9/28 - Exodus 3:7-8 - When does God start planning your deliverance?

⁷ Then the Lord said [to Moses],

“I have observed the misery

of my people who are in Egypt;

I have heard their cry on

account of their taskmasters.

Indeed, I know their sufferings,

⁸ and I have come down to

deliver them from

the Egyptians …

Exodus 3

 

“Admit that you’re in bondage.” “Cry out to God.” Those are the first two steps to Israel’s escape from slavery. Today we focus on Step 3, and the first word in Exodus 3 (depending on your translation) is “Moses.”

 

At the end of Exodus 2, the people cried out to God, and – boom! – God immediately sent a solution – Moses, the deliverer.

 

Sending a deliverer is one of Lord’s most common methods of setting people free: For example, in Judges 3:9, “when the Israelites cried out to the Lord,” scripture says that “the Lord raised up a deliverer … Othniel …” Six verses later, we hear it again: “¹⁵When the Israelites cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud …”

 

In the New Testament, the pattern continues, of course. Jesus is our ultimate deliverer! Therefore, we can cry, “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” ^{Romans 7:25} 

 

So what happened when the Israelites finally and completely called to the Lord? Boom! A deliverer.

 

And yet here’s the coolest part to this …

 

question: When did God start preparing a deliverer for Israel?

answer: Before they even cried out.

 

The Israelites cried out for help at the very end of Exodus 2. But at the very beginning of Exodus 2 – before they ever cried – God was already preparing the deliverer!

 

You probably remember the story … Pharaoh was killing Hebrew babies. Moses’ parents kept him alive by floating him down a river in a basket. And God not only provided a home for Moses, but first-hand access to the royal palace, as Moses was adopted by the royal family and raised as a prince. Yes, before Israel even cried out, Moses was wandering Egypt’s halls of influence.

 

More important than wandering Egypt’s portals of power, God also prepared Moses by letting him wander in the wilderness for forty years. Exile was part of Moses’ story too. Before the bush ever burned, Moses had to learn to depend on God for daily bread in desert places.

 

Yes, before Israel ever cried out, God was already preparing a deliverer.

 

Isn’t that remarkable?! God is preparing for your deliverance even before you know to cry.

 

And yet he’s waiting.

 

He’s a gentleman.

 

He gives you free will.

 

And when you finally humble yourself and call out to him, your Lord is eager to deliver. That’s his heart. You are his desire!

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who needs to quit

fulfilling the wrong scripture:

James 4:2 – “you have not

because you ask not”