“I am YHVH your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the abode of slavery.”
Is this really a command?
Read it again and see if there is any action attached to this at all. It seems to be more a statement of identity than anything else.
Let’s think about this for a moment.
Why would an introduction be the very first thing Abba says to His people?
Don’t get me wrong, it seems like a polite thing to do: “Hello everyone, my name is YHVH. I’m the One that brought you out of the clutches of slavery. Those miraculous things you witnessed, that was Me.”
But maybe that’s exactly what they need.
Consider your life before you came to know Him. What was it like?
Busy chasing after wealth, recognition, acceptance, peace, contentment. Oppressed by the culture, your past woundings, people’s opinion of you. Fighting pride and addictions. Striving just to stay alive.
Yeah, those days in slavery were miserable. It’s a good thing they are behind you now.
(sigh)
Then you were delivered. You were brought out of the physical bonds of slavery but it is not as easy to come out mentally and emotionally, huh? It seems like those same issues still appear even though we know we’ve been delivered.
So what do you need to know in order to experience a little relief from this old slavery-based lifestyle?
It would help if you had instructions on how to actually live. You likely haven’t experienced a functional life on your own or really had one modeled for you, and this makes future decisions quite challenging. How do you know what you should do? How are you supposed to treat your neighbor? How do you treat yourself? Your enemy?
So many questions, and no backdrop for answers. We know that the past decisions we made were based on survival. We’ve had to look out for ourselves because no one else would. We had to be selfish in order to survive.
We have no idea how to live.
You’re standing there in the wilderness, at the base of the mountain with absolutely no clue. You’ve seen some pretty remarkable things happen around you the past few months, but what has happened to you during this time?
We’ll pause for just a moment with you standing here -- at the bottom of the mountain wondering, “what in the world is going on?”
Abram was told well in advance that his descendants would end up in slavery:
Genesis 15:12 As the sun was about to set, a deep sleep fell on Avram; horror and great darkness came over him. 13 YHVH said to Avram, “Know this for certain: your descendants will be foreigners in a land that is not theirs. They will be slaves and held in oppression there four hundred years. 14 But I will also judge that nation, the one that makes them slaves. Afterwards, they will leave with many possessions. 15 As for you, you will join your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 Only in the fourth generation will your descendants come back here, because only then will the Emori be ripe for punishment.”
Now how they got there is beyond the scope of what we’re covering here but we do want to know why they were saved.
Exodus 19:4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you will pay careful attention to what I say and keep my covenant, then you will be my own treasure from among all the peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you will be a kingdom of cohanim for me, a nation set apart.’ These are the words you are to speak to the people of Isra’el.”
Their deliverance was not for their own sake. They have been delivered to become a kingdom of priests. And what is the role of the priest? To help others repent and come into the presence of the One True God.
They were saved for all the nations of the earth. But you must learn to walk in His ways before you can teach others to do so themselves. You must repent before asking others to repent. You must forgive before asking others to forgive. You must love before asking others to love.
So you have been delivered for a reason.
You were once a slave in Egypt yourself. What in the world was Abba thinking when He decided bringing you out was, in fact, a great idea? What do you have to offer?
Nothing.
But that is not the purpose behind your deliverance.
You applied the blood and were delivered. You’ve seen some remarkable things happen around you and you know that He is real. He destroyed your enemy and you know your oppressor no longer has authority over you. He gave you food when you were hungry and water when you were thirsty. You even had to engage in warfare on your way to the mountain.
All of this happens before you learn anything about Him and His ways.
We think we get saved for our own benefit (which is indeed a benefit) but once we learn His name and learn His ways, we realize we were saved for others.
Beloved, there is something bigger going on!
Moses asked God at the burning bush, “What if they ask your name? What should I tell them?”
And Abba answered, “Say this to the people of Isra’el: ‘Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [YHVH], the God of your fathers, the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz’chak and the God of Ya‘akov, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever; this is how I am to be remembered generation after generation.”
So Moses goes and tells them just that. But they ignored him:
Exodus 6:2 God spoke to Moshe; he said to him, “I am YHVH. 3 I appeared to Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov as El Shaddai, although I did not make myself known to them by my name, Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [YHVH]. 4 Also with them I established my covenant to give them the land of Kena‘an, the land where they wandered about and lived as foreigners. 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Isra’el, whom the Egyptians are keeping in slavery; and I have remembered my covenant.
6 “Therefore, say to the people of Isra’el: ‘I am YHVH. I will free you from the forced labor of the Egyptians, rescue you from their oppression, and redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7 I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am YHVH your God, who freed you from the forced labor of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov — I will give it to you as your inheritance. I am YHVH.’”
9 Moshe said this to the people of Isra’el. But they wouldn’t listen to him, because they were so discouraged, and their slavery was so cruel.
They were in no place to even comprehend anything but slavery. Their Deliverer had sent a messenger to tell them that they were about to become a free people. And that information was lost on them because the pain in their lives clouded any higher level thinking. They could not comprehend His name and His ways. They needed to see things before they could believe things.
So here you stand.
Staring up into the smoke and fire that is consuming the mountain before you. Shofars are sounding so loud the mountain itself is shaking. Your mind is racing.
You’ve seen what this God can do. But what is He about to do here? Is He going to wipe you out right here and now?
Probably not.
So far, His powerful actions have been done on your behalf.
You've seen Him bring the most powerful nation on earth to its knees -- for you.
You've seen Him make food from the dew on the ground overnight -- for you.
You've seen Him cause water to flow from a rock -- for you.
You've seen Him defeat an enemy with the lifting of a hand -- for you.
When Israel was a slave in Egypt, a perfect lamb had to be sacrificed in order for them to be saved.
But for you, a slave to the world, a perfect Man had to be sacrificed in order for you to be saved.
Abba went to great lengths to rescue you.
He sacrificed His own fully obedient Son -- for you.
For you He did these things.
So no, He is not going to destroy you. He’s going to tell you His name so maybe this time you will hear it. He’s then going to remind you where you were and what He did -- for you.
Now. Now is the time to meet the One that sacrificed His perfect Son -- for you.
On this Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), you need to consider who exactly your God is. You were once a slave to this world but now you have been delivered through the blood of THE Perfect Lamb.
Like Joseph, you were once a slave to the ruler of the earth. But your Father found you and pulled you out of the pit of despair. Getting to know Him and realizing what He’s done should catapult you into learning how to live. Not just survive, but truly live.
“I, I am YHVH -- YOUR God.
“I am the One that brought YOU out of Egypt.
“I am the One that brought YOU out of the house of bondage.
“Listen to My Words. There is life in them. I will teach you how to be in relationship with everything around you.
“Learn My Words. I am setting you apart from all of the others in the earth. You will be a priest to everyone you come in contact with. You. You have been delivered to show others the way out of bondage. Do not forsake My commands because this is how they will know I sent you. Your life is a living testimony of My greatness. I saved you with a mighty and outstretched arm. You no longer need to fear -- your oppressor has been covered by the sea.
“But it is important that you now know: You no longer live for yourself, you now live for Me. You are My inheritance. I am YHVH your God.”