Real Freedom!

I was reading in Exodus today ~ chapter 11, 12 & 13 (from the NIV) to be exact and enjoyed it so much I just had to share the nuggets that the Lord showed me. Maybe you are familiar with these chapters. It marks the end of God's patience with Pharaoh whose heart was hardened with each request denied of "let My people go!" And why the continual refusal? We find the answer to that in the last verse of Exodus 11 (verse 10)

The LORD had said to Moses, "Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you 

so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt."

God was about to display His matchless power and might right there in Egypt for all to see! He was about to multiply His wonders! But first things first ~  He instructs Moses and the Israelites about the plan to sacrifice lambs and use their blood to identify those who are God's own people. Death will surely visit Egypt but all who are under the blood will be delivered and this will bring about a mass exodus of the Hebrew people from the country of their bondage, Egypt. Yes, there was about to be a display of grand deliverance right in the midst of oppression and bondage. 

So I kept on reading. Reading about the preparations, the instructions for each household including the aliens and servants. I read about the LORD carrying out the death of the firstborn, just as He promised, "from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well". 

I read about the favor of the Egyptians toward the Hebrews which caused them to willingly give them what they asked for. I read about the exodus beginning with such haste that the people took their unleavened dough and carried it out in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing.  

I read about the 600,000 men on foot, not counting the women and children, heading out from Rameses to Succoth. I read about how, after 430 years of captivity, the LORD was faithful to His promise of deliverance and kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the LORD kept vigil. I mean, don't you think that He had been doing that very thing for 430 years already? Watching over His precious people even in the midst of their captivity? That very thought warmed my heart! I know He stills keeps vigil over His own even today!

I read about the Feast of Unleavened Bread and how the Israelites would commemorate this day ~ what day? The day of deliverance, for generations to come, "... the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the LORD brought you out of it with a mighty hand." (vs 3)

Funny thing is I am reading all of this from the advantage of looking back through the lens of history and I know what is going to happen and I know the significance of the symbolism of the blood of the sacrificial lamb applied to the "door posts" of the Hebrew dwellings marking them as God's own. I know how the story ends!

But then the biggest nugget for me today came in verse 8 .... my "ah-ha" moment, all over again, checking the motive and obedience to the command....

On that day tell your son, "I do this because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt."

I know how vitally important it is for me to be intentional and tell the generations that come behind me what the LORD has done for me. That's why verse 8 was such a nugget for me. Such a reminder to tell of God's incredible faithfulness! To proclaim His great name throughout the earth! And to do it because of what He has done. Am I that thankful?

Have I ever been in bondage in Egypt? Have I been enslaved? The answer to both of these questions is yes and no. I have been in bondage but my "Egypt, my land of bondage", has been fear, worry, doubt, and unbelief ~ just to name a few. My "Egypt" has not been a physical place found on the map but a place, nonetheless,  and try as I might in my own strength the cords around me only tightened. I have been enslaved too and my masters have been ~ to name a few ~ my bad habits, unwise choices, condemnation, and self-loathing and try as I might I could not deliver myself from the anguish of it all .... the weight of it all.

I remember that moment in time when I dared to look upon the spotless, perfect Lamb, and applying His atoning sacrifice to my life, found the chains that had me bound lying on the ground in front of me. Finding my mind renewed and my liberated soul soaring. My hope ~ the Hope of glory ~ set ablaze within me. Finding that the cup of wrath and judgment meant for me had been taken from me and borne by the Son of God, the Savior of the World, His name is Jesus. 

Kind of blows my mind and one thing He asks of me is to remember how He brought me up from my land of captivity and set me free. And in that day of remembrance, which should be every moment of every day, to be sure to say to my sons, my daughters, "I do this (I remember) because of what the LORD has done for me when I came out of Egypt (my personal bondage)." I am that thankful!

It's simply magnificent that One so Great would stoop so low and, finding me, say .... "come, follow me and I will keep vigil over you as we make our way out of your 'Egypt'".

What a Savior! Yes, I remember, and as I do my heart will sing of His great love and mercy ~ mercy and freedom so undeserved!

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life my lips will praise You; 

So, I will bless You as long as I live; 

I lift up my hands in Your name.

Psalm 63:3-4 nas

Now that's Real Freedom ~ oh precious one, don't miss out!

Cindy K