The
story of Exodus is also the story of our redemption. This is why the New
Testament often depicts our redemption as an exodus. We
depart from the life of sin to walk with God. In this walk,
there are three clear phases. Hence, we can clearly understand that redemption
is a process and not a point as many have so often mistaken. The starting phase
is often referred to as salvation. The Bible teaches that God is the one who
initiates us into our salvation. By the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, He
convicts us of our sin. At that moment we are given a measure of start-up
faith, enabling us to acknowledge our sinful nature and willingly invite Jesus
into our heart to be our personal Lord and Saviour. This first step commonly
frees us from the penalty of sin.
The
endpoint of this process, of course, is glorification. It will only take place
when we are in heaven and free from the presence of sin. At that point, we will
be perfected. However, the process between salvation and glorification is known
as sanctification. This process takes place while we are here on earth. It is
our daily journey where God is sanctifying us daily and incrementally freeing
us from the power of sin. The Holy Spirit is sent alongside us to empower us to
deal with the flaws that hinder our connection with God. If we yield to the
Holy Spirit’s leading, we will be free from the dominion of sin progressively.
The
deliverance of the children of Israel from the bondage of Pharaoh and Egypt
depicts the first phase of the redemption process we called salvation. The
Passover lamb is, of course, a type of our Lord Jesus, the Sacrificial Lamb of
God. Like the Israelites, we were once a slave to sin and were living in
bondage. When we acknowledge Christ as our Lord, His blood like the Passover
lamb shields us from the angel of death. Just as they crossed the Red Sea and were
freed from their bondage of the Egyptians, we too have crossed from our past
life into the new walk with the LORD. Our sanctification process is depicted in
the wilderness journey of the children of Israel. This is the path where God
deals with our sin nature and frees us from the sway of the power of sin.
The
wilderness wandering of the Israelites was not needful for their salvation but
it certainly was needful for their sanctification. They had left Egypt, but the
nature of slavery in Egypt had not left them. God had to surface them and
excise each one. It was not possible to deal with all at once but one at a
time. So, the journey in the wilderness revealed areas that needed to be
removed. The wilderness is a tough place. But it is the place where God
encounters our old nature and helps us to progressively remove each flaw as it
surfaces. This phase is to teach us dependence on God.
The
journey into God’s promised land started when Moses’ song had ended. They were
ushered into the wilderness, the desert of Shur. This area stretched from Egypt
all the way to Palestine. The desert was sparsely populated with vegetations
and there was a scarcity of water sources. It was natural joy when the
Israelites having travelled for three days found water. But their joy was
short-lived for as the place, so aptly named Marah, the water was bitter and
undrinkable. It was then that the Lord revealed to Moses a certain tree. He cut
one of the twigs and threw it into the water of Marah. It instantly became
drinkable and sweet. The twig speaks of the cross of Calvary. Any bitter
experience in life can be treated when we apply the finished works of the cross
in our life. The disappointment was the way the Israelites complained.
Learning from them we must not be a complaining people. The Lord has a solution
for all our bitter experiences in life. We can come to Him and be assured that
He will provide the solution in Christ. Let us stop whining and start
trusting. Whining is common among children but it is unbecoming for an
adult. As we grow in Christ, we must learn not to whine over every little
inconvenience. We must co-operate with the Holy Spirit and be sanctified.
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