Craig’s Corner-September 13, 2018
Most of us are familiar with the story. The sons of Jacob, God’s people the Israelites, became residents in the land of Egypt, and their families grew. However, by the time 400 years had passed the Egyptians had made the Israelites slavery under cruel masters. The story was not to end this way, for there was hope on the horizon. God sent Moses, a former prince-turned-outlaw back to Egypt to declare His word to Pharaoh, “Let My people go that they may worship me”. Sadly, Pharaoh did not know God and therefore did not heed His command. God, in turn, sent ten plagues, which were not random, but designed to show Israel and Egypt that the gods they feared were nothing and the one true God reigns supreme. After their release from bondage, the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, received the Law and the instructions for worship, attempted to enter the Promised Land once, were turned away, wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, and then a new generation of God’s people tried once more to enter the Promised Land under Joshua and were successful. The three facets of Exodus I wish to focus on in this article are: Grace, Law, & Worship.
Grace-It is easy to think that the Old Testament was all about “the Law” and that the New Testament focuses on grace, but this is not true. In fact the same pattern we know in the New Testament has its origins in the Old. For when it comes to the Exodus, God acted first. He always takes the initiative to save people because His heart is one full of love. It is He who hears the groans and cries of His people in bondage, and sets the plan in motion for them to experience freedom and mercy. Like the Israelites of Old, God hears our cries under the bondage of what enslaves us today, whether it be worry, work, or anything else. He set His plan in motion for us to experience freedom and mercy by giving us His Son Jesus who died on the cross so that through faith, we would have forgiveness of sins and new life. Grace is the life-pattern for the Christian.
Law-It is only after God showed us grace in freeing His people from Egypt that He then gives them the moral code in which to live their lives. This law (the Ten Commandments and the like) were a reflection of a God who is perfectly just and desired His people to reflect His character. The Law was meant to ultimately point God’s people back to Him as well as introduce to the world a new society so that all people throughout the world would come to see that not only does God exist, but He is perfectly good. Today we Jesus Christ is the perfect reflection of God, and that He is our law. Today, Christians obey the “Law of Christ” which does not contradict, but rather fulfill, the Old Testament law. We strive to live the way Jesus lived.
Worship-Part of the law in the Old Testament included a portion that God gave to His people which outlined how they were to conduct worship after they had come out of Egypt. Because they had been in slavery for so long, they needed to know that there was a God who cared for them and wanted them to worship Him with their entire hearts, souls, and minds. This God did not want empty ritual but heartfelt worship that led to a changed life of goodness. Today, when we as believers experience God’s grace, we too are compelled to give thanksgiving to Him for what He has done for us, but releasing from the chains of sin and death! God does not desire empty ritual today either. He is calling all who would follow Him to offer up their entire selves in worship, which would lead to a life of goodness. Remember Exodus is not just ancient history, it is our story too!
Your Brother, Craig