Slaves of Sin Set Free to Worship

Exo 5:1 And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.

As we know, the exodus teaches us many things about our own situation as Christians. Like the Israelites we are in bondage and slavery to sin. And like the Israelites God in His infinite wisdom and power is setting us free. But why are we being set free? The answer I believe can be found in this passage. The Israelites were to be set free to go have a feast in the wilderness. What this simply means is that they were to worship Him and bring Him glory. Likewise, we too as we are being delivered from the bondage of sin, are to glorify God by being living sacrifices.

Exo 5:2 And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.

But just like the Israelites we have and enemy who defies God and wants to keep us in slavery and under heavy burdens. Though our justification is complete, and we truly are God’s children, Satan and his world system does everything possible to keep us from being set free from our old nature. And just like the Israelites, we are powerless to set ourselves free. So who can save us from this body of death? Praise God, it is Jesus our Lord. He is the God of all power, who sent many plagues upon the enemy of His people to show His strength. Not to mention God could have easily set the Israelites free without any plagues or struggles with Pharaoh. Let’s not forget that it was God who hardened pharaoh’s wicked heart so that he would withstand Moses for a longer time. Why did God do this? Why was it that God caused a struggle for His own people? It was because He wanted them to know Him better and strengthen their faith. Let us never forget who is really in charge when it comes to our struggles to be set free from our own bondage. It is our almighty God, and if in his sovereignty He let us struggle with an enemy that He could easily crush, it is because He is in the process of setting us free in a greater way than we could even imagine. Setting us free from our flesh, and strengthening our faith. And that is something for which it is always worth the struggle. And as God shows His glory, He sets us free from our bondage, and we come out ready to worship Him even if we are still in the wilderness.

Though we struggle with our sin, helpless in ourselves, God cannot and will not fail to work in us to set free. He will complete the work He has started in us.

Praise God,

Doug