Freedom, No Matter the Circumstances

I came across an interesting section in scripture this morning that got me thinking. The verses are as follows - Exodus 6:6-11 NIV:

[6] “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. [7] I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. [8] And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’ ”

[9] Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.

[10] Then the Lord said to Moses, [11] “Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.”

I found a few things about these verses interesting. First and foremost, the Israelites didn't believe Moses when he brought them the message from God. I was thinking that to that point their interactions with God had been limited to a few of their forefathers. By this time, they had been in Egypt for about 300 years so their communal memory about being the people of God, the chosen people, was probably weak to say the least. It says that it was because of their discouragement and harsh labor that they didn't believe him. One could say that their circumstances overwhelmed their limited belief.

Secondly, I was thinking if their situation was better they wouldn't have needed or embraced their redemption nearly as much as they did. However, despite their desperate situation they were unwilling to believe rescue was possible. Desperate situations require significant intervention, and God tells them that is what He is going to do and they don't believe Him. I think much of what God was doing with the ten plagues was actually convincing the Israelites that He was capable of doing what He said He would do.

Finally, the term 'swore with uplifted hand' is what drew me to this verse in the first place. That is an unusual phrase that only appears a few times in Scripture, and this is the first place. I went back to God's interactions with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and none of them mention the uplifted hand. I was intrigued by the idea of God swearing a solemn oath to a people. Normally we swear to a greater power, to a sign of greater authority, and here God swears to the people. His right hand raised is usually a sign of His power and authority, and in this case He is swearing both to the fulfilling of His promise. As I was writing this, I thought of the fact that Jesus raised both His hands when He went to the cross. It is interesting that both hands raised is both the sign of surrender and the sign of victory! How appropriate!

Anyway, here are the thoughts I take away from these verses:

1). God is able to do exactly what He says He will do, no matter what the circumstances seem to indicate.
2). Absence of interaction with God causes one's faith to weaken.
3). God is not worried about our unbelief, He believes in Himself, and we will too before He is finished.
4). Desperate situations call for glorious intervention, and God is capable of glorious intervention.
5). The is no set of circumstances that God is unable to set us free from.
6). God will do what He says He will do!

Amen Lord! So if you find yourself in need of a rescue, seemingly locked in a desperate circumstances, God is capable of of breaking in and setting You free. He does this for His people, those that have put their hope and trust in Him.