Slavery
Why did Israel have such a difficult time living in their freedom after God miraculously led them out of the land of Egypt?
They quickly forgot all of the miraculous ways the Lord had provided for them.
They chose to focus on their circumstances as opposed to putting their trust in the Lord.
They chose to disobey the Lord, thus bringing His judgment in the place of His blessing.
Here are some of the notable instances of God's provision:
Pillar of Cloud and Fire (Exodus 13:21): God guided the Israelites with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. It served as both a guide and a source of comfort and protection.
Parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21-22): When the Egyptian army pursued the Israelites after they had left Egypt, God miraculously parted the waters of the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to cross on dry land. After the Israelites safely crossed, He caused the waters to collapse, drowning the pursuing Egyptians.
Manna from Heaven (Exodus 16:14-15): In the wilderness, the Israelites became hungry, and God provided a miraculous food substance called manna. It appeared each morning as a dew-like substance and served as their daily sustenance throughout their wilderness journey.
Water from the Rock (Exodus 17:5-6): The Israelites complained about the lack of water, and God instructed Moses to strike a rock with his staff. As a result, water gushed forth from the rock, providing enough water for the entire community.
Quail for Meat (Exodus 16:12-13): When the Israelites craved meat, God sent quails in the evening to provide for their desires.
Clothes and Shoes that didn't wear out (Deuteronomy 29:5): During the forty years of wandering in the wilderness, their clothes and shoes did not wear out, a miraculous provision.
Defeat of Enemies: God intervened and granted the Israelites victory over their enemies, such as the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8-13) and the Canaanite kings (Joshua 10:12-14).
These miraculous provisions demonstrated God's faithfulness to His promises and His care for the Israelites throughout their challenging journey in the wilderness. Each instance served as a testimony of His power, love, and guidance, that should have reinforced their trust in Him as their Protector and Provider.
But before we are too hard on the Israelites:
Imagine this scenario: you grew up a slave. You had lived your whole life in bondage, working long hours on a plantation without any pay or freedom. One day, a group of abolitionists came to the plantation and helped you escape to freedom. They told you that you were now a free person and that you could live your life as you pleased.
What would you do?
Turn down the offer for freedom and remain enslaved?
Accept this opportunity to escape the bondage you had been under your entire life?
You were ecstatic and grateful to be free. You spent your first few months exploring your newfound freedom, but soon you found yourself struggling to make ends meet. You had never learned any skills besides farming, and you had no money or resources to start a new life. One day, you met a plantation owner who promised to give you a job and a place to stay. The catch was that you would have to return to slavery.
This seemed like your only option. You decided to take the plantation owner up on his offer and returned to slavery. You had forgotten the pain, suffering, and humiliation that came with slavery, and now you had to endure it all over again. If only you had trusted a faithful God to provide and sustain you.
You may say, “I would never make that choice; I would never return to slavery. But that’s the choice most of us make every day. Some choose to completely reject Christ and stay under the control of the evil one. Those who are saved choose to return to slavery every time we succumb to one of our idols. We choose to worship and serve the one who steals, kills, and destroys.
Jesus Christ has set free from the bondage of sin and death. Some choose to not believe, to not repent, to remain in bondage to the evil one. This is equivalent to telling the abolitionist “thanks, but no thanks.” It’s telling Christ that you would rather stay under the dominion of darkness and the bondage of Satan. A slave is someone who is in bondage to or under the control of something or someone else. Without Christ, we are all slaves to sin. We are all in bondage by sin and under Satan’s control. We belong to our father, the Devil. Not only does this lead to wasted life on this earth, it will lead to an eternity separated from God in Hell. We are warned in Mark 8:36-37 to be careful to not gain the whole world yet forfeit our soul. For what will a person give in exchange for his soul? Jesus tells the story of the rich young ruler who chose to keep his wealth instead of the call to follow Him. Did he make a good choice? Two thousand years later, do you think he would make a different choice if he could go back and do it over again? Life is short, and the decisions we make during our short time here will determine where we spend all of eternity.
Some of us choose to return to a life of bondage, and even the most faithful experience moments of relapse. After tasting the freedom we found in Christ, we again choose to enjoy the pleasures of this world. We can be naive and think that going back to our old ways is a good option. Sometimes it’s just the natural, easy option. We may forget the pain, suffering, and bondage that came with sin and think that we can handle it again. However, we will soon realize that sin only leads to destruction and death. Freedom is not always the easy choice, but it is always more rewarding in the end. We must truly believe this and stand firm against the wiles of the Devil. Every time we choose to sin we are choosing to align our will and allegiance with Satan over God. That sounds harsh, but it’s the reality. Let’s not choose to serve those foolish things which lead to death and destruction.
But some of us choose to daily fight for the victory and freedom of our new life in Christ. We do that through the power of the Holy Spirit, the renewing of our minds, and denying ourselves by daily taking up our cross.
John 16:7-15: "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you no longer are going to see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take from Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; this is why I said that He takes from Mine and will disclose it to you."
Romans 12:2: "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."
Luke 9:23: "Then he said to them all: 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.'"
Verses for study
Israelites desire to return to slavery
Exodus 14:10-12: "As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord. Then they said to Moses, 'Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, 'Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.'"
Numbers 11:4-6: "The rabble who were among them had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, 'Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic, but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna.'"
Numbers 14:1-4: "Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, 'Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?' So they said to one another, 'Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.'"
Numbers 20:2-5: "There was no water for the congregation, and they assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron. The people thus contended with Moses and spoke, saying, 'If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord! Why then have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness, for us and our livestock to die here? Why have you made us come up from Egypt to bring us in to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink.'"
Acts 7:39-40: "Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him, but repudiated him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt, saying to Aaron, 'Make gods for us who will go before us; for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.'"
Slaves to sin | Freedom in Christ
Romans 6: For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for the one who has died is freed from sin.
Ephesians 5:8-12: for you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light. Do not participate in the useless deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.
Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."
Galatians 5:1: "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery."
John 8:34-36: “Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. Now the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So, if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.’”
Romans 8:12-17: So then, brothers and sisters, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs.
1 Corinthians 6:9-12: Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor those habitually drunk, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
Galatians 4:8-9: However, at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles, to which you want to be enslaved all over again?
Galatians 5:13: "For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another."
Titus 3:1-7: For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we did in righteousness, but in accordance with His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He richly poured out upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Hebrews 2:14-15: “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, so that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”
1 Peter 2:16: "Act as free people, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God."
Resources
“The Cost of Discipleship” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
