With the celebration of Christmas days away, it prompted me to consider the glorious thing God has done in coming to earth as our Messiah. We were in bondage to sin, in darkness, and deserving of God's wrath, yet He showed compassion on us. God's deliverance of the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt is a foreshadowing of the salvation wrought through Jesus Christ.
The Hebrews spent hundreds of years in Egypt after the death of Joseph, and were later enslaved by Pharaoh as his workers. They cried out for deliverance from their bondage as they struggled under heavy burdens. God heard the cries of His people and sent Moses to deliver them. God did His wonders among the Egyptians, 10 epic plagues which ravaged the land and proved His supremacy over the idols of Egypt. Before the final plague, God instituted the Passover feast where each household killed a lamb, placed the blood on the doorposts and lintel, and ate the lamb in readiness to depart. That night the Spirit of God passed over all the homes where the blood had been applied and the lamb eaten according to the Word of God, and every household that disregarded God's command the firstborn of man and beast died.
The observance of Passover is much more than sprinkling the blood of a lamb on the doorposts, but it was required to eat the lamb too. In a similar way, it is not enough that Jesus has come but we each must voluntarily receive Him through faith to benefit from the salvation He supplies. John 1:12 says, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name..." All who repent and place their trust in Jesus Christ - the Lamb of God who was crucified on Calvary and rose from the dead - are provided salvation by God's grace. The Law came through Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (John 1:17).
God has done a far more amazing thing through Jesus than the miraculous deliverance of the Hebrews through Moses. God brought the Hebrews out of Egypt and birthed the nation of Israel, His presence going before them in a pillar of fire by night and cloud during the day. The people, though no longer slaves to Pharaoh, remained slaves to sin. God provided them His Law so they might be restrained from sin and given directives to govern them, but their hearts remained unchanged and stiff-necked. When we trust in Jesus Christ as Saviour we are born again and the Holy Spirit transforms us from inside. People who might be literally enslaved as property to a master are made free and experience joy and peace by the grace of God. Nearly every person who was an adult who departed from Egypt died in the wilderness, but all who place their faith in Jesus are granted eternal life in heaven.
The deliverance from Egypt is an epic event, but Jesus coming to earth to seek and save the lost is even more incredible because it is a promise of salvation not just for the Hebrews but for all people which will endure for eternity. The angelic proclamation to the shepherds outside Bethlehem remains relevant and true in Luke 2:10-11: "Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Praise be to God for His unspeakable gift. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards men!
The Hebrews spent hundreds of years in Egypt after the death of Joseph, and were later enslaved by Pharaoh as his workers. They cried out for deliverance from their bondage as they struggled under heavy burdens. God heard the cries of His people and sent Moses to deliver them. God did His wonders among the Egyptians, 10 epic plagues which ravaged the land and proved His supremacy over the idols of Egypt. Before the final plague, God instituted the Passover feast where each household killed a lamb, placed the blood on the doorposts and lintel, and ate the lamb in readiness to depart. That night the Spirit of God passed over all the homes where the blood had been applied and the lamb eaten according to the Word of God, and every household that disregarded God's command the firstborn of man and beast died.
The observance of Passover is much more than sprinkling the blood of a lamb on the doorposts, but it was required to eat the lamb too. In a similar way, it is not enough that Jesus has come but we each must voluntarily receive Him through faith to benefit from the salvation He supplies. John 1:12 says, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name..." All who repent and place their trust in Jesus Christ - the Lamb of God who was crucified on Calvary and rose from the dead - are provided salvation by God's grace. The Law came through Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (John 1:17).
God has done a far more amazing thing through Jesus than the miraculous deliverance of the Hebrews through Moses. God brought the Hebrews out of Egypt and birthed the nation of Israel, His presence going before them in a pillar of fire by night and cloud during the day. The people, though no longer slaves to Pharaoh, remained slaves to sin. God provided them His Law so they might be restrained from sin and given directives to govern them, but their hearts remained unchanged and stiff-necked. When we trust in Jesus Christ as Saviour we are born again and the Holy Spirit transforms us from inside. People who might be literally enslaved as property to a master are made free and experience joy and peace by the grace of God. Nearly every person who was an adult who departed from Egypt died in the wilderness, but all who place their faith in Jesus are granted eternal life in heaven.
The deliverance from Egypt is an epic event, but Jesus coming to earth to seek and save the lost is even more incredible because it is a promise of salvation not just for the Hebrews but for all people which will endure for eternity. The angelic proclamation to the shepherds outside Bethlehem remains relevant and true in Luke 2:10-11: "Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Praise be to God for His unspeakable gift. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards men!
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