Put yourself in their place and try to understand and feel what the Israelites felt…
Exodus 1:11 … they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses.
Exodus 1:13 … the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor.
Exodus 1:14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage—in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.
Exodus 1:16 and [Pharaoh] said [to the midwives], … if it is a son, then you shall kill him;
Exodus 1:22 So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born you shall cast into the river….”
Then Moses’ mother, when she could hide him no more, put him in a little ark and floated him down the river hoping he would be saved.
God had plans for him and we see this when He introduces Himself to Moses
Exodus 3:6 … He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.
Exodus 3:7 And the LORD said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.
God intervenes and puts a plan in motion
Exodus 3:18 Then they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, ‘The LORD God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’
Exodus 3:19 But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand.
Exodus 3:20 So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go.
Exodus 3:21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed.
Pharaoh doubles down
Exodus 5:7 “You shall no longer give the people straw to make brick as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves.
Exodus 5:8 And you shall lay on them the quota of bricks which they made before. You shall not reduce it. For they are idle; therefore they cry out, saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’
Apparently, says Pharaoh, you have too much time on your hands if you think that you can go and worship God for three days. So now, with all this extra time that you have, you will go and get your own straw (the binder for the bricks) and still fulfill your previously set quotas
He was King. He could say whatever he wanted for whatever reason he wanted and they had to do it.
Exodus 5:14 Also the officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and today, as before?”
What choice did the people have? None – until God, a stronger mightier power came to their aid.
Exodus 6:6 Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.
Exodus 6:7 I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
Then the 10 plagues; Pharaoh still didn’t want to let them go;
There was no escaping Egypt. The Pharaoh’s influence was too strong. They did not have to power to fight the most powerful army in the world at the time. The only way they escaped was by God’s might, not by their own will or strength
Do we truly understand slavery?
Definition of slave: a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them. Slavery refers to a condition in which individuals are owned by others, who control where they live and at what they work. To be a slave is to be owned by another person. A slave is a human being classed as property and who is forced to work for nothing.
The timing of their exodus was not by chance
The Feast of Unleavened Bread has lessons for us particularly at this time of the year
The Israelites were in the land of Egypt (a type of sin) but through the power and plan of God began their journey towards the promised land, a type of the Kingdom of God.
The parallels are salient and poignant in our journey from sin to freedom
The hold sin has on us
In much the same way that the Israelites could not break free of their bondage, we are powerless against sin and the grip it has on our lives.
It is a type of slavery
A principle to understand:
Romans 6:16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?
We are slaves to sin
Satan does not want to let go
Revelation 12:12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
Perspective of a being that is older than the universe;
That does not tire;
That wants above all to thwart the plan of God;
Pharaoh did not want to let his slaves go and proceed toward the Promised Land
Satan especially does not want us to be in the Kingdom of God.
1 John 5:19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
Illusion of freedom
We live under an illusion of freedom
We once thought, as many do today that we were free because we could do as we pleased (Hebrews 11:25 enjoy the passing pleasures of sin), not that we thought of it as sin.
Free from the law?
We felt the Law was done away with or that the law was burdensome and restricted as though we were unwilling slaves
We were free to do all the things mentioned in 2 Timothy 3
This is okay to many. Think of people that you have come in contact with that have no problem with any of the following:
2 Timothy 3:2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
2 Timothy 3:3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,
2 Timothy 3:4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
2 Timothy 3:5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
2 Timothy 3:1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come
Example of the two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce
This is the ultimate grip that the demonic world can have.
Just like Pharaoh, they will possess and own you to the greatest degree possible, never wanting to let you go.
There was a time we felt free to act as demons; as the ungodly and there was no problem with that.
Notice this warning for us today
2 Peter 2:18 For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error.
2 Peter 2:19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage.
2 Peter 2:20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.
2 Peter 2:21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.
2 Peter 2:22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”
The Reality of Sin
In actuality the truth is that SIN HAS CONSEQUENCES THAT ENSLAVE US
Yes we were free to sin; free to break the law of God;
Think on the list that we just read, we could go through the whole list and see the real problems that come with these sinful attitudes.
For example lovers of money
There is a cause and effect whether any one believes it or not
Sin also clouds the mind and does not want or allow us to see the error of our ways. Because of this we sink deeper into its grip
Ultimate CONSEQUENCE is death
This is Satan’s end game; What did he say to Eve when he was tricking her into eating the fruit that she was not supposed to – You shall surely not die!
Romans 6:20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
Romans 6:21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This was the cost of wanting to stay in Egypt, death, in this case the death of the first born Egyptians. The reward of obeying God was life and the promise of the land flowing with milk and honey.
Just as God delivered them out of Egypt out of sin, He can and has done the same for us.
Emancipation
We can be emancipated from sin.
With slavery, often a purchase can be made to release him from his captor.
Examples of Indentured servant and Schindler
For the Israelites, the price that was paid was the blood of a lamb [blood on door posts and lintel; death angel] passed over
Our delivery from sin was paid with a much higher price; It was paid by the lamb of God
1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
1 Corinthians 6:20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Matthew 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
This payment has released us from the enslavement of sin and death that it brings.
After the Israelites release, they began a journey towards the promised land – but as we know it was not a foregone conclusion that they would make it there. It was contingent on them continuing to obey God
A Better Way
Because of what God and Christ did we now have an opportunity placed before us for a better way – it is a path that leads to true freedom
John 8:32 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Free from what … Sin and Satan and their hold on us
John 8:33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will be made free’?”
Just as we mentioned before they did not realize they were being held captive
John 8:34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.
John 8:35 “And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.
John 8:36 “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
A couple of chapters later we find what the truth is…
John 17:17 “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
Romans 7:12 Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.
Doing what God says and putting sin out of our lives is what we are to continue to do if we want to make it to the Promised Land. There were those that died in the wilderness, those who refused to walk the path that God had laid out.
If we do follow God’s word we will be:
Free from the consequences of sin
Free from the penalty of sin
God’s word is a LAW OF LIBERTY (The law that is holy that we thought enslaved us).
Definition of liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one’s way of life, behavior, or political views.
This is the opposite of the way it was in Egypt and for us when we were slaves to sin
James 1:25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
We are to continue keeping God’s law and shunning sin
Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
Romans 6:2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
Romans 6:3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
Romans 6:4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,
Romans 6:6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
Romans 6:7 For he who has died has been freed from sin.
Romans 6:8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
We were given a new lease on life — all we have to do after we come out of Egypt is to walk with Christ in the direction of the promised land.
As we do this, a transformation takes place.
We are being changed from what we were into what we shall become
2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Now here is the interesting twist
After this transformation that begins in us at baptism and the laying on of hands, we find that we remain slaves — now it is our own volition but to a new Owner
1 Peter 2:16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.
Slaves to Righteousness
Romans 6:16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?
Romans 6:17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.
Romans 6:18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
Romans 6:19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
Romans 6:20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
Romans 6:21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
Romans 6:22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.
And now our lives belong to God who bought and paid for it with the blood of Jesus Christ
Continue our walk with God
We have a responsibility to not return to our former conduct
Romans 8:12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
This is where most of the Israelites fell short. They obeyed God in the beginning, but they did not endure until the end. They deviated from the straight path to the Promised Land and in the end all the adults that came out of Egypt did not make it there, because they did not live by every word of God
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
Conclusion
These days that we are in are rich and full of meaning symbolism and lessons for us today. Let’s be mindful of them as we commemorate these feasts of God and remember:
We have been given a choice by God to remain where we were and be Slaves to Sin or be Slaves to Righteous and complete our Journey to Freedom.