Experiencing God’s Power: Freedom from Slavery

In today’s YouTube video Whispering Danny joins Rudy Ross to discuss Bible passages that are essential to the Hebrew faith.

After I read this passage, I asked Danny what he thought.

The Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt; afterward he will let you go from here; indeed, when he lets you go, he will drive you away.

“Tell the people that every man is to ask his neighbor and every woman is to ask her neighbor for objects of silver and gold.”

The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians.

Moreover, Moses himself was a man of great importance in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s officials and in the sight of the people (Exodus 11.1-3).

Danny made an obvious observation when we think about what God commanded the Israelites to do.

He asked us to consider what it would be like if a woman asked this of her neighbor, “I’m leaving town, but I’d like you to give me all of your gold and silver.”

Strange indeed! How did this happen?

Verse 2 provides the answer, “The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians.”

Experiencing God

Dr. Henry Blackaby uses the Exodus as a picture of how humans experience God. Let’s review his thoughts.

(1) God is at work in the world. He actively interacts with history to bring his desired plan and purpose.

(2) God forms relationships with humans.

(3) In the context of a personal relationship with God, he invites us to join his work in the world.

(4) God speaks to his servants and gives them a God-sized mission to accomplish.

For Moses, this was the job of leading 1-2 million slaves out of Egypt. For the men and women of Chapter 11, it was the task of asking neighbors to give them their gold and silver.

(5) A God-sized vision produces a crisis of belief in God’s servants.

Imagine what you might feel to be a slave and ask a person of wealth for their gold and silver.

(6) The person of faith adjusts their behavior to God’s revealed will.

In this case, men and women who were slaves asked their masters for gold and silver.

(7) When people trust and obey a God-sized vision, God acts and those people experience God in a powerful way.

They experienced God in this matter, because “the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians (verse 2).”

God’s Prediction of the Passover

God told Moses what would happen with the 10th plague and the death of the firstborn in Egypt.

“Then there will be a loud cry throughout the whole land of Egypt, such as has never been or will ever be again.

“But not a dog shall growl at any of the Israelites — not at people, not at animals — so that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel” (Exodus 11.6-7).

At this point in the narrative, the 10th plague hasn’t taken place. Try to imagine what was going through the minds of average Hebrews.

— You are to ask Egyptians, quite possibly your masters, for gold and silver.

— You are to prepare the best lamb or goat in your herd for sacrifice.

— You hear that there will be great devastation in the land of Egypt.

— You anticipate leaving a life and generations of oppressive slavery.

— To top it all off, you are told that not even a dog will bother you.

Henry Blackaby has said, “You can’t go with God and stay where you are.”

This was true for the Hebrews of Moses’ day. It is true for us today.

We do well to consider Blackaby’s “Experiencing God” material and ask if we are willing to adjust our lives to God’s purposes.

As we do, we know that God will provide for us and give us the bonus of experiencing him in a new and fresh way.

YouTube Video

Rudy Ross and I are joined by Whispering Danny this week on YouTube. You will enjoy the dialogue between these two men of God. The video is on the Bob Spradling channel.