Westside Church of Christ

Despondent. There is no other word that could have captured the feelings of the Israelites. There had been centuries of slavery under brutal masters with no end in sight. Workloads increased as hopes disappeared, frustrations grew and despair settled in. Who knew? God did, and He sent the reluctant deliverer Moses. Even his divine message hit a brick wall. Endless days of excruciating burdens had deafened the ears of the slaves.

Fortunately, God is not hindered by their inability to hear, because he listens. He sees. He understands that the weight was too heavy for their fragile human shoulders. So, He swung into action. A series of intensifying plagues began, one after another, until it culminated in the death of first-born children in unprotected homes. No, not structurally, but blood-of-an-unblemished- lamb protected. Death would not penetrate those homes. It was their only means of the deliverance that the Lord was sending.

The Israelites who had suffered for so long saw an open door of freedom. They hustled away from slavery and ran head-on into the Red Sea. Slavery on their side and freedom on the other. That’s an impossible problem except for one fact. God controls nature and not the other way around. He parts a path through the middle for His people and liberation is theirs, out from under the tyrannical thumb of the Egyptian masters. Phase two of their escapade begins.

It wasn’t smooth. They immediately began to grumble about provisions. They arrived at the Jordan River with the Promised Land in view but not under their feet. There were giant sized folks over there who they did not believe that they could defeat. They lacked faith to enter and wandered for forty years as a result. God had freed, guided and protected them but they still didn’t quite trust Him enough to take the land. The wilderness was their home for four decades.

Moses died without setting foot in that land, and Joshua replaced him. A new leader took the reigns with assurances from that Lord that they would march in together. He was not to let fear dictate His actions. The nation finally crossed that last river, and they were in their new home. It’s hard to imagine the emotions that must have surged through these former slaves and their descendants.

It’s no surprise if their pilgrimage sounds vaguely familiar. It is our story as well. Sins are a burden that no one can bear. They weigh us down. Guilt presses on our minds. Life without the Lord’s forgiveness is much worse slavery than the Israelite’s experienced. Days are dim, and there isn’t a glimmer of hope for anything better…ever. Then along came a Savior. We heard the joyful message of deliverance and went through the water with Him and came out freed from sin with the Promised Land in our future. Praise the Lord!