We are approaching the Feast of Passover when all of Israel will recall to mind their ancestors exit from Egypt. This was a historical event that took place, but there is a deeper meaning inside the story which we all can relate to. It is the process of our own freedom from bondage.
When Yeshua came the first time, He fulfilled the prophesy in Isaiah which says, “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…”- Isaiah 61:6. Those of us who believe in Yeshua can testify that this is certainly true. Messiah Yeshua has indeed set us free from the bondage of sin and death, in a similar way that the children of Israel were set free from Pharaoh’s cruel dictatorship. It was an instantaneous transfer from darkness to light, slavery to freedom, from Satan’s dictatorship to relationship with God. But perhaps you are asking yourself the question, “why then do I still experience bondage in certain areas of my life?”
I believe the answer to that question lies also in the Exodus story. The transition from hundreds of years of slavery in Egypt to becoming a responsible freeman was a long process. It was a journey of lessons, a rewiring of thinking and a never ending walk with God. God led them through the desert towards the promised Land to teach them who He is so that one day, they would be a nation of freemen who would exemplify who He is to others.
For the children of Israel, the journey took much longer than God had originally intended due to the attitudes of their hearts. They needed extra time to learn His ways and to learn obedience before they were ready to inherit the promise. It’s true of us also. If we discover an area in our lives that is enslaving us and keeping us from inheriting God’s promises of life and freedom in Yeshua, we would do well to evaluate where the root cause of the bondage comes from. For the people of Israel, it was a matter of wanting something other than God. When God had them fasting food and water, they missed their land of bondage where they had leeks and onions. When they hadn’t experienced God’s miracles for a while and their leader hadn’t come down from the mountain with a fresh word from God, they grew weary and impatient and turned their hearts toward idolatry. When they had grown tired of the journey and bored with God’s provision, they grumbled and complained, bringing judgement on themselves. In every one of these instances, there was always a root that stemmed from the heart.
If there is an area in your life that you are struggling with that is keeping you in bondage, I would encourage you to ask the Lord to show you where it’s stemming from. The Lord is our deliverer who is always after our freedom. If you are willing to deal with the root cause of bondage in your life, He will not only bring you into the fullness of His promises, but you will also become, like the children of Israel, a testimony to who God is.
This article originally appeared on CBN Israel, March 15, 2018, and reposted with permission.