A Liberating Walk Series

Title: A Liberating Walk

Text: Exodus

Subject: Salvation

Series: The Walk Series; #5

Introduction: We live in an extremely free country. Some writers have considered this country the greatest country of all history because of the incredible freedoms we enjoy. No one is a slave in our country. All men and women are free to make their own choices. Personal liberty is one of the hallmarks of this country’s foundation. I declare to you today that it is all an illusion. People may seem free, but they are really in bondage. They are in bondage to sin. As you read newspapers and magazines, you’ll discover many of the forms that these bondages take. People are in bondage to gambling, pornography, drugs, alcohol, pride, greed, selfishness, hate, lust, wickedness, and the list goes on and on. Bondage, in essence, is anything that has control over you. As we continue considering some of the great walks of the Bible, we are going to consider a walk that led a nation out of bondage. Today, I want us to consider the Exodus.

I. The people were in bondage.

The children of Israel were a people in bondage. We recently looked at Joseph and how he welcomed his family to come to Egypt to survive the famine. It was a blessing that kept Israel’s family alive. Even Pharaoh was pleased with Joseph bringing his father and brothers to Egypt. Times changed though.

A. How did it happen?

We read about this change in Exodus 1:6-11

Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, 7 but the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them. 8 Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. 9 "Look," he said to his people, "the Israelites have become much too numerous for us. 10 Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country." 11 So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.

The children of Israel had been a free people. They had never known the bondage of slavery. Yet so quickly and easily they allowed themselves to be enslaved. One day they’re tending their flocks and crops, the next day they’re making bricks to build cities for the new king. Somewhere deep inside it must have agonized them to remember that they had once been free, but now were nothing more than slaves. What hurt them even more were there children.

B. Everyone born automatically became a slave.

The Bible records that God actually blessed the children of Israel in captivity and children were constantly being born. So many children that Pharaoh actually became alarmed at the fact. For the Israelite parents it was tough though because their children knew nothing but slavery. They had never known freedom. They accepted slavery has simply being their lot in life. Each baby that was born was born into bondage. It was bondage without hope.

C. The Israelite’s were helpless.

They didn’t have any hope because the Egyptians were so powerful. They were the premier nation and army of their day. They had trained soldiers that were battle hardened. No one seemed able to stand up against them. They were cruel and ruthless and the children of Israel knew it. Any uprising would surely be crushed immediately. Any escape and they would be hunted and destroyed. They were powerless and could do nothing to save themselves.

D. The story continues today.

It’s amazing when you consider how well the story is lived out in the day to day lives of those around us. There was a time when the human race was perfect and free. When that freedom was given up for sin, everyone from that time on as been born into sin. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). In John 8:34 we also learn that “everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” Just like the children of Israel we have gone into bondage and are helpless. Sin is a cruel taskmaster and we are powerless to stop it on our own. No amount of good intentions or good deeds can break us free from the slavery of sin. There was and there is only one option.

II. The people cried out.

A. The people accepted it at first.

I discovered something interesting as I was reading through the first two chapters of Exodus. The people didn’t cry out to God right away. In chapter one we have the account of the slavery beginning and the birth rate among Hebrew women skyrocketing. For this to happen took some time. Then in chapter two, we have the birth of Moses and him growing up and eventually running away. This was a long period of time and it was only after this that the children of Israel began to cry out. It was easy to accept slavery. For a long time they viewed it as being their lot in life. For awhile, they no longer dreamed of freedom but simply went about their tasks. Eventually though, the weight of their slavery became heavy on their shoulders and they cried out to the only one that could help.