These words were spoken to the physical Israelites: “For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior… (Isa. 43:3, NIV.)
He who made the great claim added: “I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior” (verse 11, NIV).
He is no ordinary savior! His Supremacy as the Savior was emphasized, when He declared: “…I am God” (verse 12, NIV.) David acknowledged it: “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens” (Ps 68:19, NIV).
Consider what God said to Moses, when the Israelites were slaves in the land of Egypt:
"Therefore, say to the Israelites: `I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD’" (Ex. 6:6-8, NIV).
Notice His Words: “I WILL BRING YOU OUT…” “I WILL FREE YOU FROM BEING SLAVES…” “I WILL REDEEM YOU…”
In the first part of verse 7, we read: “I WILL TAKE YOU AS MY OWN PEOPLE, and I will be your God…” And the next verse states: “And I WILL BRING YOU to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I WILL GIVE IT TO YOU as a possession.”
Do you sense the determination and the certainty in those words?
Are you not in awe of the One who made such powerful declaration? – relating the deliverance of those who were even unwilling to listen to Moses and controlled by a powerful ruler who refused to release them.
First, imagine the disappointment of the Israelites. They believed that they would be free at the first attempt of Moses to demand their freedom. Instead, Pharaoh made the “work harder” for them
Yet, in such condition, the Sovereign Savior declared: “…I am the LORD your God, WHO BROUGHT YOU OUT from under the yoke of the Egyptians” (Ex. 6:7, NIV).
While the Israelites were still in Egypt – languishing in their disappointment and hardship – for God, He had already brought them out of Egypt! His Will is as good as done.
That’s how God saves!
When Moses repeated those words to the Israelites, “they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage” (verse 9, NIV).
We read in the next verses: “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.’ But Moses said to the LORD, ‘If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?’” (Ex 6:10-12, NIV.)
BUT, did the refusal of the Israelites to listen and the “hardened” heart of Pharaoh prevent God from saving the Israelites from slavery?
We read in Proverbs 19:21, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails” (NIV).
God declared in Isaiah 55:10-11, “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (NIV).
Job also said, “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2, NIV).
“Yes, and from ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?" as we read also in Isaiah 43:13 (NIV).
When the Sovereign God plans to save, His purpose will prevail. If He says He will save you, it will be accomplished. No one or nothing can prevent it. And when He works for your deliverance, nothing you will miss in your freedom.
That’s how God saves.
The psalmist said, “Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake” (Ps. 79:9, NIV).
God will also save not because we deserve it. He will save not because we have done something worthy in His sight. We do not even deserve His mercy. He will save for the glory of His Holy Name.
God told Moses, “Then you will know that I am the LORD your God…” Also in Exodus 7:5, “And THE EGYPTIANS WILL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it" (NIV).
When God also announced His help to prophet Ezekiel, He said:
"Therefore say to the house of Israel, `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, BUT FOR THE SAKE OF MY HOLY NAME, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. THEN THE NATIONS WILL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes.
"`For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I AM NOT DOING THIS FOR YOUR SAKE, declares the Sovereign LORD. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, O house of Israel!” (Ezek 36:22-32, NIV.)
When Jesus Christ came to seek and save His people, He also prayed to His Father: “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4, NIV).
That’s why He saves.
During our time, the same Sovereign Savior will save a people who belong to Him – to display His Glory or His Great Goodness – His incomprehensible Love for the unlovable.
We read in Matthew 1:21 that Jesus was given that name, “because he will save his people from their sins."
Paul wrote, “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until THE REDEMPTION OF THOSE WHO ARE GOD’S POSSESSION -- to the praise of his glory” (Eph 1:11-14, NIV).
Just like when the physical Israelites were still in Egypt, yet in God’s viewpoint, He already brought them out of Egypt – God’s people of today (those who are God’s possession) – have already the guarantee of their inheritance.
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:4-6, NIV). In God’s viewpoint, God’s children are already seated “in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.”
Just like also during the time of Moses that nothing or no one prevented God from saving the Israelites, even Satan cannot prevent God to reveal His glory to His people today. “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:3-6, NIV).
No power in the universe prevented the Sovereign God from giving His Son to those whom He has chosen. “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all -- how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies” (Rom. 8:32-33, NIV). Since God gave His own Son to them, He also gave them repentance (Acts 5:31), faith or belief (Eph. 2:8; Phil. 1:29), a heart that will respond to the gospel (Acts 16:14; Ezek. 36:26), His Spirit of power and of love and of sound mind, fills their hearts with joy (Acts 14:17), etc. God will see to it that the elect will lack nothing to complete their salvation.
Yes, God’s people today, just like the ancient Israelites, received God’s deliverance – out of God’s Plan – His Will and Determination, God’s Accomplishment, God’s Mercy and for His Glory.
In the words of Paul, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph 2:8-9, NIV). Unfortunately, many understood that we are saved, not by our own works, but by our own choice, our own will or determination and even our own acceptance!
We will truly value and rejoice in the gem of God’s grace, if we realize that our salvation is God’s own complete work, His own plan or will or choice and His mercy granted to us (Phil. 1:9; Eph. 2:8).
And that’s how God saves!
PRAYER: Our Sovereign Savior, we lift Your Name higher than any power in this world. What a Great Savior You are! We bow before Your Glorious Presence and savor the Joy of Your deliverance. We thank You for Your Mercy and truly long for the incomparable riches of Your Grace You will still reveal to us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
