What was God about to do for Israel at the start of Exodus?
At the start of Exodus, God was about to fulfill His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by taking Israel into the land delineated in the Abrahamic covenant. He was also about to redeem them from Egypt, paying the price to bring them back to Himself.
Les explains that Israel had been in the land over 200 years and was multiplying. God was about ready to fulfill the promises He had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by taking them into the land He delineated in the Abrahamic covenant. Exodus is a book of redemption—buying back or paying the price for something once owned but lost. Just as sin separated Adam and Eve and required a plan of redemption, so with Israel: the sin of the brethren in selling Joseph led them to Egypt, where God’s covenant people were under Egyptian idolatry. God was going to redeem them, paying the price to bring them back to Himself.