Post by Les on Aug 6, 2023 12:37:42 GMT -5
Release from Slavery By: Amy Boucher Pye
Click here for the Audio Message
I will free you from being slaves to them.
Exodus 6:6
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Exodus 6:1–8
“You are like Moses, leading us out from slavery!” Jamila exclaimed. As a bonded brick-kiln worker in Pakistan, she and her family suffered because of the exorbitant amount they owed the kiln owner. They used much of their earnings just to pay off the interest. But when they received a gift from a non-profit agency that released them from their debt, they felt tremendous relief. In thanking the agency’s representative for their freedom, Jamila, a believer in Jesus, pointed to the example of God’s release of Moses and the Israelites from slavery.
The Israelites had been oppressed by the Egyptians for hundreds of years, labouring under harsh conditions. They cried out to God, asking for help (Exodus 2:23). But their workload increased, because the new pharaoh ordered them not only to make bricks but also to gather the straw for these bricks (5:6–8). When the Israelites continued to cry out against the oppression, God reiterated His promise to be their God (6:7). No longer would they be slaves, because He would redeem them with “an outstretched arm” (v. 6).
Under God’s direction, Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt (see ch.14). Today God still delivers us through the outstretched arms of His Son, Jesus, on the cross. We’re set free from a far greater enslavement to the sin that once controlled us. We’re no longer slaves, but free!
Reflect & Pray
How has God brought you freedom? How could you encourage others who are enslaved in some way?
Dear God, thank You for sending Your Son to give me freedom from my sin.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
In the Old Testament stories of God’s dealings with Israel, it’s helpful to have a solid perspective on what we’re reading. Although we’re reading history, it’s more than that. We’re reading lessons that expose the heart and mind of God to us. Paul, a well-versed Pharisee trained in Jewish law, wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:11: “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.” Through the Old Testament, we’re instructed about the heart of God and how to respond to Him in many different life circumstances.
Bill Crowder
Exodus 6:1-8
King James Version
6 Then the Lord said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.
2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord:
3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them.
4 And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers.
5 And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant.
6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:
7 And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
8 And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the Lord.
Click here for the Audio Message
I will free you from being slaves to them.
Exodus 6:6
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Exodus 6:1–8
“You are like Moses, leading us out from slavery!” Jamila exclaimed. As a bonded brick-kiln worker in Pakistan, she and her family suffered because of the exorbitant amount they owed the kiln owner. They used much of their earnings just to pay off the interest. But when they received a gift from a non-profit agency that released them from their debt, they felt tremendous relief. In thanking the agency’s representative for their freedom, Jamila, a believer in Jesus, pointed to the example of God’s release of Moses and the Israelites from slavery.
The Israelites had been oppressed by the Egyptians for hundreds of years, labouring under harsh conditions. They cried out to God, asking for help (Exodus 2:23). But their workload increased, because the new pharaoh ordered them not only to make bricks but also to gather the straw for these bricks (5:6–8). When the Israelites continued to cry out against the oppression, God reiterated His promise to be their God (6:7). No longer would they be slaves, because He would redeem them with “an outstretched arm” (v. 6).
Under God’s direction, Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt (see ch.14). Today God still delivers us through the outstretched arms of His Son, Jesus, on the cross. We’re set free from a far greater enslavement to the sin that once controlled us. We’re no longer slaves, but free!
Reflect & Pray
How has God brought you freedom? How could you encourage others who are enslaved in some way?
Dear God, thank You for sending Your Son to give me freedom from my sin.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
In the Old Testament stories of God’s dealings with Israel, it’s helpful to have a solid perspective on what we’re reading. Although we’re reading history, it’s more than that. We’re reading lessons that expose the heart and mind of God to us. Paul, a well-versed Pharisee trained in Jewish law, wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:11: “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.” Through the Old Testament, we’re instructed about the heart of God and how to respond to Him in many different life circumstances.
Bill Crowder
Exodus 6:1-8
King James Version
6 Then the Lord said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.
2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord:
3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them.
4 And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers.
5 And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant.
6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:
7 And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
8 And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the Lord.