Our Liberator From Slavery

Our Liberator from Slavery

The Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. To be a slave was to have no rights, no freedom, no dignity. Exodus 2:23 says that the Israelites “continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God.” So God said to Moses from the burning bush, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land” (Exodus 3:7-8).

Later God reminded the people as they prepared to enter the Promised Land, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so you would no longer be their slaves. I broke the yoke of slavery from your neck so you can walk with your heads held high” (Leviticus 26:13).

It is interesting that many years later Isaiah spoke in future terms when he prophesied, “In that day the LORD will end the bondage of his people. He will break the yoke of slavery and lift it from their shoulders” (Isaiah 10:27). Hadn’t the Lord already done that?

In reality, the deliverance of the Israelites from their bondage to slavery in Egypt was not a one-time event but a model event. God’s deliverance of his people from slavery to the Egyptians through his servant Moses served as a model or prefigurement of God’s deliverance of his people from slavery to sin through his servant Jesus.

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free” (John 8:34-36). While Moses led his people out of bondage to Egypt, the greater Moses, the greater Liberator, Jesus, has freed us from bondage to sin. As God chose to rescue the Israelites from the power of the Egyptians, so he has come to rescue us from the clutches of sin and death through our liberator, Jesus Christ.

Thank you, Jesus, my Liberator, for freeing me from the chains of slavery to sin that have only brought me misery. I gladly take your chains that bind me to you and bring me joy and rest.