Exodus 23:20 “Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.
The Hebrews have entered a new relationship with The Lord. They’ve been slaves for four hundred years. They had an unhealthy dependance with the Egyptians. They may have had trades, but these would be employed in their free time. This was due to the slave relationship. Their schedule wasn’t their own. They did whatever their masters wanted.
The Hebrews weren’t free. They received sustanence from the Egyptians, yet they weren’t free to direct their own lives. This creates an oppression that deadens part of us. Hope is greatly diminished. We were never slaves, but we often have oppressive beliefs. I think of legalistic religious patterns. This does not breed life. There is certainly no joy in the religious legalist. This person has harsh standards on themselves and others. This is because they feel that God is harsh with them. It’s almost as if they see God as the slave master.
We also were slaves to sin. Romans 7:14 & 15 says, “For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.” While Christ has set us free from the power of sin, we have our bodies which gravitate towards it.
I believe these were silent years as in there was no prophet or priest that would speak to the people on behalf of God. They looked back at the promise given to Abraham that would one day deliver them to Canaan’s land. This was a bleak time. This is symbolic of our lives before accepting Christ. We were enslaved to sin and we didn’t have a connection to God. We had no hope of fixing our own mess.
Now the Hebrews are living a life directed by God. One may claim that they still aren’t free. They traded one master for another. There is some truth to that. But it’s in submitting to God that we become free. Without Christ we are slaves to sin. Bob Dylan’s song was “You gonna have to serve someone. It may be the devil or it may be The Lord.”
God is a benevolent leader. He wants better things for us than we want for ourselves. He is so much smarter than we are. He can see what lies ahead of us. He also knows our personalities and talents. He knows what’s a best fit for us. He will give us opportunities that we could have never foreseen.
We still live our lives and make our choices. We begin to conform to His teachings. He brings these things to rememberance and we learn to follow. Some are easy, others are more challenging.
His guidance brings security. “I am going to send an angel before you to guard you”. There is plenty out there that will harm us. He only lets in that which He allows. It may seem too difficult, but as we rely on Him, He will bring us through better than before. It won’t feel managable at times. It will often reshape us. This doesn’t come easy.
Thank You, Lord, for Your guidance. We don’t realize what a great blessing this is. Thank You!!
God is a benevolent leader. He wants better things for us than we want for ourselves. He is so much smarter than we are. He can see what lies ahead of us. He also knows our personalities and talents. He knows what’s a best fit for us. He will give us opportunities that we could have never foreseen.
We still live our lives and make our choices. We begin to conform to His teachings. He brings these things to rememberance and we learn to follow. Some are easy, others are more challenging.
His guidance brings security. “I am going to send an angel before you to guard you”. There is plenty out there that will harm us. He only lets in that which He allows. It may seem too difficult, but as we rely on Him, He will bring us through better than before. It won’t feel managable at times. It will often reshape us. This doesn’t come easy.
Thank You, Lord, for Your guidance. We don’t realize what a great blessing this is. Thank You!!