Exodus 6:1-9
Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7 ‘Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 ‘And I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the Lord.'” NASB
These were the words God spoke to Moses to tell the Hebrews who were in the house of bondage in Egypt. They were words of hope and comfort to the hearers, though they seemed difficult or impossible to realize considering the power of Egypt. These same words are the promises of God to every soul who would believe or has believed in Christ. God wanted to journey with His people to experience the dream of freedom in the land of their own. It was not their dream, it was actually God’s dream for them.
In these three verses, we see the summary of the three main experiences of a believer’s walk with God. Every believer in Christ will go through these stages on his or her journey with Christ. Let us highlight these stages briefly:
- I will deliver you vs 6
…I will deliver you from their bondage…
NASB
The first experience with God is that of deliverance from sin and Satan. Satan used sin to keep man in bondage and by that kept man separated from God. But Jesus Christ came into the world as God’s sacrificial lamb to atone for the sin of all mankind. Through his suffering and death, the requirement for the ransom of man was fully satisfied and his debt was fully paid so that the slave master can no longer hold the believer in bondage of fear of death through sin.
Through Christ Jesus, we have been redeemed to God as sons. We are free. You are free from sin and Satan. Halleluyah!
- I will take you for my people vs 7
… I will take you for My people, and I will be your God.
NASB
God redeemed us to Himself to be His people. We become members of His household as sons. God has brought us into a relationship with Himself. We are no longer strangers but heirs of God. We are His people; He is our God. Those who have come into this relationship have a witness of the Spirit that God is now their Father Rom 8:15-16. By the Holy Spirit sent into our hearts, we know that we are children of God. What a grace it is to become heirs of God through Christ! We bear the name of this great God, the creator of the heavens and the earth. This is the grace into which we now stand. It is not attained by any efforts of our own but by the grace of God alone.
Whereas our deliverance experience could be within seconds, our relationship is for a lifetime. Our deliverance experience was a door, our relationship with God is the life we live and it is preparatory to something even far greater.
In this stage we worship Him by obeying and serving Him by making Him known to those who do not know Him. This is what the Father is seeking.
- I will bring you to the land… vs 8
‘And I will bring you to the land… and I will give it to you for a possession
NASB
The land the patriarchs looked forward too was not an earthly one. It was a city whose maker and builder is God. They looked to the new Jerusalem. They looked to a city where righteousness dwells Heb 11:10, 16- For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God…. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
God has prepared for us a better city. By His own power, might and wisdom, He will bring us into the city and make us to possess it.
Many struggle to live the Christian life because they largely depend on their own efforts. They try to keep themselves by their own wisdom and understanding. But the Lord has promised to keep us by His own power 1 Pet 1:5. Through Christ we shall possess the glory land, where we shall dwell and reign with Him forever and ever. Amen.
Notice that each of these statements begins with ‘I will…’ He who promised is able to keep and fulfil it. Will you trust in Him today to save you, sustain you and settle you in His kingdom?