February 10, 2021
Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out, and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God. So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them. (Exodus 2:23-25)
There are moments in life where all we have is a cry. The Israelites were there. They had suffered under Egyptian bondage for 400 years. The situation under a wicked king grew worse and worse, and their bondage was increasing.
The only response left was a desperate cry. I'm sure they wondered if God was there, or, if he was, would he even hear their cry?
But God heard, and remembered, and took notice.
A DELIVERER
The response of God to the cry of His people was to raise a man. This is always the case. God uses leaders. It had taken 80 years to prepare this one. The proud young Hebrew/Egyptian thought he could deliver his brothers on his own strength and ended up running to the desert. Another humbling 40 years had passed, and now we find Moses, the shepherd, on the "rear part of the wilderness"... a fitting metaphor for his life.
A BURNING GOD
In mercy, the Lord called Moses out and gave him all he needed for the task, which was simply Himself. When the great I AM is with you, there is no need for other equipment or schemes. He is everything, and therefore if you possess Him, you have all that is needed. Moses turns to lead the people out.
A REMINDER
... of why this scenario occurred is found at the end of this exchange.
The Lord said, "I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. (Exodus 3:7-9)
God saw, God gave heed to their cry, God came down to bring them up.
Does God hear our cry for deliverance? Would He hear the cry of His church across America right now if we were shut up to Him? If we had tired of all of our best methods and machinery? If we realize that nothing else could save us as a nation?
Most assuredly, He would hear, and we have the record of His nature that He would come down to bring us up.
Father, thank You for being a prayer-hearing and a prayer-answering God. Thank You that You heard the Israelite's cry. Thank You that You will hear mine. Give me faith to look to You alone for deliverance and faith to believe that You will hear and answer my cry.
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