As the LORD called together
the mountains, the hills and the foundations of the earth to be a
witness to His “controversy” with the nation of Israel,
Micah the prophet recorded His command to gather. The LORD asked the
people, “what have I done unto you?” and “wherein
have I wearied you?”. In chapter six and verse four of his
prophesy, Micah continued the LORD's questioning of Israel as the
LORD gave examples of His care for them when they came out of Egypt
and were redeemed where we read:
For I brought you up
out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of
servants;
and I sent before you
Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
The
verse begins, “For I brought you up out of the land of
Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of servants;” As
the LORD began to share examples of former ways He cared for the
people of Israel, He said, “For I brought you up”
which means “ascended, climbed or led you up” “out of
the land of Egypt” which means
“land of the Copts”. The LORD added, “and redeemed
you” or “ransom, rescued and delivered you” “out of
the house” which means “dwelling, habitation or abode” “of
servants” or “subjects and slaves”. When we refer to the
book of “Exodus” in the Bible, we can see the story of how
the children of Israel became slaves in Egypt and remained in this
status for four hundred years. After such a long time, the LORD heard
their cries of anguish, and delivered them from the land of Egypt and
the evil Pharaoh who ruled over them.
The verse continues, “
and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.” The
LORD went on to add, “and I sent before you”
or “in front of you or as in your face” “Moses”
whose name means “drawn” because he was “drawn” out of the
water when he was hidden in a pitch covered basket and placed in a
river where he was found by Pharoah's daughter; “Aaron”
which means “light
bringer" and was the older brother of Moses, a Levite and the
first high priest; “Miriam” which means “rebellion”
was the elder sister of Moses and Aaron. The LORD sent these three
people to deliver the people of Israel, and they were used mightily
in their “exodus” from the land of Egypt.
As we ponder these words of
the LORD as recorded by Micah the prophet, let us put ourselves in
the place of the people being asked these questions. How would we
respond to the LORD if He were to remind us of times in our past
where He had specifically intervened? The LORD delivered the people
of Israel from slavery, servanthood and oppression, and most of them
knew the story of their ancestors' “exodus” from Egypt. “Egypt”
is a type of the world in the Bible, and though we may not have been
delivered out of the country of Egypt, when we receive Jesus Christ
as our Savior and LORD we have been delivered out of the oppression
and servanthood to the world and its ways. When we have times of
doubt concerning our relationship with the LORD and His relationship
with us, we should always remember that He delivered us from the
bondage and sin that is in the world, and if He did that, we can
count on, trust in and rely on Him in our present situations. The
LORD Jesus loves us, cares for us, provides for us, and desires a
personal relationship with us, and should there be times when we
wonder if that is true, let us always remember our Exodus.
Next
time the LORD reminds the people of Balak and Balaam,
so read ahead, and
we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
http://www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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