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For God's Glory
Moses and Aaron
went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus says the LORD God of Israel, Let
my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the
wilderness.
Exodus 5:1.
It was wonderful that God was going to bring His people out of
slavery in Egypt. He had seen the affliction of His people, He
had heard their cries for help, He knew their sorrows, and He
was coming to rescue them. (Exodus
3:7-8). But for what purpose was He going to rescue
them?
That question has a number of correct answers. He was going to
rescue them because of His compassion, His desire to see them
delivered from their sorrows and pains. It is also true that He
was going to rescue them so that He might bring them in to that
glorious Land which He had promised to Abraham. But there was a
greater purpose beyond their happiness, and that was for His own
glory. When Moses was speaking to Pharaoh, Moses requested that
the people of Israel should be set free for three reasons:
God wanted
fellowship, "Let
My people go, that they may hold a feast unto Me"
(Exodus 5.1),
God wanted worship, "let
us go…and sacrifice unto the Lord our God"
(Exodus 5.3); these
would be burnt offerings, and were a feast for the enjoyment of
the Lord. And,
God wanted service, "Let
My people go, that they may serve Me"
(Exodus 8:1).
In sacrificing to the Lord, the Israelites
would express their thankfulness for their deliverance from Egypt,
and this would give joy and satisfaction to the Lord.
What was true of the children of Israel collectively is true of
us individually. God had a purpose in our deliverance from sin
that went beyond saving us from hell and taking us to heaven. He
redeemed us first and foremost for Himself. Paul reminded Titus
that our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ " gave
Himself for us (for
what purpose?),
that He
might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a
peculiar people, zealous of good works"
(Tit 2:13-14).
We might be tempted to think that our salvation is all to do
with us and for our benefit. After all, the current climate of
thought in our society is one of ‘self-centredness'. This type
of thinking can spill over into the minds of those who are
saved, so that we become selfish and self-centred in our
behaviour, and don't realise why the Lord has graciously saved
us.
An illustration will perhaps help. Suppose that we had met the
Israelites as they were coming through the wilderness. We might
have asked them why God had redeemed them. Was it so that He
might show His power to the Egyptians in their land or at the
Red Sea? Was it so that He might be seen to be able to provide
for the people in the wilderness in the daily supply of food and
drink? Was it to demonstrate that He will keep His word and
bring them into the land He had promised years earlier to give
to them?
The answer to each of the above questions is "yes" . . . and
"no"! He actually redeemed them for Himself, so that they might
be His peculiar treasure. He did not redeem them primarily for
their benefit (though the advantages they enjoyed were many),
but so that He might dwell in their midst and that they, as His
people, might worship and fully serve Him.
We too have been redeemed at infinite cost— by the
precious blood of the Son of God Himself. No longer do we belong
to ourselves to "do our own thing." Now we belong to both God
the Father and God the Son (John 17:10).
If we love and obey the Lord Jesus, He and the Father will make
their abode with us (John14:23)!
Can you believe it? And there is more still—the Lord Jesus says
that He is glorified in us (John 17:10)!
May we never cause Him grief or shame.
We are the Lord's both by creation and redemption. We
were bought at a price. At the
cross, we see the price tag which the Lord Jesus put on us. He
thought us to be of such value that He was willing to pay for us
with the price of His own precious blood. How greatly Jesus must
have loved us to bear our sins in His body on the cross!
Let this be something that captivates us today. We are His,
bought at such a price (1Pet
1:18-19), to live for His honour and glory.
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