What was Israel's condition in Egypt before God redeemed them?
Before redemption, Israel was in Egyptian bondage, spiritually separated from God because of the brothers’ sin in selling Joseph. They had no altar, no sacrifice, and no worship, and had been totally alienated. God’s covenant people were lost and needed to be bought back.
Les explains that Exodus is the book of redemption. Israel was God’s covenant people, but by virtue of the sin of the brothers when they sold Joseph into Egypt, they were spiritually separated from God and lost. They ended up down in Egypt in bondage, without an altar, without a sacrifice, without a worship, and totally alienated. Therefore God would have to buy them back and redeem them.