2008-07-30 - Free Children

Exodus 5:1, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'Let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.”

The words above are those of Aaron, brother and spokesman for Moses, to Pharaoh. These words apply today to every follower of Jesus Christ. When God says something, it happens. When God speaks, He makes what is His will to be. It is why He revealed Himself to Moses by the name, “I am.” Who shall Moses say sent him, when he approaches Pharaoh and demands Israel's release? He is told to tell them “I AM WHO I AM” has sent him (Exodus 3:14). There none like the Lord. Who else can speak light into existence by saying “Light, be,” or who can create the heavens and the Earth ex nihilo, from nothing? Only the Lord could do this. When He tells Pharaoh to let His people go, through the mouth-piece of Aaron, Pharaoh will let the people go.

We might take a brief aside here, and ponder why the Lord did not simply have Pharaoh yield and let the Israelites go. Why go through the plagues, when the heart of Pharaoh was in the hands of the Lord to obey? Surely the Lord could have done so, but it pleased the Lord to harden Pharaoh's heart, and we are told several times that the Lord did just that, “I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go” Exodus 4:21. The reason the Lord did not make an immediate implementation of His purpose is that He might reveal His glory. We see this in Exodus 15:1, where the Lord is said to have “triumphed gloriously.” In delivering Israel from their bondage in Egypt, He revealed His power and glory to Israel, Egypt, and to the entire world, for all generations. God could have expedited things quickly, but chose to make it clear that it was the Lord, and only the Lord, who had done these things.

However, I started off by making the assertion that these words apply to the follower of Christ today. The Lord Jesus Christ offers all release from the power of indwelling sin. When the believer comes to Christ, it is as if Christ says to sin, “Let My child go.” As the Israelites were rescued from the tyranny of Pharaoh, so also the follow of Christ is rescued from the tyranny of Satan. Satan would hold us under subjection to the passing things of the world, our lusts, our wicked thoughts and practices, and even to himself. Christ takes the bound sinner and releases His chains, setting him free. The Gospel comes to the one who has no hope - who lives in subjection to the powers of darkness - and it brings precious hope. The message of forgiveness proclaims release for the child of God. Christ comes to the evil one and says, “Let My child go,” and we are free. Hope, liberty, and mercy are all fruits of the application of the Gospel to the believer. How can such things be? The Lord has done it. He has triumphed gloriously in our lives.

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

GodRulesTB@aol.com
http://www.cfdevotionals.org