Freedom From Bondage
The Israelites, through the providence of God, were placed in the land of Goshen in Egypt to prevent their nation from starving to death and perishing from the face of the earth. God moved them there to feed and protect them from the seven year famine that had come upon the world. As a result, the people were saved and became quite comfortable in this foreign land.
While in Egypt for four hundred and thirty years, the Israelites came to live like the Egyptians. They learned to eat their food, walk in their customs, understand and mimic their ways and follow their gods. They became very indoctrinated in the Egyptian world. As you well know, the Egyptian government enslaved the Israelites because their numbers were growing so rapidly that the Egyptians feared a takeover. The people cried out for deliverance and God raised up a liberator. God raised up Moses from within the Egyptian culture, taught him their ways and helped him gain an audience with the Pharaoh in order to convince him to let the people go. Once the Pharaoh was convinced, Moses led the people out of slavery and the Israelites were free at last.
As it is with us, the Israelites believed they were free when they walked across the Red Sea and landed safely on the other side. Do you remember what Jesus said about our freedom? “If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.” This statement implies more than a nominal freedom. We often feel that just because Jesus dealt with our sin, we are free, but it is not so. Let me explain.
When the Israelites set foot on the other side of the Red Sea, most would think they were free from Egypt. It is true that they were free from the bondage of Egypt. It is true that they would no longer have to make bricks, or serve the Egyptians as their personal slaves, but they were not free by a long shot. There was more to their freedom than leaving Egypt.
Do you remember how the Israelites responded when Moses was up on Mount Sinai receiving the law? Do you remember what was going on at the base of the mountain while Moses was on the top? Sure you do! The people were busy making a golden calf. Did you ever ask yourself why? They were making a golden calf because it was like one of the gods in Egypt. Hey, they were no longer in Egypt. Remember, they had been set free. Now if they were so free, why were they making a golden calf? The reason is the same reason you and I cannot be free just because Jesus forgives all our sin. The bondage the Israelites experienced was deeper than their physical presence in Egypt.
Moses had set them free from the Bondage of Egypt, alright, but his work took on a different dimension after the experience with the golden calf. He realized that they were also in bondage to themselves, because they had lived among the foreign gods of Egypt for all those years, the way they thought and the way they had lived, also needed some liberation. Moses worked diligently to set them free from themselves.
During this process, Moses realized one other area of bondage. When they approached the promised land, the Israelites were afraid to go in and possess the land. They were afraid of all the others. They were in bondage to others as well as to themselves. Through the course of time, the people were able to overcome their fear and possess the promised land.
Now let’s talk about us. Jesus set us free from our sin. He made a sacrifice for sin once and for all. Once He dealt with our sin, it was done with. He had no need to continue making sacrifices to pay our ransom price. He set us free from the bondage of sin. We can close our eyes any night of the week and know that Jesus paid our price. If we are so free, why do we still struggle so?
It may be that we need to re-think His words again. “If the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed.” Did Jesus only set us free from our sin? Do we not have a problem with a bondage to ourselves, the way the Israelites did? Just because we became Christians, does that remove all the experiences we’ve had for a lifetime? Do we all of a sudden abandon everything we’ve ever known? Jesus worked intently with His disciples teaching them a better way to live. He showed them His principles and helped them replace some of their bad with His good. It is obvious that it took some of them a long time to experience the freedom from themselves.
And then, as with the Israelites, Jesus set us free from the bondage of others. Why are we so afraid to take on the world for Him? Is it because He is not strong enough to give us victory, or is it because we experience the same kind of fear the Israelites did when they refused to go in and possess the land? Jesus gives us confidence, just as He did with Joshua and Caleb, so that we can overcome any obstacle that we may face, but we will never take the land until we feel liberated from all the others around us.
When you think of being set free, consider more than just your sin. Are you still in bondage to yourself? Do you still live like you did when you were in “your Egypt”? Are you afraid of others? Do you fear that there are giants in the land?
Perhaps it would be good for all of us to sit back and think about our liberty again. Is being free from sin enough? Don’t we have to be free from ourselves and from others as well if we are going to get the job done that Jesus put us here to do? Give it some thought!