God The Hope Of Us All

-

 


Scripture: Exodus 2:23-25 (ESV)

23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

Devotion:

            The above text is sandwiched between the story of Moses meeting Jethro and the scene of Moses with the burning bush. It is easy to gloss over this material without really paying attention to what is going on in these three short verses. Let us take some time and unpack the message God has for us in this bit of scripture.

            In verse 23 we read that the king of Egypt died. This is important to the story because now Moses could return to Egypt without being a criminal. We read that the people of Israel groaned and cried out to God because of their slavery. And God heard their cries. How many times do we cry out to God to change something in our own lives. We can take comfort in these words and know that whatever our situation God hears us.

            God remembered the covenant he had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His covenant that these people who were being oppressed were chosen by God to be a chosen people. They were to live in the land of Canaan. How much more do you think God remembers his new covenant that he has with us. We can know that God will provide for us the salvation that was promised in Jesus life, death, resurrection, and glorification. A much better promise of a new heaven and a new earth where we can worship God without the weight of sin.

            Verse 25 indicates that God saw the horrible conditions that the children of Israel were living under. Even so God sees each of us. He sees our slavery to sin, our bondage to the ways of this world. God sees everything that happens on the earth. A sparrow doesn’t fall without God’s knowledge. God truly does see everything, even what we try to keep secret in our hearts.

            Because of all of the above we can be sure that God knows. Just assuredly as he knew what was happening to the people of Israel and understood what needed to be done to change their circumstances and rescue his chosen people God knows what is needed in our circumstances. God is faithful to his people in every age. God always keeps his covenants with his people. God doesn’t always work on our preferred timetable, but he always works.

Prayer:

            O God we cry to you as the children of Israel did all those millennia ago. We are not in bondage to an earthly taskmaster. However, we are slaves to sin. The world, the flesh, and the devil combine in an unholy trinity to keep us from experiencing the freedom we are promised in your word. Be with us today, Lord. Lead out of our bondage to sin into freedom in Christ Jesus. Thank you that you are always faithful to us. Amen

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcoming the Unwelcome

-
  Scripture: Luke 7:36-38 (NIV) 36  When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37  A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38  As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them. Devotion:             First of all, some warnings to my readers. This post will exceed the 500 words I try to limit my posts. Second, this post will contain content people may find offensive or otherwise unfit for print. Please understand that my purpose is neither to offend nor upset but to provoke thought and, hopefully, respectful dialog.             We will use Luke chapter seven as an aid to interpreting the events that occurred last Thursday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. On that da
Read more

Father Forgive Them

-
  Scripture: Luke 23:33-34 (ESV) 33  And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34  And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Devotion:             The situation Jesus finds himself in here in today’s scripture is difficult for us to even imagine. A sham trial, no credible accusations of any kind, let alone any deserving of death, and yet here he is. A brilliant Rabbi, a teacher of the people who never led even one person astray from God’s will. This Holy One of God soon to be food for vultures.             This man who had done nothing wrong had no one in all the crowds who would speak up in his defense lest they be next to face the cross. An innocent man hung between two scoundrels. No voice from heaven declaring that this was the man that they were killing was actually the true Son of God. (See Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5, John 12:28) No the heaven
Read more

Transgenderism letter

-
  This is a copy of my letter to my senators, representative, and President Biden. January 15, 2024 Dear President Biden, Senators T. Duckworth, R. Durbin, and Representative D. LaHood             I am writing to you because I am concerned about the situation affecting our children and grandchildren, namely transitioning them from one gender to another. This nation must adjust course concerning these “interventions” because they are dangerous, irreversible, and life-changing. Our country should not be permitting these procedures on minor children under any circumstances. We must also make sure that adults who seek this care are given informed consent as to the risks versus benefits of sex reassignment treatments.             There are many drawbacks to gender-affirming care for minors. Besides the loss of any ability to give or receive sexual pleasure and sterility these treatments cause, there are social and psychological effects that we have no way of identifying because these
Read more