Exodus 5:22-6:12

It seems too good to be true. It couldn’t possibly have happened. Could it be that we are free? Is it possible that sin no longer has a hold on us, that we no longer need to cave in to temptation, that we don’t have to sin anymore?

Nah. That’s just wishful thinking. Everybody sins. To err is human. We are only flesh and blood. We are faulty. We are sinful. When temptation comes, we might resist for a while, but we’ll have to give in at some time. We get comfortable with the fact that we sin, because everybody else sins, too. I mean, if we were the only ones who ever did anything wrong, then we’d work harder and try to beat it. But since everybody has their stuff, their sinful side, then we’re in safe company. We would like to be free, but we’re not. Sin has a grip on us that won’t let go until we die.

What’s sad is that we actually are free. Sin no longer has a hold on us, and we don’t even know it. We’ve been released from captivity, the prison door is open, and we stay put in our cells. Because it couldn’t possibly be true, we can’t possibly be free. Could we really do good? Could we be pure? Can we be righteous and holy? Can we deal with the sin of others in a strong and faithful way? If I called you a saint, would you agree, or would you grow uncomfortable?

If Jesus is your Lord, if Jesus is your Savior, if Jesus died for you and rose again for you, then you are free. You can be holy, you can act pure, you can resist temptation. Sin will happen around you, catastrophes will explode in your life, and you will hang on to hope. You will know the goodness of God. You have been saved. That’s the gospel.

But we might not actually believe it. The people of Israel found this hard to believe, here in Exodus. They are trapped, and no matter how hard they try, they could not escape. There’s a million Israelites, but there are far more Egyptians. And the Egyptians have all the latest technology, the chariots, the horses, the strongest weapons. The people of Israel are caught. They cannot get out.

And for us, Egypt is sin. Egypt is the temptation that never seems to quit. The Egyptian army are all the opportunities we have to do the things we’re not supposed to do, and to not do the things we are supposed to do. As much as the Israelites are held captive, that’s our life with sin.

And Moses is frustrated. Just before this, Moses and Aaron have gone to speak with Pharaoh. Moses has been given God’s authority to lead the people out of Egypt. He’s spoken with God at the burning bush. His staff was turned into a snake, and turned back again. God has told Moses that the people will be free.

So Moses and Aaron go and, in all confidence, tell Pharaoh that the people are going to be free. And since God told them this, I’m sure they expect the people to walk out free, like Pharaoh is going to say, "Oh, okay, fine. You can all go free."

Well, that’s not what happened. Instead of Pharaoh going along with God’s plans like he was supposed to, he makes the slaves work hard. They need to make the same quota of bricks as always, but now they have to go find their own straw on top of that.

And the people are mad. They are afraid, and they are even farther away from being free as ever. They get mad at Moses, and Moses gets mad at God. Verse 22:

People who are lost in sin, people who don’t even claim to be Christians, don’t they sometimes seem to live happier, easier lives, at least on the surface. It’s the complaint of the psalmist in Psalm 73:

Life was supposed to get better with the Lord, right? All those promises about blessing and providence and protection and all that. Where is it? Life is tough. It hurts. Moses is confused, and sometimes, so are we.

But the Lord has a different perspective. Things are going right according to schedule. Verse 1:

For a moment, we forget how serious God is about freedom for His people. For a moment, we wonder if God is just happy to leave us stuck in the fear and hurt and sin. And then we hear those words of God"

And then God refers to something unexpected. We might expect Him to talk about His power, His control, His holiness, His majesty, some characteristic about Him that shows how motivated He is to free us from captivity of sin and fear.

But instead, God refers to His name. Verse 2:

God had come to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and had revealed Himself to them. He had made them promises of a beautiful land that their descendents would possess. And He had given them His name, God Almighty, El-Shaddai. It was His name of power, of strength.

But our God is not just about power. His strength is not His defining characteristic. Who He is is not just a God of force. Who He is is the saving God. And so God tells Moses His name, a name that no one had known before. Yes, I am a powerful God, He says. Yes, I am able. But who I really am is a saving God. This is captured in His name. In our Bibles, this name is given as the LORD, with capital letters, or the name Jehovah, or the Hebrew version of Yahweh. God is giving us His personal name. It’s like He’s saying, "You want to know how serious I am about getting you free? You want to know how determined, how committed I am to get you out of your sin, out of the effects of sin? I’m putting my own name on this. I’m signing at the bottom line. This is not just business. This is personal. I am Yahweh. I am LORD.

And Yahweh has a commitment to live up to. Verse 4:

He made a promise to Abraham and his descendents. He promised them that He was going to be their God. And He promised that they were going to be His people. Along with that came a whole lot of other promises, about being as many as the sands of the seashore, about possessing this beautiful land. God made the promise, with no strings attached. They didn’t have to anything, He was going to do everything.

Well, the way things looked right then, God was not taking care of them. There were a lot more of them, but they were all slaves. They were out in the desert sun, rather than enjoying this beautiful land that God had promised. They were being held captive.

But God is remembering His covenant, His promise. He hasn’t forgotten, ever, and now He’s going to act. Verse 6:

God is moving and defending and freeing and providing. He is the God who saves. He is the God who came as a baby for the sole purpose of living and dying and living again. The name He gave Himself when He was born was Jesus, which means, God saves.

And He reassures us that, even though things look bad, even though sin seems strong, even though the tears seem more real than the hope, that His promise is still intact. Verse 7:

This is gospel truth. Sin has been defeated. God has won. The victory is decided, and all those who are with the Lord are the winners. Our life is a life of victory, not a life of slavery.

But it seems too good to be true. Verse 9:

Sometimes, we have been so beat up, so scarred, so overwhelmed by the suffering of this world, and especially our own suffering, that we really wonder. Sin seems so strong. It’s such a way of life, we can’t really imagine a life without sin. We know the Biblical facts, that God is in control, that God is defeating evil. But the facts in our heads don’t seem to match the reality of our lives. And temptation hits, and we roll over. And tragedy strikes, and we throw up our hands. And evil seems grow, and we seem to shrink. We are discouraged and defeated, and we don’t listen to God’s promise.

And how does the Lord respond? Is He mad? Does He turn away from us if we’re going to turn away from Him? Verse 10:

He doesn’t respond to our discouragement with anger. He responds with action. He doesn’t walk away when we don’t listen. Instead, He does what He has promised. And then we notice.

But we’re not there yet, are we? We are free from sin. We are no longer slaves to sin. For every temptation, there is a way out. Every tragedy, every tear has been redeemed by the blood of Jesus. The meek will inherit the earth. The righteous will inherit the kingdom of heaven. This is truth. These are facts. But we’re not there yet. We’ve been freed, but we’re still in the desert. Evil has been defeated, but it sure looks strong. We sound like Moses, in verse 12:

God has made a promise. He’s put His own personal name on this promise. He is our God, we are His people and He will not allow His people to stay captive to sin. He has won our victory by paying the price with His own blood.

If we are so discouraged and beat up that we can’t see this, He’ll make sure we can. He’ll teach us, He’ll show us, He’ll convince us of His power and our freedom. He’ll prove to us what He has done until we know. Until, when we’re faced with temptation, we immediately respond, I don’t have to sin. I’m free. Until, when we go through sorrow, we remember, God is bringing me through. Until, when we see tragedy, we are also looking for God’s redemption, how He is bringing good.

Do you buy this? Do we believe it? He is our God. We are His people. And He has made us free.