By Teena Myers

Follow Me: Deliverance

Observations as I follow God through the Chronological Bible

Exodus 2:24

There is a specific reason God responded when he heard the Hebrews groaning. He remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To understand God’s actions when he responded to the groaning of his people, we need to remember what God remembered.

The covenant God remembered is the oath that he swore to give the land of Canaan to Jesus and Abraham. Abraham never received the things God promised him. He died in faith, believing both he and his seed would inherit the land. For three generations, God repeated his promise. Isaac and Jacob also died in faith without possessing the land.

God could not keep his promise within the lifetime of these patriarchs because the “seed” that will make all things possible had not been born. The only way for them to possess the promises is through the seed, which the New Testament identifies as Jesus. Through Jesus, everyone who possesses the same faith Abraham possessed will also inherit the Promised Land.

God’s promises encompassed more than land. Both the Hebrews and the Gentiles who have the same faith in God that Abraham did will become a great nation more numerous than the dust of the earth and the stars of heaven. This diverse multitude of people from every nation will possess the Promised Land and be a blessing to all nations. God will bless those who bless them and curse those who curse them. He will establish his covenant to be their God. They will govern their enemies.

When God appeared to Moses, he had a bigger plan in view than delivering the Hebrews from the mess their unfaithfulness to him created. God could not fulfill his plan within Moses’ lifetime for the same reason he did not fulfill it in Abraham’s lifetime. Moses’ ministry brought humanity one step closer to fulfilling a plan that spans generations and culminates when Jesus returns to take possession of the land God promised to give him.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians that the Lord Jesus Christ “gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father…”[1] God will help us overcome our addictions, heal our damaged marriages, lighten the consequences of the stupid things we do, but the purpose of his death is much grander than giving us a better life today.

It is our love for this evil age and its evil rulers that is the root cause of many sorrows and problems. God sent Moses to Egypt so we can “know him” giving us a valid reason to desire him more than the rulers of this age.

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[1] Galatians 1:3-4