On the 38th day of Christmas my true love gave to me a deliverer to set me truly free (Exodus 3).
Watching the classic movie The Ten Commandments gives me chills. I marvel at the elaborate production to recreate the Israelites’ exile in and exodus from Egypt with Moses as the great deliverer. The bejeweled costumes, the lush and plush sets and, of course, the parting of the Red Sea simply amaze me. We see earth’s riches and heavenly riches, giving us a visual glimpse of the grandeur of God. This is the account in Exodus, the second book of the Bible. And though there are no messianic prophecies here, Jesus Christ appears as a type with the great leader Moses.
Moses led Israel out of the bondage of Egypt, gave his people commandments to stay out of bondage and led them to Canaan, the Promised Land, a place with rich spacious land and luscious fruit where God intended for his people to prosper.* We see the same with Jesus Christ. Jesus leads those of us who believe in him from our bondage of sin, gives us biblical commands for how to live bondage-free, and shows us what our promised land, our place of living, looks like when we obey him. “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (John 15:7-9). When we seek God’s word for our lives and obey it, our lives, just like Canaan, will bear much fruit.
In Genesis we get the prophecy of what Jesus will do for those who believe in him. In Exodus we get a picture of how he will do that. If you have made a decision to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, he took you from what would be the ultimate bondage, that of eternal life in hell. But freedom from bondage starts on earth. With Jesus, you can live free from whatever has you bound, be it a substance, an attitude or a person. So abide in Jesus—get into him so he gets into you and then you’ll be able to have a prosperous life, one where an abundance of good—thoughts, words and actions—springs forth from you. Get rid of your broken crutches. Walk straight in your promised land, with Jesus, the great deliverer.
*The Israelites could not keep the more than 600 commandments God gave them nor did God suspect that they could. God wanted them to see just how much they needed a savior, preparing them to receive Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the one who fulfilled all the commandments.
Copyright 2010 by Rhonda J. Smith