Slavery

Preparing For Man's Redemption

God called Abraham while he was living in Ur of the Chaldees to go to a far country. He had no place to call home; only a promise that his descendants would one day have a home. Abraham's descendants would ultimately become Egyptian slaves. God through Moses delivered them from slavery to go to the land of their inheritance, the land where Abraham wandered. This is very similar to our short stay here on earth amid wickedness being slaves to sin. God through Christ will deliver us from slavery of sin to a home in Heaven. Their journey into that far country, Egypt, began with a cowardly act by Jacob's sons to a younger brother, Joseph, when they sold him to a band of Ishmaelites, descendants of Abraham's first-born son. They sold him as a common slave and then deceived Jacob into believing Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. Remember, Jacob had also deceived his father in order to receive a blessing. Joseph remained faithful to God and God used him in his plan to create a mighty nation from Abraham's descendants. This would occur after years of slavery among a people who worshipped created things rather than Almighty God.

After four hundred years in Egypt Moses was born. His parents defied Pharaoh's edicts to kill the baby and they hid him. They acted righteously by their willingness to disobey Pharaoh's command rather than disobey God's. "By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict." (Hebrews 11:23) Moses was found by Pharaoh's daughter who had compassion on him. Moses’ sister summoned her mother and "Pharaoh's daughter said to her, 'Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.' So, the woman took the baby and nursed him. When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh's daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, 'I drew him out of the water’.” (Exodus 2:9-10)

In Hebrews 11: 24-27 we read "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible." After being trained in all the ways of the Egyptians for forty years, God trained Moses for another forty years as a herdsman before calling him to lead Abraham's descendants from the bondage of slavery to the land promised long ago to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Because of these former slaves' lack of faith and obedience, it took forty years before they were ready to obey and claim their promised land. Even though this land was given to them by God’s grace they had to fight God's enemies to inhabit it.

Today mankind is under the bondage of sin. We are freed from the bondage of sin by the blood of Christ. It takes continued obedience and faithfulness for us to reach Heaven, our promised land, while always fighting the enemies of God.