“So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey — the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.” — Exodus 3:8 (NIV84)
I have done a couple devotions now about how we as Christians can be sure that God sees, understands, knows, hears and cares about us when we are in our most trying times. The question for today is, “What is He going to do about it?” Just stop and read our verse for today one more time. The Lord told Moses, “So I have come down to rescue them [the Israelites] from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of the land into the Promised Land.” I want you to meditate on two things that God told Moses. First, God told Moses that He had “come down.” Second, He told him that He had come down to “rescue.”
It has to be more than big when God comes down to deal with a situation Himself. He told Moses that He had come down to deal with the Egyptians. The 10 plagues were basically a showdown between God and the gods of the Egyptians. Over half of the plagues affected only the Egyptians because God made a distinction between the Egyptians and their gods and His people Israel. God miraculously provided protection for His people while they were surrounded by a country being devastated by the plagues God was inflicting on them. The most important thing, though, is that God was successful. He did come down and He did rescue His people. Without a battle, without a shot of an arrow or the swing of a sword, the Israelites, who were slaves yesterday, walked out of their slavery as free and redeemed people. How? Because God came down and rescued them.
He has done the same thing for you and for me. In the incarnation, God came back to the world to rescue His people. But this time, He came to rescue all humanity. Jesus was born, lived, ministered, taught, died and rose again so that He might rescue us from sin, death, and the Devil. Like the Israelites, we have been rescued from the enemy and brought by God’s gracious provision into the promised land. Jesus tells us that He will return once again, and when He does, He will come down to earth to rescue His people from struggles of this world to be with Him in Heaven for all eternity. You see, when God comes down, He comes down with power to save and to rescue.
Every day, let’s be thankful for the times God has come to rescue and anticipate the time of His second coming.
Peace!
Pastor Tom
www.firmlyrooted.church