I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt. Exodus 3:10
President Abraham Lincoln had emancipated people held in slavery two-and-a half-years earlier and the Confederacy had surrendered, yet the state of Texas still hadn’t acknowledged the freedom of enslaved persons. However, on June 19, 1865, Union army general Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, and demanded that all enslaved persons be released. Imagine the shock and joy as shackles fell off and those in bondage heard the pronouncement of freedom.
God sees the oppressed, and He’ll ultimately announce freedom for those under the weight of injustice. This is true now just as it was true in Moses’ day. God appeared to him from a burning bush with an urgent message: “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt” (Exodus 3:7). He not only saw Egypt’s brutality against Israel—but He also planned to do something about it. “I have come down to rescue them,” God declared, “and to bring them . . . into a good and spacious land” (v. 8). He intended to declare freedom to Israel, and Moses would be the mouthpiece. “I am sending you to Pharaoh,” God told His servant, “to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt” (v. 10).
Though God’s timing may not happen as quickly as we hope, one day He’ll free us from all bondage and injustice. He gives hope and liberation to all who are oppressed.
How have you seen God work to help the oppressed? How does He invite you to participate in His work?
Dear God, there’s so much oppression in the story of our world. It’s easy to despair. Please help me stay attuned to Your intention to announce freedom.
INSIGHT
Moses was one of the most significant leaders in the Bible. We can sometimes overlook, however, how God prepared him to lead. For four decades as a shepherd (Acts 7:30), he tended the flock of his father-in-law Jethro (Exodus 3:1; see 2:16-22). Like David (Psalm 78:70-71), God took Moses from caring for animals to caring for people. While it was the Great Shepherd who saw the misery, heard the cries, and was concerned about the suffering of His people (Exodus 3:7), His rescue plan called for a liberator in the flesh to function on His behalf: “You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron” (Psalm 77:20).