserved (embalmed). Yeshua rose in a glorified, yet physical body, showing the marks of his death (Luke 24:39).

• Vindicated by the Law: Moses himself, the representative of the Law, carries Joseph's bones. Yeshua, who transgressed not one jot of the Law, was legally vindicated by it; death had no claim on Him.

But there's more. Jewish tradition, as seen in the Midrash (Sotah 13a), reveals a stunning insight. For 40 years in the wilderness, two "arks" traveled with Israel: the Ark of the Covenant and the coffin (aron) of Joseph. The Hebrew word for both is identical—aron.

The sages even suggest that the Red Sea parted on the merit of Joseph's bones. They saw Joseph as one who "fulfilled the Torah before it was given."

Do you see the beautiful picture? Messiah ben Yosef (the Suffering Messiah) accompanied Israel through every step of their wilderness journey. He was with them at the sea, around Jericho, and in every battle. He went all the way to the Promised Land (Shechem), where he was finally buried (Joshua 24:32).

This is our promise: "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). We carry in our bodies the death of Yeshua, so that His life may also be manifested in us (2 Corinthians 4:10). In every trial, the risen Messiah journeys with us.

 

The Final Blow: Striking at the Heart of Egypt's Salvation

Moses's act of retrieving Joseph's bones was not just logistical; it was a theological atomic bomb on the Egyptian religious system.

Egyptian cosmology, detailed in the Book of the Dead, held that eternal life depended on:

1. An intact, preserved body (mummification).

2. A secure, undisturbed tomb.

3. Remaining in the sacred soil of Egypt.

To remove a body from its tomb was to annihilate that person's chance at an afterlife and commit a grievous sin against Osiris, god of the underworld.

So when Moses marched into Joseph's tomb and carried the prince of Egypt out of the land, he was declaring:

• Your gods are powerless.

• Your salvation system is a lie.

• Resurrection belongs to YAH alone.

This may well be the final, unspoken plague—a direct attack on Egypt's doctrine of death and salvation. It could explain the renewed fury in Exodus 14:5. When Pharaoh heard "the people had fled," it may have included Egyptians whose entire religious world had just collapsed, now following the resurrected savior-figure, Joseph, out of the land.

YAH was proclaiming: "O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction!" (Hosea 13:14). The resurrection of Messiah, prefigured in Joseph's bones, is the ultimate victory that dismantles every power of darkness.

 

Conclusion: Our Exodus Story

Beloved, in Beshalach we see our story.

1. We are forcibly released from the kingdom of darkness by the superior strength of Yeshua, becoming lights so bright the enemy cannot tolerate us.

2. We plunder our Egypt. Every trial, every battle, leaves us not poorer, but richer—equipped with testimony, character, hope, and a double-portion blessing to build the kingdom.

3. We walk with a risen Messiah. The One who vacated the tomb walks with us through every wilderness. His promise is our certainty: "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

Hold fast to your testimony. Fix your eyes on the hope of your calling. You are more than a conqueror through Him who loved you. Your Pharaoh will be forced to release you, your Egypt will be plundered, and the resurrected King will lead you home.

May the light of Messiah shine so brightly through you that the darkness must flee.

From our house to your house,
Shalom.

 

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