I am God, the God of your father, he said. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. The identification — I am God, the God of your father — grounds the vision in the covenant history. The address of the specific fear — do not be afraid to go down to Egypt — shows that God sees the hesitation that the journey into Egypt represents. The application: the covenant God speaks specifically to the fears that the covenant person faces in obedience. The fear of Egypt is named and addressed before the command to go is given.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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