Thursday, February 1, 2007
Matthew 2:13-15 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him." When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called My Son."
OUT OF EGYPT -- THE BONDAGE OF SIN
The slavery out from which God in Christ Jesus has called us is not just the slavery to the things of this world, but far greater. He has called us out of slavery to sin so that it also is not our master, nor do we serve it.
How cruel were the Egyptian task masters that pharaoh had placed over the children of Israel! Having been given the permission to make Israel work, these task masters -- many of them -- did so with great joy and hatred. Sin is like that. It does not care who you are, what you are, how hard you have been working, how little rest you have had, how hungry or thirsty. It takes its whip and scourge in hand and drives you all the more. The more one struggles to free oneself, the tighter the bonds, the harsher the blows fall, and if because of the work one falls to the ground and dies, it walks away laughing.
Out from under this slavery God in Christ has called you. We who have been baptized into Christ have been baptized into His death. That just as Christ was buried, so also our old man was crucified and buried, and as God raised Him from the dead, even so we also should walk in the newness of life. The body of sin done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. "For he who has died has been freed from sin. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6).
