October 30, 2018

“Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians." Exodus 6:6-7

You have heard the heart-breaking stories of impoverished debt-ridden people who suddenly won millions of dollars in a State Lottery drawing and it literally ruined their lives because they weren't ready to be rich. Going from rags to riches overnight is not as simple as it sounds!

So, how would God's people go from being slaves to free people literally overnight? How could that happen? How do you unlearn slavery after four hundred years of bondage to the powerful Egyptians?

I have to wonder if that question occupied the mind of Moses as he considered the call of God to be the Deliverer of the Hebrews. 

Maybe the four promises God gave Moses in the two verses above came in answer to that question! Because these four promises are more than just promises but they outline a plan, a path, a progression that leads out of slavery and into freedom.

"I will bring you out" - This answers the question of how will I escape the brutal tyranny of the Egyptians? It would take an army to overpower the Egyptians and release all their slaves! And they didn't have an army. In truth, they didn't even have a posse!

But the didn't need an army they already had a God Who has the power to lead them out from under the Pharaoh's hand.

So this is most definitely a promise but it is also the first step of a four step path from slavery to freedom!

"I will free you from being slaves" - Wait! This sounds redundant. Didn't He already promise do bring them out of Egypt? How is this different?

Well, in fact, it is very different! After 400 years of being a slave and feeling like a slave and thinking like a slave and acting like a slave and doing slave labor you don't just wake up the next morning and become a free person. Everything has to be changed! You must learn to think like a free person and view yourself as a free person. You must learn what free people do and condition yourself to do those things!

It takes just as much God power to take the slave out you as it does you take you out of the slavery! It requires a supernatural transformation is how you view yourself and think about yourself and conduct yourself! 

You may have come out of Egypt overnight but Egypt isn't coming out of you overnight! It takes time! It is the second step in the path to freedom.

"I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment" - For you to become truly free you must be saved FROM something in order to BECOME something!

God never intended His people to be slaves. He wanted them as sons (and daughters). He had a specific and perfect plan for each and everyone of them! He had created them with unique talents, abilities and gifts and now He wanted them to discover and develop and demonstrate those for their benefit and for His Glory!

That's the third part of the path to freedom! It's a promise!

"I will take you as my own people" - This is the promise of belonging and being part of a family or a fellowship. 

I can only imagine that slavery must have be a lonely life! There isn't much chance to chit chat when you are making bricks or baking bricks in the hot son or laying bricks while a scowling smelly Egyptian guard stands over you continually.

But now God promises to make you free and give you purpose and put you with people who you can share life and life experiences together!

So, as wonderful as God promises are! And as awesome as His power is! His promises are more that just promises but they are a path that leads from a life of bondage to a life of abundance!