In Exodus 18, Moses is visited by his father-in-law, Jethro, who advises him to share his heavy load of serving as judge before the people. Moses listened to Jethro and accepted his suggestions, selecting capable trustworthy men who fear God, who would serve as judges for the people , and would bring only the difficult issues to Moses. Moses also taught the people the decrees and laws, showing them the way to live, so that they would not always need to bring their disputes to the judges.

In Exodus 17, the Israelites complained again to Moses. They grumbled about the lack of water and Moses responded, "Why do you put the Lord to the test?". The Lord told Moses to take his staff and strike the rocks and water came out for the people to drink. The Lord provided for them again and continued to be faithful to His people. When the Amalekites came and attacked, Moses sent Joshua with his men to fight them. Then Moses went up to the top of a hillside and held up his hands towards God, trusting in Him again for deliverance. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites prevailed and were winning the battle with the Amalekites, so Aaron and Hur held up his arms when he grew tired, so that his hands remained steady until Joshua overcame the Amalekite army. Afterwards, Moses recorded the battle account on a scroll as something to be remembered and also built an alter, calling it "The Lord is my Banner", for "hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord".

In Exodus 16, the Israelites grumbled about not having enough food, so the Lord said to Moses "I will rain down bread" . Moses reminded the people that it was God who delivered them in Egypt and that in the morning the glory of the Lord would again be seen and He would provide for their needs. God gave them instructions , testing their obedience, in regard to the gathering of food each day. They were to gather twice as much on the sixth day, since there would be none available to gather on the seventh day. Also, they were told not to keep any for the next day, except for on the sixth day. The Lord also provided meat each evening, sending quail to them each day at twilight. Some of the people wend out to gather on the seventh day, so the Lord said to Moses "How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions?"

Exodus 15 starts with a song to the Lord, in which Moses and the Israelites praise Him for their deliverance and His glory which was displayed in their rescue from Pharaoh's army. Then as they traveled from the Red Sea into the desert, they did not have water for 3 days. They cried out to the Lord and He provided water for them to drink. God said to them, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His eyes, if you pay attention to His commands and keep all His decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you." God then led them to Elim, where there was shelter and water and they camped there.

In Exodus 14, Moses lead the Israelites to camp by the sea near Migdol, just as the Lord had instructed. This was part of God’s plan to gain glory for Himself, since Pharaoh would bring his army against them there, thinking he had them “hemmed in” by the sea. Pharaoh’s heart was still hardened as he continued to pursue the Israelites, but God said, “I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord”. The Israelites were terrified when they saw Pharaoh’s army marching after them, but Moses said to them “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today.” Using Moses’ outstretched hand over the sea, God divided the water so that the Israelites could go through on dry ground, for “the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land” with a wall of water on the right and left. As the Egyptians pursued them, God “threw them into confusion” and “made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving”. The Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.” Then the Lord, through Moses’ outstretched hands, made the sea waters flow back over the Egyptian army as they pursued the Israelites and the entire army of Pharaoh was swept into the sea without any survivors. “That day the Lord saved Israel (again) from the hands of the Egyptians...and when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed ..., the people feared the Lord and put their trust in Him”.

Exodus 13 is about the establishment of an annual festival, celebrating what the Lord did for the Israelites, "with the power of His mighty hand, the Lord brought us out of Egypt". Part of the annual event would include the dedication of every firstborn among the Israelites to the Lord, so in this way they would always remember how the Lord had rescued them from their slavery in Egypt. When they left, Moses brought the bones of Joseph, since Joseph had said "God will certainly come to help you. When he does, you must take my bones with you from this place." When the Israelites left, "the Lord went ahead of them and guided them" leading them day and night through the wilderness.

Exodus 12 is the account of the last plague and the eventual "exodus" of the Israelites. The Lord gave Moses and Aaron lots of specific instructions as to the proper timing and details of how they must prepare a lamb for the "passover". They were told to "take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the door frames of the houses where they eat the lambs". And the blood would be a sign for the Lord to pass over, when He goes throughout Egypt striking down every firstborn in judgment of Egypt. This occurred on the fourteen day of the first month, just as the Lord had said, and there was "loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not an (Egyptian) house without someone dead". Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, "Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested". God had seen the misery of His people and rescued them, and the Israelites journeyed out of Egypt that night.

In Exodus 11, after many plagues, the Lord said to Moses, "I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely." This last plague would be the worst, which would cause every firstborn son in Egypt to die, even Pharaoh's son. Even the animals belonging to the Egyptians would lose their firstborn, but the Israelites would not lose any firstborn. Hearing about this, Pharaoh still refused to listen and let the Israelites go out of his country, since the Lord hardened his heart.

In Exodus 9, three more plagues occur in Egypt due to the refusal of Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave to worship their God. First was the death of all the livestock of the Egyptians, then boils broke out among all the men and animals in Egypt, and then God sent the worst hailstorm ever to land on Egypt and crushed the fields and trees. Pharaoh summoned Moses and again asked him to pray to the Lord and tell Him that he would let the people go. Moses prayed and the the storm stopped, but Pharaoh again hardened his heart and he would not let the Israelites go. In Exodus 10, God sent two more plagues to Egypt , locusts which ate every remaining green plant and tree, and then complete darkness in which no one could see anyone else or leave his place for three days. Even after all these plagues, Pharaoh still hardened his heart and was not willing to let them go and worship. Pharaoh told Moses , "Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again! " Moses replied, "Just as you say, I will never appear before you again."

Exodus 8 is about the next series of plagues that God sent to Egypt because Pharaoh would not yield and continued to harden his heart against the commands of God. Before each plague, the Lord sent Moses to ask Pharaoh to let the Israelites go to worship their God. Each time, Moses would also warn Pharaoh of the next plague that would occur if Pharaoh did not let the Israelites go. Pharaoh began to recognize the power of the God of the Israelites with each plague, asking Moses to pray to the Lord to take away the plague from Egypt. Even Pharaoh's magicians confessed, "This is the finger of God", and they could not remove the plagues, "but Pharaoh's heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the Lord had said".

In Exodus 6, God tells Moses that Pharaoh will eventually let the Israelites go because of His "mighty hand". God tells Moses to remind the Israelites of the covenant He established with them, saying "I will free you from being slaves, ...redeem you with an outstretched arm and mighty acts of judgment, .. will take you as my own people, and I will be your God... I will bring you to the land I swore to Abraham... I will give it to you as a possession. " But, the Israelites "did not listen because of their discouragement and cruel bondage. Moses asked the Lord why Pharaoh would listen to him , since not even the Israelites would listen to him "since I speak with faltering lips". In Exodus 7, the Lord encourages Moses, saying that He will make him like God to Pharaoh, and Aaron will be his prophet, both speaking everything to Pharaoh that the Lord commands. The Lord showed a sign to Pharaoh and his officials, through a miracle of making Aaron's staff become a snake when he threw it down to the ground. Still, Pharaoh's heart became hard and he would listen. So, next God sent Moses to meet Pharaoh by the water and give him this message " until now you have not listened.. By this you will know that I am the Lord" and Moses will strike the water of the Nile with his staff and it will become blood, killing the fish and making the water undrinkable. Aaron was told to do the same with his staff and all the remaining water in the streams, canals, ponds, reservoirs, buckets and jars will also become blood. Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. But, Pharaoh's heart became hard again, and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron.

Exodus 5 begins with a visit to Pharaoh to inform him of what the Lord has said, but Pharaoh did not listen to Moses and Aaron, saying “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.” Pharaoh then blamed Moses and Aaron for trying to take the people away from their labor, so he ordered the slave drivers to be more harsh and increase their labor. Moses returned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon the people?” and Moses complained to God that he had not rescued the people.

In Exodus 4, Moses says "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The Lord did not appear to you' ?" So Moses was again unsure of his ability to lead the Israelites, but God told Moses that He would show Himself to the people through Moses by wonderous signs and miracles. Then Moses said, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." God responded, "Who gave man his mouth? ... Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." Moses begged, "please send someone else to do it". Though the Lord was angry at Moses, he sent Moses' brother, Aaron, also and said "I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do". God then told Moses to return to Egypt, perform signs and miracles before Pharaoh that He will give power to do, and then say to Pharaoh, "Let my people go". God warned Moses that Pharaoh's heart will be hardened and he would not let the people go. God instructed Moses to tell Pharaoh that the consequence will be the death of his firstborn son, since he refused the request for His firstborn son, Israel, not allowing him to worship the Lord. Then Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites and told them everything the Lord had said to Moses and that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery. Moses then performed for the Israelites all the signs and they believed and bowed down and worshiped the Lord.

In Exodus 3, the angel of the Lord appears to Moses in the flames within a bush. God called to him within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" and Moses said, "Here I am". God then told him "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt... I have come down to rescue them .. and bring them up out of that land ... I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people out of Egypt." Moses did not feel qualified, saying "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh...?" and God said, "I will be with you.... say to the Israelites, 'The Lord, the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob--has sent me...and the Lord has seen what has been done to you in Egypt. He has promised to bring you up out of your misery'." God told Moses to assemble the elders and ask the king of Egypt to allow the people to take a three day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to their Lord. God said also to Moses that He would "stretch out My hand and strike the Egyptians will all the wonders that I will perform among them and after that, he will let you go... and I will make the Egyptians favorabley disposed toward the people... they will put articles of silver and gold on your sons and daughters.. and so you will plunder the Egyptians".

Exodus 2 introduces Moses. Forbidden to keep a baby boy, his mother hid him as long as she could, but eventually left him in a basket by the bank of the Nile. Pharaoh's daughter found the baby and took him and raised him as her own son. Later, when Moses was grown, he had compassion on the Hebrew people and defended them against the Egyptians. He once even killed an Egyptian who had been beating a Hebrew slave, When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled to Midian. There, Moses met and married Zipporah, and had a son, Gershom. During this time, the Israelites groaned and cried out to God, and He heard them and remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, "So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about thiem."

Exodus 1 begins the oppression of the Israelites by the king of Egypt. He said " the Israelites have become much too numerous...we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country." So they enslaved and oppressed them into forced labor and worked them ruthlessly, making their lives bitter. The king of Egypt also told the midwives to only allow the girl babies of the Israelites to live, but the midwives said to him, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives even arrive." So God was kind to the Israelites, and they became even more numerous. But, Pharaoh, then gave an order to all his people, "Every (Hebrew) boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live."

In Genesis 49-50, Jacob again blessed his sons and gave them his final instructions and then died. After a period of mourning, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers. His brothers were worried that now Joseph might pay them back for the wrongs they did to him, but he said, "don't be afraid.. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." Joseph lived in Egypt, having seen three generations of children, and then said to his brothers, " I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

Genesis 48 begins with Joseph discovering that his father is ill, so he brought his two sons and visited Israel. Israel then reckons Joseph's two sons to be his own and blesses them with God's promises to his descendants. Then he blessed both sons and Joseph also saying, "... may God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the Angel who has delivered me from all harm--may He bless these boys. May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they increase greatly upon the earth." Joseph was surprised that Israel had intentionally placed his right hand on the younger son, Ephraim, saying, " The younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations. The older son will too become a people, and he too will become great." Then Israel said to Joseph, "I am about to die, but God will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers".

In Genesis 47, God continued his plans of provision for the people of Israel during the famine, using Joseph in leadership, coordinating the rationing of food and negotiating payment by various means ( livestock, land, service, harvest,etc). And the people said , “you have saved our lives! May it please you to let us be Pharaoh’s servants.”

In Genesis 44-45, Judah pleads with Joseph to let Benjamin return with them back to Jacob, or their father will surely die in sorrow and misery. Unable to control his emotions, Joseph ordered all to leave his presence, except his brothers, and he wept loudly as he told them that he was their brother. The brothers were terrified, but Joseph said, "do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save the lives that God sent me ahead of you... God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save our lives by a great deliverance... So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. " Joseph then sent them to tell their father and to ask him to bring all his household, flocks, and belongings, and come to live in Goshen. When Jacob learned about Joseph, " he was stunned; he did not believe them. But when they told him everything Joseph said to them, and all that Joseph had sent, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. And Israel said, ' I'm convinced! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go see him before I die." Genesis 46 records that God spoke then to Israel in a vision at night and said, "Jacob! Jacob!". "Here I am," he replied. "I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph's own hand will close your eyes." When they arrived in the land of Goshen, Joseph threw his arms around his father and wept for a long time. "Israel said to Jacob, 'Now I am ready to die, since I have seen for myself that you are still alive."

Genesis 42 is the account of Joseph being reunited with his brothers as they come to Egypt to buy grain during the famine. Their father Jacob sent only the ten brothers, keeping Benjamin safe at home. The ten brothers bowed before Joseph, now recognizing him only as the Egyptian official who would sell them some grain. Joseph's dreams had come true. And, God had used the evil actions of the brothers in his providential purposes. God then used Joseph for the correction and restoration of his brothers, allowing them to confess and release their guilt and anguish that they had carried for many years regarding their treatment of Joseph. Joseph said to them, "Do this and you will live, for I fear God: If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die". When Jacob learned of what had transpired, he said "Everything is against me!", which implied that he was losing faith that God would provide and take care of the things which he did not know or understand. With much hesitation and reservation, Genesis 43 records that Jacob finally agreed to allow them to take Benjamin, saying " If it must be, then...may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man ( Joseph) so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved." Joseph became very emotional when he saw the brothers return with Benjamin and he was gracious to them and served them a feast.

Genesis 40 is about God interpreting dreams through Joseph, first for two men in prison with him. These two men were the Pharaoh's cupbearer and baker, but had angered Pharaoh and were put in prison. Joseph interpreted the cupbearers dream and then said to him, " when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison". Then Joseph also interpreted the meaning of the baker's dream, that he would soon be hung on a tree. Though Joseph interpreted both dreams correctly, even the cupbearer did not remember Joseph. Later though, in Genesis 41, when nobody could help interpret the Pharaoh's dreams, the cupbearer remembered Joseph and brought him before Pharaoh. When Pharaoh asked Joseph to interpret the dreams, he said "I cannot do it, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires." Joseph then told Pharaoh that the dreams meant there would be seven years of famine in the future and that food should be stored during the times of plenty. The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and he said, "Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you... I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt." Pharaoh gave Joseph also Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, to be his wife and before the famine came they had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Joseph said, "God has made me forget all my trouble... and God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering." When the famine had spread, Joseph opened the storehouses and sold the grain, and all the countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph.

Genesis 39 continues the account of Joseph after his brothers sold him to the Egyptian merchants and then later was sold to Potiphar, captain of Pharaoh's guard. Through his hardships in Egypt , we see that God continued to remain faithful to Joseph and bless him. Potiphar gave Joseph many responsibilities over his personal household, since he could see that the Lord blessed Joseph in everything he did. Joseph remained faithful and resisted propositions from Potiphar's wife. Though Joseph was punished unjustly and imprisoned, God continued to bless him for his obedience and "the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness ... and gave him success in whatever he did".

Genesis 38 is about Judah and his daughter-in-law, Tamar. Judah's son , Er, was a wicked man and the Lord took his life, leaving his wife, Tamar, a widow. So, Judah asked another son, Onan, to take her as his wife, so that Tamar could have a child to be Er's heir, as their laws required. But, the Lord also took the life of Onan, since he also behaved wickedly and prevented Tamar from conceiving a child. Then, Judah told Tamar to go live with her parents and remain a widow until Judah's youngest son, Shelah, was old enough to marry her. However, Judah didn't really intend to give Shelah to marry Tamar, for fear that he too would die like his brothers. After some time, Tamar was aware that Shelah had grown up, but Judah had not called her to marry him, so she disguised herself as a prostitute and fooled Judah into propositioning her to sleep with him. Judah's payment was a young goat, but Tamar asked for a pledge that he would send it back to her later. So, Judah left a few of his personal belongings ( identification seal, cord, walking stick, etc.) that he was carring. Later, Judah's servants could not find her when they brought her the young goat for payment, and the town's people denied that they had any prostitute there. Bewildered, Judah said " Let her keep my pledge items! We tried our best to send her the goat", and they left. About three months later, Judah heard that Tamar was pregnant as a result of prostitution and he said she must be then executed. But, she said to everyone, "The man who owns these pledge items is the father-- Do you recognize them?" Judah then admitted they were his and said, "She is more in the right than I am, because I didn't keep my promise to let her marry my son, Shelah."

Genesis 36 gives the history of the descendants of Esau ( called Edomites). Esau had three wives, two from Canaan and one was his cousin. He had 5 sons in all that were born to him in Canaan. When Esau's household and goods and livestock became too great, they moved away from Jacob's household to the hills of Seir, since the land could not support both households.
Genesis 37 begins with an account of Joseph tending flocks with his brothers. Joseph was Israel's ( =Jacob's) favorite son and his brothers despised him for that. Furthermore, Joseph had shared some of his dreams with his brothers, in which he was a ruler over the people. His brothers were jealous even more, but Israel took the dreams into consideration. Later, when the brothers were out with the flocks, Israel asked Joseph to go check on them to see if all was well and then return to report their status. When the brothers saw him coming they plotted to kill him, but instead decided to throw him into a deep pit and then tell their father that wild animals must have eaten him. Then some traveling merchants came by and the brothers sold Joseph to them as a slave and he was taken to Egypt. The brothers took Joseph's coat and dipped it in goat's blood and brought it to their father. Israel believed that Joseph had been killed by some ferocious animal and he mourned for many days and refused to be comforted. Joseph was sold by the merchants to Potiphar, and official of the Egyptian Pharaoh.

In Genesis 35, Jacob moves his family to Bethel as God had directed him and tells everyone to destroy all their idols. God appeared to him again, reminding him that he will now be called 'Israel' (=one who struggles with God), and that he is to multiply and become great nations, and will receive the land given to Abraham and Isaac. Leaving Bethel, they traveled on to Bethlehem, but before they arrived Rachel gave birth to another son, Benjamin. Jacob now had twelve sons in all. Rachel died soon after the delivery of Benjamin. Jacob moved back to the home of his father Isaac, near Hebron, where Abraham also had lived. The chapter ends with Esau and Jacob burying their father, Isaac, who lived 180 years.

Genesis 34 begins with Jacob's daughter, Dinah, being taken and sexually assaulted by Shechem, who is the son of the local ruler, Hamor. Shechem wanted to take her also then for his wife and asked Hamor to "get me this girl as my wife". Jacob and his sons were "filled with grief and fury" because of the disgraceful thing that was done to Dinah. Hamor came to Jacob and asked permission for his son to marry Dinah and also for his other sons to marry Jacob's daughters. Shechem himself also came to Jacob and his sons and asked, "let me find favor in your eyes... let me marry her.. I will give you whatever you ask".
But, Jacob's sons responded deceitfully and told them they would agree to give Dinah if all the men among them were circumcised. Hamor and his sons agreed and instructed the town council to have every man in the town circumcised. Then Jacob's sons came 3 days later, while the men's wounds were still sore, and slaughtered them all with their swords. They also plundered and looted all their wealth, heards, and even their wives and children as captives. Afterwards, Jacob was angry, saying " You have ruined me ! .. We are so few that they will join forces and crush us.. my entire household will be wiped out !"
Their only response was,"But why should we let him treat out sister like a prostitute?". They avenged the evil done to their sister, rather than allowing God to deal justly with Shechem.

Genesis 33 begins with Jacob bowing as he approached his brother Esau cautiously, but Esau "ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed (Jacob)". Esau then asked Jacob why he had sent all the flocks, and Jacob said, "to find favor in your eyes". But Esau said " My brother, keep what you have for yourself". What a picture of forgiveness!
Esau did finally accept the gifts, since Jacob insisted, but then he said to Jacob, "Let us be on our way; I'll accompany you." Jacob, though, told him to go on ahead, since he had to move along slowly with his droves and children. Esau then offered, "Then let me leave some of my men with you." Jacob said to Esau, "to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably".