September 28 – God Hears the Cries of the Slaves – Exodus 3
The Israelites arrived in Egypt when Joseph convinced his father Jacob (Israel) to come to Egypt as welcome guests during a 7 year famine. Now in chapter 3 approximately 350 to 400 years later these same Israelites are slaves in Egypt. What happened? Jacob came to visit, but ended up staying. Throughout the Bible, Egypt is a symbol of the world. Many times when a Christian allows himself to “visit” worldly things and philosophies, that same Christian ends up staying in the world, and becoming a slave to worldly things and philosophies.
When the Israelites could take their bondage no longer, they cried to God for help. God always hears the cry of His people for help, and waits for them to truly want His help. God delivered them out of their slavery for a purpose. As His people ignored their purpose, God used the bondage of His people to punish and correct them many times in the Bible. God’s people always came out better after coming through their bondage and slavery. God always had His people’s best interest in mind. Many times the Bible points back at those slavery days for remembering how good God is, and lessons learned so as not to return to slavery.
God created man in His own image, and never intended for one man to be owned by another man, but can you imagine if slaves were never brought to America. I agree, slavery is horribly wrong, but I have dear friends who have become very successful with a family tree that traces back into slavery. Their great grandparents paid a dear price for their opportunity. My dear friends would be still stuck in a 3rd world foreign country with absolutely nothing. We have a great opportunity to look back and remember those days to remember how good God is, and lessons learned so as not to return to the same slavery but a different master. If you are enslaved by greed, bitterness, lust, drugs, alcohol, hate, stress, worry, pride, laziness, or just plain sin; come to God and He will hear your cry and provide a way of deliverance.
