Moses said to the people,
‘Remember this day
in which you went out from Egypt,
from the house of slavery;
for by a powerful hand
the LORD brought you out from this place.
And nothing leavened shall be eaten.’
Exodus 13:3
When the Lord brought the people out of Egypt, out of their slavery, one of the first things he did was to command Moses to sanctify to the LORD the firstborn of every womb, both man and beast. He then told Moses to remind the people of the Passover and to command them to keep it.
Why was God so quick to grab the attention of the people?
Oh precious one, the answer to that is- because He knows us.
These people had been in bondage for 400 years. These people had never known freedom. What God knew was that too much freedom too fast can destroy. What we also have to understand is that God did not just set these people free, He “redeemed” them.
This word redeem in the Hebrew is ga’al. It means to purchase, to ransom, to buy back. God did not just set them free to run wild and live life in their own way. He redeemed them from their slavery to Pharaoh so that they could freely serve Him. The people no longer belonged to Pharaoh, but they did, however, still belong to someone. They now belonged to God.
This is true in our salvation as well. In 1 Corinthians 6:20 the Word declares, “For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” If you are a born again believer, a Christ follower, then you’re freedom came with a price.
In 1 Peter 1:18 we read that we were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ. In the Greek the word redeemed is lutroo and it means to ransom. It comes from the word lutron which means to loosen with a redemption price. Just as the children of Israel were redeemed by God so are we. Just as the children of Israel were not set free to run wild and live to themselves, neither are we.
Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience,
you are slaves of the one whom you obey,
either of sin resulting in death,
or of obedience resulting in righteousness?
But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin,
you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed,
and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.
For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness,
resulting in further lawlessness,
so now present your members as slaves to righteousness,
resulting in sanctification.
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
Therefore what benefit were you deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed?
For the outcome of those things is death.
But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God,
you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification,
and the outcome, eternal life.
Romans 6:16-22
Oh precious one, yes, in Christ you were set free, and “if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36) You are freed from sin’s penalty and freed from sin’s power and you now have the hope of one day being freed from sin’s presence. The serpent of old no longer can hold fear of death over your head. You are no longer a slave to sin.
However, this does not mean that you are now without a master.
Romans 10:9 declares “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” A prerequisite to salvation is confessing Jesus as Lord. The word Lord in the Greek is kurios and it means supreme in authority, controller, master.
As it says in the above passage of Romans 6:16-22, you were freed from sin but you became slaves of righteousness. You were freed from sin but enslaved to God. You are not without a master. You were not set free to live life your own way, you were set free to freely serve your Creator God.
God instituted the Passover and commanded the children of Israel to observe it for at least two reasons:
one– so that they would never forget how He had redeemed them from Pharaoh and how He had brought them out of Egypt,
one– so that they would never forget how He had redeemed them from Pharaoh and how He had brought them out of Egypt,
and
two– so that He might point them to the final Passover lamb, Jesus the One and Only Christ.
Even in our salvation through Christ, God has instituted a memorial and commanded us to keep it. Before Jesus went to the cross He instituted what we call the Lord’s Supper, or Communion. He commanded us to do this in remembrance of Him (Luke 22:19). We are to observe it in a worthy manner, for through it we proclaim the death of our Lord Jesus Christ until He returns again (1 Corinthians 11:23-32).
Oh Father,
You are my Master. I rejoice that I am enslaved to You. I confess Jesus as my Lord, as the supreme authority in my life. What greater joy is there than to have a King who loves me so? I once was a slave to sin, my master was cruel, and he hated me. He sought only to destroy me through temptation and lies, but You my Jesus love me. How easy it is to surrender to You. I am able to serve You with gratitude. I willingly have become Your slave because I love You and I desire to please You with this life that You saved.
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen