Addiction is Slavery | Studies in Exodus 3b

Exodus

Studies in Slavery & Redemption

Chapter 3 [part b]

Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to God’s mountain, to Horeb.
Yahweh’s* angel appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the middle of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
Moses said, “I will go now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”
When Yahweh saw that he came over to see, God called to him out of the middle of the bush, and said, “Moses! Moses!” He said, “Here I am.”
He said, “Don’t come close. Take off your sandals, for the place you are standing on is holy ground.”
Moreover he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.
Yahweh said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.
I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey; to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
Now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to me. Moreover I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.
Come now therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
He said, “Certainly I will be with you. This will be the token to you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
Moses said to God, “Behold, when I come to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what should I tell them?”
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and he said, “You shall tell the children of Israel this: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”
God said moreover to Moses, “You shall tell the children of Israel this, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations.
Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and tell them, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt.
I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’
They will listen to your voice. You shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and you shall tell him, ‘Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh, our God.’
I know that the king of Egypt won’t give you permission to go, no, not by a mighty hand.
I will reach out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders which I will do among them, and after that he will let you go.
I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, and it will happen that when you go, you shall not go empty-handed.
But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, and of her who visits her house, jewels of silver, jewels of gold, and clothing. You shall put them on your sons, and on your daughters. You shall plunder the Egyptians.”

New Light 4:

A SLAVEMASTER hides his true identity,

a REDEEMER is caring and personal.

Slavemasters are cruel and cowardly:

Rarely do they do the work, but use others to inflict pain and oppression;
Being aloof from the pain they are inflicting, they have no limit to what they demand;
The distance is set in place to hide their natural cowardice.

Redeemers don't mind the dirty work:

Our Hero and Savior kept the goal in mind (Hebrews 12:2)
He is the Good Shepherd who will not rest until the lost sheep is found (Luke 19:10)
Though royal, Our King demands a personal relationship with His people (Mt 9:9-12)

This passage should be treasured equally among the most famous in the Bible, for in it Elohim reveals Himself to a degree even deeper than He did to Adam, to Enoch, to Noah, to Abraham or the other patriarchs.

Adam and Enoch both walked with Elohim
Noah was declared alone righteous on the earth
Abraham was "a friend of Elohim"
Isaac was the promised miracle of Elohim
Jacob wrestled and saw the face of Elohim

But Moses was the first to publicly declare Him by his Name!

Moses is here introduced very personally to the one who would forever be known as the "Redeemer of Israel".

Let's clarify how personal this revelation gets:

In verse 2 (something that is often overlooked) Yahweh was IN THE FLAME OF FIRE.
It was not just a burning bush, but a burning bush containing a Theophany (God in bodily form) or Christophany (Christ revealed before his generally-held incarnation*).
This is not the revelation of an angel in common sense, for the ground was declared "holy" in a manner unlike any previous time (vs 5).
Pharaoh never beheld the pain he was inflicting upon the Hebrews, but the Redeemer says, "I have surely seen the affliction (oppression, pain and sorrow) of my people..." (vs 7, 9, 16).

The fact of the matter is that the same God has seen your pain, the burden of your oppression and the sorrow of your heart (from your own choices and others) and wants to redeem you as well.

Let me repeat that...

Yahweh has seen your:

Pain,

Suffering,

Oppression,

Sorrow,

and wants you to be redeemed and freed as well.

Please let me add these final points:

Right now, you are extremely dubious that salvation is possible or plausible; but it is.

Satan has no more interest or willingness to release you from your slavery than did Pharaoh.
When you are released, you will take with you treasures beyond belief to offer back to God in worship and to use in testifying to others about the Grace of God your Savior.

*I believe that He has ALWAYS existed in bodily form, from before the foundation of the Earth, so that we might be formed in His likeness. What happened with Mary was surrogation, not incarnation. He gave up His throne to be born and live as we do - yet without sin.

Continue to the Next Chapter