Day 4: An Enslaved People
Read: Exodus 1:1-22; Exodus 3:7-9; Exodus 4:29-31
By the time we catch up with the Israelites in Exodus 1, there has been much drama to the story of how they ended up in Egypt. Genesis chronicles the victories, as well as the family dysfunction, starting with Abraham and Sarah and continuing down through Jacob and his 12 sons. The short story is that because of a famine and the selling of a brother, they moved to Egypt—a move that quite literally saved their lives.
Exodus chapter one tells of the terrible conditions in which the Israelites found themselves and the horrible brutality they experienced on a daily basis. Had God forgotten them? Had he disregarded the covenants he made with their forefathers? The answer to those questions is found in chapter three and it is a resounding NO. Verse 7 records, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people…” and verse 8 tells us, “I have come down to rescue them.”
A most obvious question might be plaguing you right now. Why did God wait so long? For the answer to that question, we must go back to Genesis 15. This is the chapter where God made a covenant with Abraham, long before he had the son of promise. In verses 13-16, God told Abraham his descendants would be slaves in a foreign country—hundreds of years before it happened. And the reason was the Amorites. Their sin had not yet reached its full measure. The story isn’t only about the Israelites. It’s also about the nations whom God loved. It speaks to his patience, wanting none to perish (2 Peter 3:9).
Sometimes what we see is only part of the greater story being told. We must always remember the totality of scripture is God’s love.
Between Exodus 3:7-8 and the end of Exodus 4 are the details of a conversation between God and Moses about why he should be the man to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land. But I want to take you to the last part of chapter four to see the response of the Israelites upon learning what God had planned for them. Verse 31 states, “and they believed. And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.”
Belief. Worship. Even in an enslaved position, they rejoiced because God saw them.
Are you enslaved? Sin always enslaves. There is no such thing as harmless sin. It costs more than we want to pay and takes us farther than we intend to go. Sin destroys relationships and wrecks lives. When we sin, it doesn’t just affect us. We are not an island. Everything we do affects someone.
Just as God saw the Israelites in their slavery, he sees you. He longs to rescue you.
What can possibly be more enticing than freedom in Christ? Is the sin you’re hanging onto worth the bondage you find yourself in? Ponder those questions and then be honest in prayer.
Prayer: God, show me the sin I cherish more than I cherish you. I confess I find myself enslaved to sin and I want to be free. Forgive me for those times I choose sin over service and myself over others.